Introduction
Increasingly the success of our own organisations relies on providing service excellence.
In order to attract and retain profitable customers our organisations must ensure that they provide them with a full range of value adding services targeted to their needs and resulting in solutions to their concerns and problems. Both manufacturing and service organisations are utilising value adding services as a source of differentiation and competitive advantage.
There are five principal considerations used by customers to judge whether an organisation is providing excellent service:
Reliability - the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately.
Assurance - the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence.
Tangibles - the appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel and communication materials.
Empathy - the provision of caring, individualised attention to each customer.
Responsiveness - the willingness to help customers and provide prompt service.
Many organisations who examine the question of service quality do so after the event. Frequently this is too late because the customers' perception is that they have not received good service and they may not return.
Service excellence is more than an adjunct to increased operational efficiency. It involves all the actions and reactions that customers perceive that they have purchased. It is part of the marketing mix but is almost invariably provided by operational staff and systems. The ability to recover when things go wrong in the service delivery is a critical management issue.
Managing service delivery requires a holistic approach. The management of customer and staff operations is an essential element in ensuring a balanced operation. The service delivery system requires appropriate design and continual management.