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When the customer expectation has difference with the management perception like manager get inaccurately information from market research and demand analyses; manager fails to interpreted information accurately; doing non-existent demand analysis ; getting bad or non-existent upward information from the firm’s interface with its customers to management.
Also the size Of the gaps effects the service quality as the extent of upward communication; the number of layers of management; the size of the organization; and the most importantly , the extent of marketing research to identify customer expectations. The Design Gap This gap occurs when the service quality design specification not match up to the management’s perceptions of the quality expectation of customer. The top management may lack of concern about the service quality, so the problems may hide from the start with poor or bad management of planning; insufficient support for service planning.
Meanwhile, the planning process contains problems also: the planning mistake or insufficient planning procedure, lack of clear goal-setting for the organization. Performance Gap The gaps explains that the variation in the service design specifications and the performance in service production and delivery process. Three categories of reasons be summarized: management and supervision, employee perception of specification and rules or customer needs and wishes, and lack of technological/ operational support.
Its extent is a function of variables in specifications are too complicated or too rigid; employees not agreeing with the specifications and therefore not fulfilling them; bad management of service operations; lacking or insufficient internal marketing; technology and systems not facilitating performance according to specifications. Communication Gap It is the difference between what is promised to customers, either explicitly or implicitly, and what is being delivered.
Two main categories reason will response for the gap, the planning and executing of external marketing communication and operations and a company’s propensity to promises in all advertising and marketing communication. The Perceived Service Quality Gap This gap means that the perceived or experienced service is not consistent with the expected service. Furthermore, it is the total accumulation Of in Gaps 1 through 4 and represents the difference between expectations and perceived service.
Various reason cause from quality problem; bad word of mouth; a negative impact on corporate or local image; or lost business. Model analysis for 7-Eleven( I think I write more than 500 already D) 7-eleven is the most successful franchise convenient store in the world, the gaps model could be use to study how well it manage the service experience. The 7- eleven try to reduce the gaps between the customer expectation and the market management perceived. Compare to the Supermarket is far to approach and inefficiency to the urban dweller.
The neighborhood 7-eleven is your apartment’s refrigerator, it surprised the reviewer of the book “the success of 7-Eleven Japan”,Charley T. Tackle in his personally experience in Japan. His family about 10 days away from locating to Denmark, his daughter came down with measles; they all survived thanks to the convenience store, 7-Eleven. Everything , meals and drink, cooling pad for the fevered child , packing boxes ,last minute socks and other clothes, duct tape, gauze, and of course ,beer for dad.
Expect product , they provide convenience service ,for example in Taiwan ,the store provide service like photo development, pay bills ,digital image printing, direct marketing shopping service; Retail service like telephone cards, MR. or bus fare cards, Stamps ,envelop and post cards; there service like pre ordered purchases, DHAL free calls for ringing up radio taxi ,cell phone and wireless internet services. If one 7-Eleven does not have what u want , on the other one down street will, or other third one, right across the street from the second one.
The 7-eleven owner felt the gap between the customer and the supermarket and turns the gap to be the opportunity, customer would pay higher price for the certain products base on the convenience. Their success came because they adapt to the existing industry system and identifying and filling gaps they saw. 7-Eleven also facing he Quality Specification are not consistent with management perceptions of quality expectation. The top manager try to make the plan by sufficient port and avoiding any too-rigid goal-setting .
This is a careful thorough management policy example of Hong Kong are as follow:l) Complete ranges of goods, the goods customers need are readied so that the customers can search convenience and the search time will be reduced. 2) Guarantee of quality and fresh: The staff put fresh goods always and checks the goods’ expiry date regularly every day to avoid expired food entering into the market ND rights and interests of the consumers are harmed. 3) Hospitality: it provides good customer service; it’s believed the customer is god; they should provide service with smile and respect their demands then satisfy them. ) Clean sanitation: the shops are kept clean and sanitary, because the stores’ environment has an effect on the shopping and make for happy customers. Although the quality specification is well specified, but the poor performance in the service production ,and delivery process will magnify the service delivery gap. 7-Eleven will make sure all the franchise keep the performance ell, so the team will support the franchisees get on their feet and provide the standardize service .
For instance,6 weeks of training at local training centers that are scattered in various areas of the country; Continued support for franchisees via a toll-free phone line, newsletters, and meetings; Field operations and evaluations; in -?house marketing team that works for the store owner. An interesting note, 7-Eleven franchisees must be owners as there is no absentee ownership allowed. It means while the franchise may put adequate support and time into training a new franchise owner, they make ere that the owner maintains that stance in performing day to day operations of the business.
Besides, much of the IT innovation appears precisely to enable development of unskilled part-time employees, working at all hours of the day or night, practically on hire. They believe great training is the foundation for exceptional performance. The training program provides system training programs for different position employees. 7-eleven never disappoint the customer for what they have promised. They also try to attract the customer by offer coupons, or cash cards. About the communication gaps, 7-Eleven promise of great products and quality service mean nothing without the people who stand behind it.
Today, 7-Eleven is a global icon, driving the brand forward through its dedicated franchise system. 7-Eleven franchisees are the voice of the brand, protecting a legacy and conveying its vision every day to millions of consumers worldwide. The recommendation( help C]) The book the success of 7-eleven mention about that the power should not be distributed but to be concentrated. Ideally, goals and specifications should be agreed upon by the service revisers as well as by the planners and management.
The organization should avoid too-rigid specification will damage flexibility and decrease the willingness of employees to take flexible actions involving risks. Moreover, for the performance gap, the rapid development of the technology made customer harder and harder to satisfy with. So the organization should always keep doing proper changes to technology and improve employ training and internal marketing . Such as, adopt a self-service checkout – such as British supermarkets. More checkouts results in quicker queuing times which effectively makes convenience stores such as 7/11 become ever more efficient and convenient.
In addition, for the communication gap, Perishable food could be labeled as discounted and could be clearer so it can be sold before the sell-by-date. The stock control of fast moving goods not only improves stock replenishment but also offers discounted food to customers. The differences between the five dimensions and the gaps model and conclusion (help pull) in the first assignment analyze the 7-Eleven by using the Chatham, Paranormal and Berry found five dimensions customers use hen evaluating service quality.
They named their survey instrument SURVIVAL. Compare to this, the gaps model was developed by Berry and Chatham in 1985 and more recently described in Zither and Bitter in 2003. The model are comes from the aspect of self-examination the existing problem , intended to be used for analyzing sources of quality problems and for helping managers understand how service quality can be improved. It offers an integrated view of the consumer-company relationship. It is based on substantial research amongst a number of service providers.
The position f 7-eleven today, it already being the most popular convenience franchise store, and have developed a whole considerate product service system, the gaps model will be more helpful to 7-eleven service quality improvement, and they can be more concentrated on finding the deficiency of product and service they already be provided, to evaluate whether their service perception are right? The Gaps model goes further in its analysis of these key contributory factors. It not only provides a more rigorous description of the contributory Gaps, it lists key drivers for each gap and generic breakdown of each of these drivers.