21.8.2 Knowledge Gap
When the supplier’s provision of a service differs from the customer’s expectations
of that service, this gives rise to the knowledge gap. This may occur because the
supplier does not exactly know what the customer expects, the common reasons
being:
(1) management does not interact enough with customers
(2) management does not communicate enough with employees
(3) customer complaints not considered
(4) Inadequate market knowledge.
This gap can be closed by learning what customers are expecting, through:
(a) more interactions between management and customers
(b) more interactions between management and employees
(c) acting on valid customer complaints
(d) customer surveys.
21.8.3 Standards or Policy Gap
This arises when the supplier management thinks it understands the customer’s
needs and then transforms that understanding into service delivery standards and
policies. If this understanding is erroneous from the start, it is likely that the company
will translate it into the wrong quality policy and standards. Causes of this gap
include:
(1) undefined service levels
(2) erratic updating of service levels
(3) no customer service standards
This gap can be reduced by adopting the proper service quality standards, using:
(a) regularly updated policies
(b) communication and reinforcement of quality standards
(c) setting measurable service quality goals
(d) training staff as service quality leaders
(e) staff rewards when attaining quality goals
(f) committing senior management to service quality.
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21 Quality of Infrastructure Service Delivery
When the supplier’s provision of a service differs from the customer’s expectations
of that service, this gives rise to the knowledge gap. This may occur because the
supplier does not exactly know what the customer expects, the common reasons
being:
(1) management does not interact enough with customers
(2) management does not communicate enough with employees
(3) customer complaints not considered
(4) Inadequate market knowledge.
This gap can be closed by learning what customers are expecting, through:
(a) more interactions between management and customers
(b) more interactions between management and employees
(c) acting on valid customer complaints
(d) customer surveys.
21.8.3 Standards or Policy Gap
This arises when the supplier management thinks it understands the customer’s
needs and then transforms that understanding into service delivery standards and
policies. If this understanding is erroneous from the start, it is likely that the company
will translate it into the wrong quality policy and standards. Causes of this gap
include:
(1) undefined service levels
(2) erratic updating of service levels
(3) no customer service standards
This gap can be reduced by adopting the proper service quality standards, using:
(a) regularly updated policies
(b) communication and reinforcement of quality standards
(c) setting measurable service quality goals
(d) training staff as service quality leaders
(e) staff rewards when attaining quality goals
(f) committing senior management to service quality.
612
21 Quality of Infrastructure Service Delivery