The Management Perception Gap in the Hospitality Industry - Coursework Example

Service Gaps Name Institution Date Introduction The level of services delivered to customers in most service organizations like hotels, airlines, beauty shops and salons is sometimes unsatisfactory. According to Gemmel, Looy and Dierdonck (2013), customer satisfaction shortcomings arise because there are several gaps in the delivery of services by organizations. This essay analyzes the customer service gaps that exist in the hospitality industry. It also offers recommendation that can help in narrowing these service gaps. Discussion The Management Perception Gap This gap occurs because the management perceives customers expectations of service quality differently from the customers’ expectations. The management is not aware of the features of the service the customers use to judge the quality of the service. Management must be aware of the features that indicate high quality to customers and the level of performance needed to indicate high quality, to narrow this gap. According to Gemmel, Looy and Dierdonck (2013), the gap arises because of inaccurate market research and demand analysis, and poor interpretation of consumer expectations. In other organization, the structure may inhibit the free flow of information about consumer expectations. Organizations with a management perception gap essentially do not understand their customers’ needs and preferences. Unfortunately, the failure to understand customer wants and needs makes other decisions and an action regarding quality redundant as the result is always dissatisfied customers. For example, a hotel manager may think guests want bigger rooms, better food and entertainment, but customers may be more interested in the responsiveness of staff. According to Gemmel, Looy and Dierdonck (2013) , the management perception gap can be narrowed down by conducting adequate and accurate market research Market Research According to Gemmel, Looy and Dierdonck (2013), market research is one of the most effective ways to discover consumer’s expectations of service quality. Market research should be conducted before launching a new product in the market to assess demand for the product, and the features desired by customers. If market research is performed correctly, the management perception gap will be narrowed greatly. Consumer research can also employ other methods to gain insight into consumer preferences and expectations. Some of the most popular methods of consumer research include consumer surveys after service experience, customer panels, customer complaints, and customer review websites among others (Snoj and Mumel 2002). In the hospitality industry, Trip advisor is an important websites where customers review the places or hotels they have visited. In most cases, customer review websites offer insights into any service quality shortcomings. The Quality Specification Gap According to Gemmel, Looy and Dierdonck (2013), there might be a gap between the management perception of customer quality expectations and the specifications of service quality. This gap is defined as the discrepancy between management’s perception of quality and the quality of service specified. Sometimes, management perceives customers service quality expectations correctly, but fails to set service quality standards accordingly (McNeil and Ragins 2005). For example, a hotel administrator may order staff to be more responsive to customer queries but fail to specify how fast they should respond. According to Gemmel, Looy and Dierdonck (2013) failing to interpret customer expectation correctly and specify service quality levels accordingly can lead to wrong decisions and other associated problems. Some of the problems associated with the service Quality Specification Gap include shortage of staff and resources at key customer touch points (McNeil and Ragins 2005). For example, service businesses like KFC may experience long queues in their restaurants if they fail assign enough staff. According to Gemmel, Looy and Dierdonck (2013), the main causes of the quality specification gap include insufficient planning, lack of goal setting, and insufficient support for the planning function by top management. In most cases, the service quality specification gap is evident as the shortage of resources to meet customer expectations. Recommendations The Quality specification gap can be greatly reduced by altering priorities in the service organization (Gemmel, Looy and Dierdonck 2013). Management must also offer adequate support to service planning to ensure that optimum service levels are achieved. Gemmel, Looy and Dierdonck (2013) assert that the Quality specification gap is most easily narrowed when management links service quality to the profitability of the business. In the views of Agabu Phiri and Mcwabe (2013), management’s commitment to service quality is important in closing the gap through goal setting, and service planning. Service Delivery Gap One of the most worrying gaps for organization like KFC is the service delivery gap. The concern over this gap comes from the fact that it is wholly dependent on the performance of the organizations employees (Gemmel, Looy and Dierdonck 2013). The service delivery gap is defined as the gap between how service is actually delivered and the quality specification set by management (Agabu Phiri and Mcwabe 2013). The service quality delivery gap is mostly caused by inadequate training, insufficient skills, or unwillingness to perform services to the levels specified by management. For example, KFC employees may be required to keep their floors clean and dry. However, customers have suffered from falls and injuries caused by fluids that have been left unattended in fast food stores. The service delivery gap has the greatest impact on consumers satisfaction with the service delivered. According to Gemmel, Looy and Dierdonck (2013), the actual level of service delivered to customers is more significant than any quality specification guidelines issued by management when it comes to customer perceptions of service quality. Unfortunately, employee performance cannot be standardized as each member of staff works differently (Seth, Deshmukh and Vrat 2005). In fact, the performance of employees is dependent on their commitment to standard operation procedures, their attitudes and behavior as they provide services to customers. The service delivery gap arises as a result of complex service quality specification and lack of agreement between members of staff as to what constitutes service quality in each circumstance (McNeil and Ragins 2005). For example, KFC employee may not know what to do when a customer rejects an order for food he has already eaten for one reason or another. Other causes of the service delivery gap include low staff morale, inadequate training, and perceived injustices in the treatment of employees Recommendations Service organizations confronting the service delivery gap should adequately train their employees to impart them with the skill to deliver the service quality levels expected (Snoj and Mumel 2002). Secondly, the service organization can narrow the service delivery gap by availing necessary technology to their workers to enable them accomplish their tasks faster, more easily and more effectively (Agabu Phiri and Mcwabe 2013). For example, KFC employees would not be able to keep their employers premises clean if they are not provided with equipment such as vacuum cleaners and window cleaners. Thirdly, the service organization must have an employee motivation program in place to make sure those employees are motivated to perform to the best of their abilities. Customer Expectations Customers have predefined expectations about the quality of service they will receive from the organizations. Expectations are defined as pre-purchase beliefs about the services to be provided (Snoj and Mumel 2002). Marketing organizations make implicit and explicit claims about their services which impact customer’s expectations of the service experience. The customer’s expectations are the standards that they use to gauge the quality of services in the organization. In most cases, the customer’s expectations of service quality vary from one establishment to the other. In the service industry the positioning of services influence customer expectations greatly. Customer Perception Customer perception is defined as the customer’s overall assessment of the quality of service provided by an organization (Agabu Phiri and Mcwabe 2013). In measuring quality of service the consumer’s perspective is more important than that of employees and management. Customer perception is a measure of the quality of services as experienced or delivered. In most cases, consumers perceive the quality of service after they have experienced it. Customer perception is an overall evaluation of the service in terms of satisfaction, quality and value. Customer perceptions of service are most influenced by verbal and non-verbal interaction with the service provider’s employees. According to Gemmel, Looy and Dierdonck (2013), consumers of services are always looking for clues that assist in the determination of service quality. Therefore, the behavior, attitude and appearance of the person delivering the service are very important. Customer expectation/Perception gap This is a gap is defined as the difference between customers expectation of a service and the actual service that is delivered as experienced (Adat, Noel and Penceliah 2014). Often, marketers build high expectations of their services through marketing communication but fail to deliver the expected service quality to their consumers. Recommendations Marketers should be as accurate as possible in their market communication to avoid building consumer expectations that they cannot be able to meet. In addition, service organizations must be ready to deliver services at the level they have promised their customers (Snoj and Mumel 2002). For example, if KFC claims their burgers are the best they must be ready to cook and offer the best burger’s in the market to their customers. Conclusion Many service organizations fail to deliver satisfactory services to their customers as they have not addressed the service gaps apparent in many organizations. The first gap is concerned with management failure to correctly perceive customer service expectations. The second gap that should be addressed is the difference between services specification and management’s perception. Service quality must be specified at higher levels than management’s perception of service quality. Thirdly, service organizations should motivate and train their worker to narrow down the service delivery gap. Finally, the service organization should also take steps to ensure the customer expectations of a service are as close as the service experience of the customer. References Adat,N, Noel, DT & Penceliah, S 2014, 'Customer's expectations and perceptions of service quality: The case of a retail pharmacy chain in South Africa', Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 5, no. 20, pp. 2648-2655. Agabu Phiri, M & Mcwabe, T 2013, 'Customer's expectations and perceptions of service quality: The case of pick N pay supermarket stores in South Africa', International Journal of Research in Social Sciences, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 96-104. Gemmel, P., Looy, B.V., Dierdonck, VR 2013, Service Management: and Integrated Approach, Pearson Education Limited, Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, England. McNeil, K. R., &Ragins, E. J 2005, ‘Staying in the spa marketing game: Trends, challenges, strategies and techniques’Journal of Vacation Marketing, 11(1) 31–39. Seth, N., Deshmukh, S. G., &Vrat, P, 2005, ‘Service quality models: a review. International journal of quality & reliability management’, vol. 22, issue 9, pp. 913-949. Snoj, B, &Mumel, D 2002, ‘The measurement of perceived differences in service quality: The case of health spas in Slovenia,’ Journal of Vacation Marketing, 8(4), 362379. Read More