All businesses sell both Products and Services, only the proportion changes from business to business.    Sheer size and the associated growth of the Services business in modern economy will drive the importance of services business in every organisation.  One of the key parameters, is Service Quality which determines the position of the organisation among their peers.

The service quality is always measured in relation to the expectation.   So clearly there are two aspects for the service quality, one is the Expectation and the other is Service Delivery.   The Service Providers can influence both the parameters, namely, the expectation and the delivery.    Good Service Providers generally set the right expectation at the time of selling so that the expectations are realistic.    The simple rule here is not to oversell.    Similarly good Service Providers deliver whatever is promised.   In other words good Service Providers do not under-deliver.

So both the expectation setting and the service delivery of the Service Provider play a key role in defining the service quality by the customers.

When the services delivered are less and different from the expectation, the customers perceive the quality of the service delivery as a ‘disappointed occurrence’.

When the services delivered are less than the expectation, the customers perceive the quality of the service delivery as a ‘dissatisfied encounter’.

When the services delivered are more or greater than what is promised, but in some respects different from what is promised, then the customers perceive the quality of service delivery as a ‘surprise package’, as they got something more, but not exactly what is promised.

Finally, when the services delivered are more or greater than what is promised, including all that is promised, then the customers perceive the quality of service delivery as a ‘delightful experience’, as they have got something more, in addition to whatever is promised.

Depending on the expectation of the customer, which can be set by the service provider, the quality will be perceived as a ‘delightful experience’ or as a ‘surprise package’ or a ‘dissatisfied encounter’ or a ‘disappointed occurrence’.     So in summary realistic expectation setting and delivering more than what is promised will result in delightful customers and repeat business.

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