Service Management and Marketing: Managing the Service Profit Logic, 4th Edition

CHAPTER 5QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN SERVICE

“It is important for a firm to manage service quality well, but it is critical for it to manage service failures even better.”

INTRODUCTION

After discussing the nature of service and relationship quality in Chapter 4, We now turn to various models for the management of quality in service contexts. In this chapter the gap analysis framework and other holistic models for service quality management are discussed. The tolerance zone concept and the shape of the quality function are also described. Then quality management is considered at some length, in situations where a service failure or another problem has occurred. Service recovery, as opposed to traditional complaints handling, as well as elements of a service recovery process, are discussed. In addition, the timing of service recovery and various timing strategies are put forward. After having read the chapter the reader should understand how quality can be managed in service; for example, by using the gap analysis approach and following a quality development structure, and he should know how service recovery should be taken care of in situations where a service failure has occurred.

WHY MANAGERS HESITATE TO INVEST IN SERVICES AND SERVICE QUALITY

Managers often believe that developing and offering services with 100% quality is impossible. Consequently, the organization accepts that mistakes happen, and failures are allowed. Psychologically, the battle for excellent performance is over before ...