Characteristics
of services.
Dimensions
of service quality?
Services
typically have several distinctive characteristics or features from goods
retailing. These are intangibility, perishability, inconsistency, fluctuation
and consumer dependent. A service is
anything which can be offered to the customers in order to satisfy their need,
wants and desire and intangible, inseparable, variable and perishable in
nature.
A service
business is one in which the perceived value of the offering to the buyer is
determined largely by the services provided to him than the products offered.
This includes the business of all intangible services delivered to the
customer.
Unlike physical products, services are intangible; they
cannot be seen, touched, or smelt. Also, the consumer cannot sample a service
in advance. Accordingly, it becomes difficult for the consumer to judge a
service before it is bought; he cannot know its exact outcome in advance.
In other words, you cannot hold or touch a service unlike a
product. In saying that although services are intangible the experience
consumers obtain from the service has an impact on how they will perceive it.
What do consumers perceive from customer service, the location, and the inner
presentation of where they are purchasing the service?
Inseparability is the next unique feature of services.
Services cannot be separated from the service providers. A product when
produced can be taken away from the producer. However a service is produced at
or near the point of purchase.
Visiting a restaurant, you order your meal, the waiting and
delivery of the meal, the service provided by the waiter/rest is all a part of
the service production process and is inseparable, the staffs in a restaurant
are as a part of the process as well as the quality of food provided.
Services are also marked by variability or heterogeneity.
This is so because of three reasons- First, inseparability of the service from
the provider leads to some variability. Second, services are highly people
sensitive. Third, in services, the effect varies depending on when and where
the service is provided.
Tangibility
Since services are tangible,
customers derive their perception of service quality by comparing the tangible
associated with these services provided. It is the appearance of the physical
facilities, equipment, personnel and communication materials. In this survey,
on the questionnaire designed, the customers respond to the questions about the
physical layout and the facilities that FFR offers to its customers.
Example:
When a patient in the waiting room
of a clinic sees the doctor’s certificate, he becomes aware of the quality of
service he is about to receive.
If a dental clinic provides
patients with clean rubber footwear and freshly laundered bibs or coats before
the actual service, the patients and their accompanying relatives or friends
will be impressed. A dentist dressed in a spotless white coat is likely-to
impress, them even further. Tangibles provide the customer proof of the quality
of service.
It is the ability to perform the
promised service dependably and accurately. Reliability means that the company
delivers on its promises-promises about delivery,sevice provision, problem
resolutions and pricing. Customers want to do business with companies that keep
their promises, particularly their promises about the service outcomes and core
service attributes. All companies need to be aware of customer expectation of
reliability. Firms that do not provide the core service that customers think
they are buying fail their customers in the most direct way.
Example:
This dimension is shown to have the
highest influence on the customer perception of quality. It is the ability to
perform the promised service dependably and accurately. Sahara Airlines, an
upcoming domestic air carrier within India, has been striving to protect itself
as a reliable airline. It hopes to differentiate itself from other airlines
Indian Airlines. To protect this reliability, Sahara Airways has a scheme of
full refund plus a coupon of Rs.3,000 to every passenger on delay of flights by
more than 59 minutes.
When service delivery fails the
first time, a service provider may get a second chance to provide the same
service in the phase called ‘Recovery’. The expectations of the customer are
usually higher during the recovery phase than before because of the initial
failure. Thus, the service provider is likely to come under greater scrutiny,
thereby increasing the possibility of customer dissatisfaction. The reliability
dimension, which ensures timely delivery time after time, helps the service provider
to meet the customer expectations fully at the lowest level of service
expectation.
It is the willingness to help
customers and provide prompt service. This dimension emphasizes attentiveness
and promptness in dealing with customer’s requests, questions, complaints and
problems. Responsiveness is communicated to customers by length of time they
have to wait for assistance, answers to questions or attention to problems.
Responsiveness also captures the notion of flexibility and ability to customize
the service to customer needs.
Example –
A customer calls room service to
find out if they would pack a Jain lunch. It is not the hotel’s normal policy
to cook such specialty and customised meals. However, the customer being very
religious minded would be very pleased if the hotel could pack it for him to
carry and eat. This may impose some strain on the kitchen. However, the hotel
may be rewarded in two different ways if it agreed to provide the meal. The
customer would be very pleased with the service and is very likely to recommend
the hotel to his friends and acquaintances.
In addition, the hotel could charge
extra commensurate with the extra efforts. He is unlikely to mind paying more.
The second aspect of responsiveness is speedy response to a customer request.
When response is delayed customers usually loses interest. Many sales
representatives respond on the phone, ‘I will call you back’. The call is never
returned. The customer draws his or her own conclusion about the quality of
service he is likely to receive in the future.
It means to inspire trust and
confidence. Assurance is defined as employees’ knowledge of courtesy and the
ability of the firm and its employees to inspire trust and confidence. This
dimension is likely to be particularly important for the services that the
customers perceives as involving high rising and/or about which they feel
uncertain about the ability to evaluate. Trust and confidence may be embodied
in the person who links the customer to the company, for example, the marketing
department. Thus, employees are aware of the importance to create trust and
confidence from the customers to gain competitive advantage and for customers’
loyalty.
Example-
Medical services requiring complex
uncommon procedures, sales/purchase of financial securities, investment issues,
legal affairs, etc., demand this service quality dimension. There are property
developers/builders who provide a list of previous buyers of flats or
apartments to potential buyers.
The evaluation of construction
services is beyond technical capabilities of most buyers. However, the
prospective customers are free to call the previous customers. When prospective
customers hear from them about the company and its satisfactory delivery, they
feel assured and develop a more positive attitude towards the company
Empathy
It means to provide caring
individualized attention the firm provide its customers. In some countries, it
is essential to provide individual attention to show to the customer that the
company does best to satisfy his needs. Empathy is an additional plus that the
trust and confidence of the customers and at the same time increase the
loyalty. In this competitive world, the customer’s requirements are rising day
after day and it is the companies’ duties to their maximum to meet the demands
of customers, else customers who do not receive individual attention will search elsewhere.
Example,
a lady customer with a young
child arrives slightly late at the check-in counter and requests the agent for
a seat along the aisle and near the toilet.
Even if all such seats have already
been taken up, the agent and the airline may make even effort to request
another passenger to exchange seats and meet the customer demand. The lady
passenger would be delighted if her request could be honoured despite the last
minute checking in, and even if she does not get such a seat, she would be
grateful for their effort.
Services are perishable as well. They cannot be stored. This
is so because of the fact that services are produced and consumed
simultaneously. There is no inventory in case of a service. Services last a
specific time and cannot be stored like a product for later use. If traveling
by train, coach or air the service will only last the duration of the journey.
The service is developed and used almost simultaneously. Again because of this
time constraint consumers demand more.
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