This paper began with the premise that there is theoretical confusion between our
understanding of service environments and service quality with no clear distinction made in
the literature between the two. Our research suggests that consumers evaluate the
servicescape which then leads to linkages to service quality and subsequently to behavioral
intentions. Through the provision of a framework that elucidates the evaluative process that
consumers engage in, we are given the opportunity to deepen our understanding of how
consumers experience services. The SERVQUAL instrument has become a stalwart of
services marketing theory, and it is this model that includes tangible cues in its framework.
Within this paper we argue that service quality is best described in terms of intangible cues
primarily related to the actual service that is delivered by service personnel. Theoretically it
is more sensible that service environments and all their associated tangible cues are seen as
distinct from employee related issues the two are quite conceptually different one another.
We recognise that customers evaluate services holistically, however the servicescape should
be regarded as a primer which moulds customers’ expectations of the service they are about
to receive. Indeed, it is quite possible for an individual to evaluate a service or store based on 14
aesthetics or visual cues only and for this reason it is understandable that servicescape
evaluations should serve as an antecedent to service quality perceptions.