Overview

At present the corporate spotlight is well and truly fixed on social responsibility, transparent accounting and board governance with the emphasis upon fair treatment for shareholders and employees alike. And upon first glance it would appear that the customer has got lost somewhere along the way - that service quality is no longer a necessity and excellence a thing of the past. However this is far from the case. Just one look at the number of initiatives that are springing up from organization to organization and you will see that customer service is still an issue at the heart of modern management. Yet this is not to go down the route of CRM software and relationship management - service excellence is more about offering a quality experience to the customer as opposed to data manipulation or targeted marketing programs. It may not be as topical as CSR or ethical accounting, but when it comes to naming the core ingredients for a successful business, service quality is high up on the list. And it is impossible to talk of service quality without mentioning SERVQUAL. This instrument has become so popular that in quality circles it is taken for granted and therefore is in danger of becoming one of those meaningless acronyms that is spoken by many yet understood by few. SERVQUAL was designed by a market research team and consists of five dimensions that were identified by customers (through a number of qualitative studies) to be the most important for quality. They are: 1. Tangibles2. Reliability3. Responsiveness4. Assurance5. Empathy So that's the theory. But perhaps this quote by an employee at a UK restaurant of the chain TGI Friday sums up the real meaning of service quality: I like the relationship with customers. I like to feel that I have given them a good time whilst they are in the restaurant. Last week I had a party in from one of the theatres, I didn't rush them, I took time and had a good laugh with them. After the meal one customer asked me for a cigar. We don't sell cigars, so I went next door to the tobacconist and bought one for him. He was really grateful. As they say in the US, go figure! So how do you get from theory to practice? Our Briefing will help you brush up on the ins and outs of service quality: Learn about the Start service excellence plan in the Netherlands; See how service quality operates on a global level; Discover how service quality leads to customer loyalty; Gain an insight into measuring service quality through neural networks; Take a look at the consumer's reaction to delays in service; Learn how Singapore Airlines sustains its service excellence.

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9781280706509

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