服务质量提升外文文档Servicequalityimprovement

1、Service quality improvementBo EdvardssonThe authorBo Edvardsson is Associate Professor and Director of the Service Research Centre, University of Karlstad, Sweden.AbstractThe topic for this article is quality improvement in service operations. Quality improvement is used as a collective expression f

2、or quality assurance, quality management and quality control. Service operations refer to private as well as to public service operations and to services in manufacturing companies. Although services play a predominant role as regards GDP and employment in the OECD countries, we still know very litt

3、le about quality management in service operations. Concepts and models in organization theories, marketing and other fields are, to a great extent, based on studies of and experience from manufacturing companies. Quality is no exception, even though it has received some attention during the past 15

4、years, especially from researchers in Scandinavia.IntroductionDuring the past ten years I have devoted my time primarily to the field of quality in services, mainly as a researcher but also as a consultant. In order to understand how to manageand improve quality in service companies, we must first u

5、nderstand the partly unique characteristics and production logic of services. Therefore, I will begin by discussing the quality concept and the logic of service production, then go on to consider the quality concept in a service context and end with 13 propositions on quality improvement. I will als

6、o mention some trends in service quality. This study is based on recent research on and experiences from leading service companies. One important source is my researchreport “ Servicedevelopment with built- in quality ” (1996, in Swedish).Service -a customer resultThe International Standardization O

7、rganization (ISO) defines a service as a part of the total production concept. A product is the result of a production process. To produce means to create added value, that is to say-the created value is larger than the sum of resources expended during the production process. This added valued is co

8、ntinuously assessed in a market economy, and customer choices play a key role.Services are often“ invisible d”iffiacnuldt ftohrutshe supplier to explain and forthe customer to assess. This places special demands on marketing to prevent wrong, often excessive expectations of the market. The expectati

9、ons which are created by marketing affect the customer' s percepthtieonouotfcome.I believe that the concept of service should be approached from a customer perspective.It is the customer' s total perceptioonuotcf othmee which is“ the serviceIt forms the perception of quality and determines w

10、hether he is satisfied or not. Customers have different values and different grounds for assessment;they may perceive one and the same service in different ways, but what they do not perceive does not exist -is not a customer outcome.Service -a customer processA service is generated by a process. Th

11、e customer outcome is created in this process.Processes which generate servicesare different from those in which goods are manufactured. In the latter case the manufacturing process takes place at one time and in one place, the customer is not present, nor does he participate in the process. In the

12、case of services, however, the customer does take part in the process as co producer. The customer is present and affects the result in terms of added value and quality. The role, participation and responsibility of the customer in service production must therefore be made clear. This is an importan

13、t task in service development, as is the construction of customer-friendly, pedagogical customer processes.Viewing the customer as co-producer of services has far-reaching implications for organizing operations, marketing and monitoring quality. The behavior of the customer, what is logical and reas

14、onablefrom the customer 'pserspective, must be taken into account as the various processes are built up. How should we deal with the fact that customers have ideas, suggestions, feelings etc. which make it necessary to assume that different customers will behave differently and that one and the

15、same customer may behave very differently on different occasions? How can we create the best prerequisites for a good customer outcome when we cannot control the whole process in which the service is produced?Service the prerequisites for the serviceIn the two previous sections I have highlighted tw

16、o sides of the concept of service based on the customer perspective: the customer outcome and the customer process. The customer as the recipient and judge of the service in terms of added value and quality -the customer outcome, and the customer as co-producer of the service in his partially unique

17、 manner -the customer process. In quality terms we may speak of outcome quality and process quality. In this section I highlight a third aspect of the service concept. The customer 's total perception of a certasienrvice is thus based on his perception of the outcome and the process. The custome

18、r outcome and the customer process are, in their turn, dependent on the prerequisites in the form of resourceswhich have been built up to provide the service or, in other words, to make the service possible (see Figure 1).It is important to remember that service companies do not provide services but

19、 rather the prerequisites for various services. A company does not sell services but opportunities for services, which are generated in partially unique customer processes with partly different customer outcomes. A logical consequence of this reasoning is that the most central goal of service develo

20、pment is to provide the best and right prerequisites for well-functioning customer processes and attractive customer outcomes. By prerequisites for the service I mean, for instance, the technical resources, the administrative routines and procedures which customers must understand and use. By attrac

21、tive customer outcomes I mean that, in the eyes of the customer, the service is associated with added value and quality. Naturally, all this has to be achieved with some profitability for the company and to the reasonable satisfaction of the employees.If we assume that customers are co producers, th

22、is means that they are either an asset or a“disruptive factor” rienstohuercsest opfroviding the prerequisites for theservice. It also means that some of the prerequisites exist outside the service company, with the customer or supplier/partner and therefore generally cannot be influenced or controll

23、ed. A“good” service is characbteyritzhedfact that the prerequisites withinthe service company interact with the those of the partners and the customers. A strategic questionis how the customer 's resourvcaerisoiuns aspects should and could be utilized. An important and strategic task is to answe

24、r this question. The company provides the prerequisites for the service. The precondition for good services is provided by the prerequisites in the service company, at its partner/supplier and with the customer. Creating the right prerequisites for a good customer process and a good customer outcome

25、 is the main task of service development.Service qualityA common definition of service quality is that the service should correspond to the customers ' expectations atnisdfystaheir needs and requirements. The definition iscustomer-oriented, but should not be interpreted as meaning that the servi

26、ce provider should always comply with the customer and his wishes. That it is the customer who decides what is good or bad quality does not mean that the customer is always right or that the customer can always fully articulate or verbalize his needs and wishes. In order to also detect and understan

27、d non-verbalized customer needs, a sense of insight, a functional dialog with the customer and an understanding of his situation are required.It is often appropriate to distinguish three groups of people whose expectations, needs and demands should be taken into account; apart from customers, these

28、are employees and owners. We do not want to play down the importance of customers percepti on of quality on the con trary but to be able to offer customers the right quality; the other two groups must also be satisfied. My definition of quality is that it satisfies needs and meets expectations; thos

29、e of the customers, employees and owners. It is essential to fully understand the various needs and expectations of these groups, how they are formed and how they change. When developing services, it is crucial to build in the right quality by balancing these partly contradictory demands on the serv

30、ice.Satisfied customers spread the good news quickly, something which is satisfying for the employees and most likely also for the owners. Quality improvement can be regarded as a game where all participants are winners. This should be the point of departure for all quality development.Quality for w

31、hom and of what?Two central questions are: quality for whom the subjects? and quality of what the objects? My answer is: quality for customers, employees and owners and quality in the service concept, the service process and the service system. This can be illustrated in the form a quality matrix as

32、 shown in Figure 2.Quality concept and quality factorsA language is built on concepts that have meaning and content which can be interpreted differently by different actors. It is of the utmost importance to develop and adapt a quality language that can be understood within the company. Of course, t

33、his does not require a new language, but it is important to make sure that there is a common interpretation and understanding of the concepts.Below are some general quality concepts. Gr?nroos (1983) describes service quality as both technical and functional, the first meaning what the customer gets

34、and the latter how the customer receives the service. When a customer assessesservice quality, the company pr'ofilse or image acts a “ filter If ”a .company has a positive image, it is easier to overlook smaller mistakes in its service delivery; to regard them as temporary disturbances.Townsend

35、and Gebhart (1986) speak of “ quality in fact ”and “ quality in perception ”Qu. ality in fact means that established specifications have been met. Quality in perception, on the other hand, means that the customer feels that he has received the quality he expected. Consequently, it does not suffice t

36、oattain quality in fact, if quality in perception is not achieved.On the basis of research carried out in manufacturing companies, Gummesson (1988a,b, 1991) has suggested the terms “ construction quality ”, that is to say quality built into the construction of a service,“ production quality”, denoti

37、ng how the sis produced, “ deliveryquality ”me, aning the way in which the service is delivered, and finally, “ relationsquality ”de,scribing the quality in the interaction with the customer.Gummesson stresses that relations quality not only describes relations between customer and service producer.

38、 Each company exists in a network where relations to other actors such as suppliers, competitors, authorities etc. also are important. Nor should relations quality be underestimated internally. Good relations qualities can decrease the negative effects of shortcomings in the other three categories.R

39、elations quality is related to the process, i.e. it has to do with how the service is produced and delivered, but I would like to stress that it can also be affected by the results, meaning what the customer gets. A much worse result than expected can dramatically change relations. A customer thus d

40、issatisfied can break all contacts with the company regardless of how good the construction, production and delivery qualities are. A company 's relations must be constantly nourished and strengthened.Good relati ons are built on trust betwee n two or more parties-a trust which can take a long t

41、ime to build but which can be quickly destroyed. Good customer relations can be established and improved through customer care and complaint handling.Quality factorsQuality development requires a well defined quality concept, for instance in the form of quality factors. I have chosen to use “quality

42、factors a”s a summarizing concept for what some researchers call determinants, such as quality criteria, quality dimensions or quality categories. A number of studies have mapped out the most significant factors which enable customers to form an opinion of service quality.Trust/dependability is a qu

43、ality factor which a number of studies indicate to be the most important (Lewis and Entwistle, 1990; Thomasson, 1993; Zeithaml et al., 1990). Simplicity/availability is another factor stressed in service literature (Thomasson 1993). Recovery, i.e. the company's ability to handle critical situati

44、ons isyet another important factor (Albrecht and Zemke 1985; Gr?nroos, 1990). A fourth category consists of factors dealing with the employees 'actions/ roles in service production. Customer treatment is an example of this category.The customer 'psicture of the service company' semployee

45、s, their experience, knowledge and competence combined with their commitment and willingness to serve, affects customer-perceived quality. It is a matter of both ability and willingness to serve -the latter not least important.Dependability and trust are central components of the quality concept fro

46、m the perspective of the customer. He wants to rest assured that the service will be delivered as agreed, that what he gets conforms with what has been promised and meets with his expectations. The employees must inspire confidence and give him a feeling of credibility and trustworthiness. All in al

47、l, he must feel that the supplying company has the capacity and competence to deliver the service requested.Empathy is another factor which has to do with genuine interest in the customer. It entails personal attentiveness,an ability “toenter ”into and identify with another person 's situation.

48、Such an ability is an important quality factor for most customers.Yet another factor is the handling of critical incidents and customer complaints. By this I mean the ability to see that a customer is disappointed with the service and that one can master the situation and set things right. It is whe

49、n the customer does not get what he expects that he becomes aware of what he actually gets. In such divergent situations the service provider has a golden opportunity to communicate and demonstrate his capacity. The professional handling of critical incidents and customer complaints has been shown t

50、o strengthen customer relations and lead to the customer 'imsproved opinion of the quality. On the other hand, nonprofessional actions can lead to strong dissatisfaction or to a broken relation. Furthermore, they may lead to the spreading of negative rumors on the market, the effect of which can

51、 be very costly. (The handling of critical incidents and customer complaints will be discussed further below.)Quality researchBerry, Parasuramanand Zeithaml are among the best-known researcherson service quality. They have studied customer-perceived quality in four service categories: banks, stockbr

52、okers, credit card companies, and companies selling household machinery. In this study, service quality was described by means of ten factors: dependability, willingness, competence, availability, courtesy, communication, thrustworthiness, assurance, empathy and tangibility. In a later study, the au

53、thors reduced the ten factors to five claiming that these are valid in general terms (Parasuraman et al., 1985):?Tangibility;?Dependability;?Willingness, readiness;?Assurance;?Empathy, insight.Tangibility refers to the physical environment in the service organization; premises, equipment, personnel

54、and dress code, i.e. what it is easy for the customer to observe. Dependability is the company' sability to fulfill its commitments. Price agreements and other conditions are to be fulfilled, time limits kept and the service is to be carried out correctly from the beginning. Willingness and read

55、iness mean carrying out the service punctually and quickly, being there for the customer and being available when he needs assistance. Assurance refers to the employees ' knowledge and competence and their ability to inspire reliance and trust.Service quality is often highly dependent on the cus

56、tomer 'csontacts and relations with the employees. His trust is often more related to a specific person than to the company (Thomasson, 1993). Trust between the actors is a prerequisite for good relations. Trust in a company and its personnel is also tied to their ability to solve problems and h

57、andle critical incidents.Personal attention has proved to be a central quality factor, and in his studies on quality evaluation Hornik (1992) found that purchasing behavior was positively affected by a light touch. In one of the studies of restaurant services, touch turned out to have a positive inf

58、luence on the diner's quality assessment as well as on the size ofthe tip he gave for the waiters. The biggest effect of touch was achieved in the meeting between male waiter and female restaurant guest.The cost or price factor will act as a cue or substitute for the quality of products and shou

59、ld therefore also be taken into consideration in connection with analyses of factors which form quality expectations and evaluations. In focus-group interviews at Florida Power and Light the customers pointed out that cost is a quality factor. Sweeney et al. (1992) explored what cues customers use when choosing a restaurantand found that price was a major factor which affected their expectations of quality and the choice of restaurant.Quality mapsGeneral quality factors constitute an important but insufficient foundation in service