SERVQUAL Scale

Abstract

The SERVQUAL scale developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry in 1988 is an instrument, or questionnaire, for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Parasuraman et al. define service quality as ‘the discrepancy between consumers’ perceptions of services offered by a particular firm and their expectations about firms offering such services’. Consequently, the SERVQUAL scale measures both consumers’ expectations of service quality and their perceptions of service quality While consumers’ expectations refer to service quality attributes that consumers think service firms in a particular service category (e.g., hotel services or theme park services) should have, their perceptions concern service quality attributes that consumers think a specific firm within the particular service category (e.g., Ritz Hotel in London or Disneyland Paris) has.