The SERVQUAL Model

1. Introduction
2. The container terminal handling is a service sector, which renders “quality” a very important aspect.
3. Quality is critical to satisfaction of the customers, who are very important stakeholders in the sector.

• The importance of an effective tool for the assessment of the quality is evident in research and practice (Konings, 2008).

1. SERVQUAL is proposed as one of the most effective tools in measuring the quality of service within the container terminal handling.
2. Background
3. Ports have an important role to play in a country’s economy
4. Unreliability of failure has major costs associated with it because of influence on the customers
5. Investigation of port service quality (PSQ).
6. Use of SERVQUAL model as the proposed framework for measuring for the quality of port services (Yeo, Thai & Roh, 2015).
7. The model measures quality by assessing the difference between expectations and observations of the customers.
8. Lack of quality occurs whenever the expectation is greater than the observation of the customer (Sayareh, Iranshahi, & Golfakhrabadi, 2016).
9. When expectation is at the same level with the expectation, quality abounds (Konings, 2008)
10. If the observation is greater than expectation, there is delivery of more quality.
11. The Pros to your Concept
12. Measurement of the quality of port service is an important indicator for possible improvements (Konings, 2008)
13. The tool is critical to indicating the level of quality.
14. The tool is founded on the identification of the customer’s desire in evaluating quality of services that they receive.
15. It provides dependable data for use in making a decision on the necessary changes.
16. The quality expectations of the customers are transformed into performance statements as well as targets for the desired level of quality (Konings, 2008)
17. Validation of the model using research findings, presenting a statistically valid tool for the measurement of service quality at the ports.

• The model is used in measuring real attributes relating to the quality of port service from the customer’s point of view (Sayareh, Iranshahi, & Golfakhrabadi, 2016).

1. It indicates the dimensions that the customers use in evaluating the quality of the services they receive.
2. Getting the dimensions right is the basis for earning customer loyalty (Yeo, Thai, & Roh, 2015).
3. The five SERVQUAL dimensions include:
4. Tangibles: how the equipment, physical facilities, personnel and materials for communication appear;
5. Reliability: capability to deliver the desired quality as promised.
6. Responsiveness: readiness to offer customer support as well as offer prompt service;
7. Assurance: the courtesy and level of understanding of the employees and their capacity to relay confidence and trust; and
8. Empathy: Caring and the personal attention provided to the customers
9. The opposing points of view
10. The tool might not be an actual measure of quality because of the inconclusive results on what makes up quality port service (PSQ) (Sayareh, Iranshahi, & Golfakhrabadi, 2016).
11. As opposed to capturing quality, the tool captures customer satisfaction.

• The customer should not be used as the only basis for determining the quality of service provided by a port (Yeo, Thai, & Roh, 2015).

1. The expectations are subjective aspects of measuring quality, indicating the need to use aspirations instead.
2. Conclusion
3. Service providers are always in search of the knowledge about what the customers want in terms of
4. The quality of service is an indicator of the need for change to a higher level of quality.

• SERVQUAL is a widely used model for the assessment of quality in the ports.