Service quality module

Service Quality in Tourism

The complexity and globalization of todays competitive business environments

have made quality as one of the most important sources of competitive advantage
for the Tourism business enterprise/destination. Many leading quality organizations
have started to exploit opportunities to face this situation and recognized the
importance to have systematic processes to manage quality to gain and maintain
this competitive position. Each business management is aware of the fierce
competition in every sector and customer expectations have never been greater. It
is no longer sufficient just to maintain a business; it is necessary to move forward
if a business wants to achieve a sustainable future. So quality is of upmost
importance in any sector and everywhere.

Here is an overview of service quality in the tourism industry

Service quality is needed for creating customer satisfaction and service
quality is connected to customer perceptions and customer expectations.

Oliver (1997) argues that service quality can be described as the result from
customer comparisons between their expectations about the service they will
use and their perceptions about the service company.

 That means that if the perceptions would be higher than the expectations the
service will be considered excellent, if the expectations equal the perceptions
the service is considered good and if the expectations are not met the service
will be considered bad.
Oliver (1997) argues that customer satisfaction can be described as a
judgement that a product or service feature, or the product or service itself,
provides pleasurable consumption.
Satisfaction can also be described as a fulfilment response of service and an
attitude change as a result of the consumption.
Gibson (2005) put forward that satisfied customers are likely to become
loyal customers and that means that they are also likely to spread positive
word of mouth.
Understanding which factors that influence customer satisfaction makes it
easier to design and deliver service offers that corresponds to the market
demands.
Quality and satisfaction are indicators for corporate competitiveness and
explores the benefit of marketing academics and practitioners.

The relationship and nature of these customer evaluations remains unclear

though satisfaction and service quality comes from two big research
paradigms; expectations and perceptions which are considered as key
instruments.

 Zeithaml et al, (1993) mention that in empirical studies quality and

satisfaction is introduced as synonyms within the service business.

Definitions of Quality
Quality of services means conformity with the clients demands.
The companies try to increase the quality of services, serving both as a
purpose of management services and a strategy to develop the enterprise.
Quality of services has two components [Jivan, 1998, 90]:
The quality of the serving process;
The level of quality for serving, i.e. the real service provided.
As for a companys level of service quality, it depends on the way in which
the officials approach the quality issue.
Thus Stanciu, (2003) states:
The concept of quality should be approached systematically;
The clients demands should be understood and then fulfilled;
The quality principles should be imposed at all structural and organization
levels of the unit;
The qualitative level of services should be achieved efficiently;
The diversity of services on the market should be a permanent aim;
A relevant aspect of any competition is to take into account all the aspects
concerning quality, not only quality of services.

Defining Quality
As for the connections between perceived quality and real quality, the
estimations may vary from the client to the service provider directly.
The client very seldom is aware that he/she is well served and makes it
publicly even more seldom, while the discontent will be certainly wide

spread. In addition, the main characteristic of the quality of services is their

relativity [Jivan, 1988, 92], i.e. the impossibility to measure and evaluate
them.
Among the aspects of the quality of serving one should mention: personnels
behaviour and attitude; duration of serving; availability of information;
advertisement; location of serving units and their accessibility; environment,
etc.
The total quality of a service is seen as a 3-component function:
Body image companys image and its global attractiveness;
Technical quality - the essential attributes of services corresponding to the
needs to be fulfilled;
Functional quality - the way to provide services.
The perception of the quality of a service is influenced by the attributes of its
quality

The Concept of Service quality

According to Parasuraman et al. (1991), companies can get their
competitive advantage by using the technology for the purpose of enhancing
service quality and gathering market demand.
For decades, many researchers have developed a service perspective
(Zeithaml, 2009, Ramsaran and Fowdar, 2007).
Chang (2008) describes that the concept of service quality should be
generally approached from the customers point of view because they may
have different values, different ground of assessment, and different
circumstances.

 Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1990) mention that service quality is

an extrinsically perceived attribution based on the customers experience
about the service that the customer perceived through the service encounter.
According to the work of Kumra (2008), service quality is not only
involved in the final product and service, but also involved in the production
and delivery process, thus employee involvement in process redesign and
commitment is important to produce final tourism products or services.
Another research study on service quality is presented by Grnroos (2007)
who focuses on a model that is a comparison between customer expectations
of the service and their experience of the service they have received before.
This model is named total perceived service quality.
As he emphasizes on what customer is really looking for and what they
evaluate, the service quality is based on two dimensions.
The first dimension is the technical quality and this dimension refers to the
outcome, what is delivered or what the customer gets from the service.
The next dimension is the functional quality which refers to the manner in
which the service is delivered or how it is delivered.
Both dimensions affect the corporate image and the perception of quality in
various ways.
According to total perceived service quality model, perceived quality of a
service is not only affected by the experiences of the quality dimensions that
the consumer used for evaluating whether quality is perceived as good,
neutral, or bad.

It is all also affected by the perceived quality of given service as well as the
outcome of the evaluation process.

Definitions
Zeithaml and Bitner (2003:85) states that:

Service quality is a focused evaluation that reflects the customer's perception

of specific dimensions of service: reliability, responsiveness, assurance,
Empathy, tangibles. Satisfaction, on other hand, is more inclusive: it is
influenced by perceptions of service quality, product quality, and price as
well as situational factors and personal factors.

Service quality affects customer satisfaction by providing performance (real

benefits). For example, if consumers believe they have entered the
McDonald's restaurant, they will get food, service, high quality everywhere
the same, no matter the location of the restaurant, put forward by Millend M
Lele(1995:126).

"The creation of customer satisfaction can provide several benefits,

including the relationship between companies and consumers are
harmonious, providing a good basis for the purchase and re-creation of
customer loyalty, and form a recommendation by word of mouth that can
benefit the company" (Fandi Tjiptono, 1997: 24)

Attributes of Service Quality and Characteristics

Tangibility- The existence of the physical support of service, personnel

communication.
Reliability- The capacity of correct fulfilment of the service from the very
first contact with the client.
Rapidity - The carrying out of a service within the time limits desired and
accepted by the client.
Competence - The serving personnel have the information and capabilities
necessary for the carrying out of the service.
Politeness- The politeness, kindness and respect of the contact personnel
towards the client.
Credibility - The credibility and honesty of the service-providing company.
Security and safety- The absence of danger, hazard, risk and doubt when
providing the service.
Accessibility - The easiness with which the service can be used at the
desired moment.
Communication- The client is informed correctly, in a language which is
easy and accessible to the client, and the employees have the ability to listen
and understand the clients.
Knowledge on client Understanding clients needs and behaviour?

Why Service Quality in Tourism

Quality is vital for a successful tourism industry.
Destinations have an exciting mix of different products that can be offered to
the tourist, and it enjoys a stable market share.
Nonetheless, a rapid growth in alternative destinations worldwide means that
tourism industry today faces the need to be ever more quality conscious to
continue to attract tourists in a global marketplace.
Quality is rapidly becoming the decisive competitive instrument in tourism.

Why focus on quality?

A quality product is crucial for a viable business, for an attractive
destination and for the sustainability of the tourism industry across Europe.
Ensuring the constant improvement of quality, whether it is of a tourist
destination as a whole or of the individual attractions and services within it,
should be a continuous process.
It means setting objectives, developing a strategy, making improvements and
checking results.
Consumers are increasingly choosing those offers in which they can be
certain that the services, outdoor experiences and also the welcome from the
local population are of a high quality and worth the price paid.
At the same time, tourist destinations and the providers of tourist services
are increasingly confronted with changes in guest expectations and
requirements, and increasing competition at home and abroad.

 A lack of attention to quality issues now could have serious consequences

later in terms of loss of image, falling income and the initiation of
potentially expensive damage limitation exercises.
In most destinations the final product that the tourists experience, and
therefore the memories that they take home with them, is a complex fusion
of their exposure to many different phenomena in the destination, for
example the local tourism industry, the destinations resident population and
the environment in the destination.

This relationship is interlinked because not only do these aspects influence

the tourist experience, but the tourists in turn influence these aspects.

Market research shows that the tourist is maturing, and demanding higher
levels of quality when on holiday.

In other words, they are seeking good value for their money. Furthermore,
European destinations are now competing in a global market place, and the
quality of the tourist experience is arguably just as important for competitive
edge as price

Ten reasons for a quality approach!

Quality gives the edge over competitors.

Quality performance makes destinations and services easier to market, both
to operators and tourists.
A quality product results in customer loyalty.
Better quality means more profit.
Quality management leads to a stable tourism industry and protects jobs.
Quality improvements in a destination provide a better quality of life for
local residents.
Quality management improves access to finance.
Effective monitoring of progress avoids repeating costly mistakes.
Careful data collection provides the tool for making the right management
decisions.
Monitoring progress in quality improvement provides the understanding.
Why Service Quality in Tourism
Going beyond the classical approach in the general study on quality and
referring especially to the field of the tourist services, one need to take into
account the indicators connected to the tourist service quality:
the quality of life;

 the competitive values of the tourist activities;

the qualitative dimension of the time for recreation, fun and sports, or
recreational activities
The quality of life is directly connected with the way in which the nine basic
human needs are satisfied: subsistence, protection, affection, understanding,
participation, amusement, creativity, identity, and freedom.
For example, with services for tourism transportation, their quality depends
mainly on the technical state of the means of transportation as well as on the
combustibles used, norms of pollution, or safety.
A series of activities such as guides, entertainers, or monitors, promotion or
advertisement are more difficult to evaluate or compare from the qualitative
point of
In the functional market economy, because of the progressively aggressive
competition, the providers of tourist products and services are more and
more forced to consider the needs, requests and expectancies of clients and
consumers as - better informed and trained - they prefer more and more
often to purchase products and services of maximum quality at the lowest
prices.
Consequently, the managers and employees from the hospitality industry
should aim to provide only services of high quality at minimum prices.
Moments of truth
In customer service, instance of contact or interaction between a customer and a
firm (through a product, sales force, or visit) that gives the customer an opportunity

to form (or change) an impression about the firm. You have either the ability to
satisfy them or to dissatisfy them.
Service recovery is simply to satisfy a customer who was previously dissatisfied
and making them a loyal customer.

Dimensions of service quality

Reliability:
Perform promised service dependably and accurately.
Example: receive mail at same time each day.
Responsiveness: Willingness to help customers promptly. Example: avoid
keeping customers waiting for no apparent reason.
Assurance:
Ability to convey trust and confidence.
Example: being polite and showing respect for customer.
Empathy: Ability to be approachable. Example: being a good listener.
Tangibles: Physical facilities and facilitating goods. Example: cleanliness

Perceived service quality