Welcome to MVA BMSR - Market and Social Research

Unlike traditional CSS where the focus is always on a single dimension of satisfaction (like a simple satisfaction index showing customers’ satisfaction rating), MVA ServQual looks at the gap between satisfaction and expectation, as well as satisfaction and perceived importance.

ServQual ™ / Gap Theory

The Gap Theory* suggests that with any service provider, a quality gap exists between the customers’ perception/ experience of service quality and the service quality expected by them.

Such gap is a function of four range elements – vis-a-vis

Range 1 – the gap between service provider’ perception of its customers’ expectations and the customers’ actual needs and desires

Range 2 – an internal disparity resulting from the translation of customers’ needs (research) into service specifications and standards (marketing and product development)

Range 3 – human factor (front-line sales and service staff) in delivering the services causes a gap where the quality actual service delivered falls short of management’s specifications of service quality.

Range 4 – a promise gap where the actual service delivered may not match the promise made via advertising and external communication. This is sometimes also caused by certain behind-the-scene (below the line) efforts not visible or properly communicated to the customers.

(*adapted from Zeithaml, Parasuraman & Berry, Delivering Quality Service, 1990, Free Press)

Roadmap to ServQual ™

A realistic inventory of internal service quality ‘anticipations’ and a well-pulsed understanding of customers’ experiences and expectations are crucial steps towards an effective deployment of ServQual.

As customer perceptions change, timely tracking of those variations helps enhance ServQual output delivery effectiveness, and identify priorities for service enhancements.

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