June 10, 2004

Performance vs Expectations

Performance (P) and Expectations (E)are two factors involved in assessing Service Quality (I'm speaking about academic things now).

There are three scenarios where these two dimensions are concerned.

P = E
P>E
P less than E

Now how are expectations determined? Well, one way is by what companies promise you.

So I motored along to Life of Jamaica the other day. It was actually to ask them to cancel a policy, since I want to keep monthly expenses as minimal as possible. Imagine my surprise when the lady told me that it was an investment policy! Had no clue. So I decided not to cancel, but to take whatever money was there.

Now let me back track. When I walked up the stairs to the customer service place, I noticed they had changed up. Instead of one long counter where everybody could hear yuh bizniz, there were now individual private desks with partitions. My expectations were now being influenced just from the floor layout.

After forms were filled up, she said the cheque would be ready in 10 - 15 minutes. Wow! My expectations are now even more raised since at Guardian where I had been the day before, it takes 2 hours.

I look at my phone, it's 1:02pm. I go downstairs (that will be another blog) and come back up at 1:14. that's 12 minutes ent? Well lady at cheque disbursement desk HAD NOT YET GOT THE FORM FROM CUSTOMER SERVICE LADY! I chastized cheque lady (nicely of course) about their standards and not delivering them. She pronto called the lady and told her to send it right away. I go back and sit down.

I come back at 1:22pm. Not yet ready. Hmmmm, so some process didn't go according to plan.

Eventually I got it at 1:31pm.

So the point is that firms influence customers' performance of their service by the promises they make. If they had said to me I would get the cheque in 30 minutes, they would delivered it in 29 minutes and I would have been ecstatic.

But, they probably have unrealistic service standards, and so it results in customers not getting a service within the time promised, and therefore rating the firm's performance as unsatisfactory.

Posted by yamfoot at June 10, 2004 07:59 PM
Comments

Its true, Mich... Just promise what you know yoiu can do, espacially when people aren't trying to force you to deliver it so quickly... Now I like my credit union. They say that the cheque will be ready in an hour, and you might wait ten minutes, twenty seven minutes, forty nine minutes, whatever, but not more than an hour!

Posted by: Mad Bull at June 11, 2004 06:37 AM

The thing about it too is that they always had free coffee, tea or milo and water available for your drinking pleasure and they had a TV which was always tuned to football, cricket, RETV or whatever was shocking on TV! I loved that place... Wait! Now that I think of it, they still have money there for me! I must visit them soon again! :-)

Posted by: Mad Bull at June 11, 2004 06:42 AM

My yute, nuh money nuh deh deh fe you....dem gie de cheque to me long time! :-))

Yes Yammie, this is true. Just yesterday I was hearing some people complaining to Mrs. Gloudon about the RGD and she was saying that the same thing may be happening there. They are tring to deliver, but they may well be outdoing themselves at the same time.

Posted by: Dr. D. at June 11, 2004 09:00 AM