Model of Service Quality - Customer Satisfaction

Gap 1 

Occurs due to management's lack of a clear understanding about how customers determine their expectations on the basis of input sources such as advertising, past experience of the service and its competitors, personal needs and word of mouth information from friends, work associates and family.

Gap 2 

Management may accept constraints such as peak demand fluctuations and staffing inflexibility which affect service quality standards and in turn affects the ability of the service system deliver to customer expectations. 

Gap 3 

Even if service standards or guidelines are stated clearly and understood by staff, this is not a guarantee of services well delivered and customers treated correctly. Employees performance cannot be standardised. 

Gap 4 

Advertising and other communications can affect customer expectations. If expectations are sensitised then the outcome of the comparison with perceptions may be more acute. Firms must be cautious not to promise too much if it cannot be delivered. 

Gap 5 

Depends on the extent of the other four gaps which are associated with the delivery of the service