How Do Customers Rate Service Quality?

You should now understand how customer expectations are shaped and how their perceptions of service are formed. A combination of these concepts will determine how they will rate the quality of your service. We can use the following equation to illustrate:

Perceived service quality

=

Perceptions (P)

Minus

Expectations (E)

P > E: The customer is highly satisfied or surprised with the quality of service and the business managed to exceed the expectations.

P = E: The customer is satisfied with the service quality and the business managed to meet the expectations.

P < E: The customer is dissatisfied with the service quality and the business has disappointed the customer.

We agreed that the intention of the business should not only be to attract new customers, but also to provide them with such a level of customer service, that they will become loyal supporters and walking, talking advocates of our business. The least we should aim at is to meet customer expectations and to avoid disappointing them. Then only can we aspire to exceed their expectations and build a reputation as an exceptional service provider!