Managing Service Quality by Combining Voice of the Service Provider & Voice of Their Customers

• Main Authors: Chow-Chua, Clare, KOMARAN, Rajah Vellan
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2002
• Subjects: Business
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/46
• Institution: Singapore Management University

This article presents a simple methodology for managing service quality that takes into joint consideration of what customers expect to receive and what the service provider can offer. A four-step procedure explains the derivation of the customer-service provider matrix (CSM). Customer feedback and data on an international coffee outlet are employed to demonstrate the application of the CSM as a visual tool. Two versions of the CSM matrix are developed; one with raw data and another with an illustrative weighting procedure. Service providers can prioritize and reallocate resources to increase the levels of the attributes of services quality that would be valued by customers. The CSM can be used by management to improve scores in the desirable zone and perhaps to de-emphasize scores in the non-critical zone.