SERVICE QUALITY PROCESS

Service quality concept

As the world continues to register milestones in the field of technology, service quality has continued to transform into becoming one of the most integral parts of success for organizations. Customer expectations have grown while service customization continues to be embraced by producers and manufacturers so as to keep pace with the ever changing market trends and tastes. Service quality concept is continuously evolving to imply service output uniformity on the basis of an ideal value that has been determined by the consumer himself. In varying the dimensions of a service output, however, the allowable limits should not be exceeded. Instead, variations should be identified well in good time to allow for problem correction (Mukherjee, Nath & Pal, 2003, p.723).

As market competition intensifies with service providers seeking to expand their clientele base, quality of service will remain the basis upon which companies can gain an edge over their competitors. To a service provider, quality is a very strong statement of assurance expressing allegiance to the customer as well as a strong defense against external competition. It is the surest path to sustainable growth and earnings. There is a strong relationship between service quality, the market share garnered, and the returns on investment acquired (Baron, Harris & Elliot, 2005, p.49).

How service quality was developed

The need to pursue quality production in service was mainly informed by the sophistication of customers in succinctly determining what they require. Owing to the advancements made in the field of information technology, consumers became more informed and selected those qualities in service which suited their needs and requirements effectively. Thus, there was need by producers to embrace technology as well in order that they could achieve customization so as to match the needs and expectations of customers. As focus shifted towards quality, competition increased amongst providers and a lot of effort was made to ensure individual service providers offered the best in the market (Cohen & Whang, 1997, p.535).

Several theorists have been instrumental in shaping up what has come to be known as the present day service quality process. Their contributions in particular have formed the constructs of the service quality process. Among the major players include Deming and his 14 point proposal which he termed as the philosophy of quality. Deming insists on the importance of maintaining constancy in purpose so that the focus of the service provider does not get affected to an extent of lowering quality. He also suggests that service providers should adopt his philosophy on quality to enhance their competitive advantage. The philosophy further discourages the overdependence on mass inspection as quality is more specific on individual than being applied generally across the board. It discourages the practice of using price alone as the basis of awarding business as well as constantly improving service production systems to move hand in hand with the ever changing market and customer trends. Training should also be instituted to give workers proper skills while leadership is necessary for to provide the direction needed so as to sustain the competitive advantage (Goerzen & Makino, 2007, p.1149).

Deming goes ahead to advice on the need of service producers eliminating fear in their operations and instead work at breaking any existing barriers that could be hampering productivity among workers. Slogans, targets and exhortations are some of the things he singles out as hampering quality in service and he further advices that work quotas should be done away with. Pride of workmanship should be encouraged at all costs as it supports innovations while a vigorous program that assists in the improvement of individual skill and education should be instituted as a means of sustaining competitive advantage. Finally, Deming points out on the need to develop an all-inclusive system that will involve every individual worker and other stakeholders on the transformation process (Cohen & Lee, 1988, p.216).

Another theorist, Juran, proposed his own philosophy on quality which identified three fundamental quality processes. He defined the processes as planning, improvement, as well as control. One other important aspect of Juran’s philosophy is in the way he described what quality in itself means; he pointed out that it implies “fitness for use” where customer desired product and service features are included in production or manufacturing processes. It is important that these services and products are carefully produced so as to rid them of deficiencies which might compromise on general quality. Juran emphasized on the need to have a continuous effort that is geared towards quality improvement but that this procedure should be systematic in following a specific cycle. It should begin with a thorough research whose findings should then be built upon to develop and design the most appropriate service mix. Specifications should be incorporated to reflect on client desires and wishes while planning and process control should provide the much needed coordination to optimize on quality. This is a continuous process which should be undertaken over and over again as the more the procedure is done the more quality is improved (Manz & Sterwart, 1997, p.59).

A third theorist who produced work on quality and production was Crosby. His philosophy defines quality as “conformance to requirements, not as goodness.” According to Crosby, quality standards can only be achieved and sustained if an elaborate system of prevention is put in place rather than relying on appraisals for better results. His DIRFT theory emphasizes on the need and importance of “doing it right in the first time or instance”. At this initial stage, the performance standard is measured at zero defects while specifications to be met need to measure 100 percent of the time. Additionally, Crosby believes that although systems and action plans are important in achieving quality standards, it is more prudent that a corporate culture is built on the basis of quality. This has the advantage of constantly reminding every member in the organization to consider quality as an important inclusion in their activities (Winn, & Cameron, 1998, p.491).

The 8 Quality Dimension is yet another theory on quality that was postulated by Garvin. He lists the performance of product or service in the market as one of the main indicators as to whether the service or product has incorporated the right quality desired by customers. Additional features onto a service further enhance its quality as is the improvement of its reliability. Services should conform to the expectations, wishes, and desires of customers and should also be durable enough to cover a considerable length of time. It should also be possible to service them so that when consumers of a service have already bought it and later on discover that it is defective, they should be able to seek for additional service from the producer as a cover on the failure. Customers should receive the quality they perceive in a service after they procure the actual service. In other words, the producer’s promise to the customers should turn out to be true the moment they decide to try out the service. One last and important dimension of quality that Garvin points out is its adherence to aesthetics. Service producers should remember to appreciate and manage their environment so as to enhance and sustain beauty (Perles, 2002, p.59).

Quality function deployment

Quality function deployment explains the practicality of integrating quality theories in real-life situations. This is particularly achieved by giving the customer ample room and chance to voice his concerns and sentiments and then incorporating the same in the final service mix. This is important as it helps the service producer to determine exactly what the customer wishes and expectations are, as well as discover the most important service attributes. The process precedes the introduction of new services into the market as a way of ensuring that the design so produced meets the necessary quality standards. As a result, the companies are able to determine well in advance what is expected of them and consequently prioritize their customer needs so as to be able to effectively respond to them (Marcellus & Dada, 1991, p.1365).

Success and failure of service quality

Service quality is particularly an important and effective diagnostic tool that can be used to uncover areas where a company is experiencing shortfalls and where it is strong enough. This will go along way in enabling the company to optimize on its performance and make as much profits as possible. It can also build its competitive advantage basing on its strong areas. Service quality is also effective in measuring the important dimensions of quality which are reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles. This scale is in turn very important as its suitability helps in measuring the overall quality of a service, as well as in transcending specific functions (Reitsperger & Daniel, 1990, p.289).

Service quality, however, remains challenging particularly when it comes to identifying the qualities that are appropriate for a given service. Because services are intangible as compared to products, it is very difficult to describe the most appropriate quality required. The variability nature of a service further makes it challenging to come up with a set of qualities that can be considered most appropriate across board. Service quality is largely unsuccessful especially in instances where the target consumers have little information over the same. This implies that they will hardly have the necessary skill to evaluate the quality of service. Consumer’s limitations in analyzing the quality of service are also due to reliance to credence quality which in essence relies solely on the service provider’s overall credibility. In contrast, determining product quality is easier as it bases more on experience quality as well as on search quality (Kamakura et al. 2002, p.294).

Personal evaluation

Service quality is an important aspect of management which should be integrated within virtually all service production systems. As technology advances, the quality of life of service consumers also improves. As such, companies will be at a more advantaged position if they embraced quality service processes and production rather than if they focus more attention on other factors of production like price. Apart from the fact that service quality will most definitely improve on company profits, it will improve on employee satisfaction as workers will easily the resultant benefits of their energy and input. As customer satisfaction increases due to the high reliability levels, the costs of operations incurred by the company will remain very low thus giving the company an edge to compete effectively with other producers in the market. To the customers, their continued consumption of the service will provide them with a lifetime value as many of them will retain their loyalty to the company. The company will further gain from its huge pool of satisfied customers as they are likely to act as referrals in the market. They will tell their personal experience with the service to other members of the society whom they mingle with a lot, such as their immediate family members, friends, and colleagues at their various places of work. The referrals will most likely try out the company’s service and most likely a majority of them will as well grow to become loyal customers (Whitt, 1999, p.1579)

Conclusion

Consideration of quality has grown to become the most integral strategy in the service industry. Competition in industry markets is no longer based on such parameters as price and quantity of production. Instead, focus and attention has shifted to the area of quality as customers