Perceived Quality Assessment of Services Based on Customer Experience

ABSTRACT

Research concerning perceived quality assessment of services has been divided between the Nordic and American perspectives since 1980, and has seen development in areas such as measurement methods. In recent years, however, services in which self-service or access from remote locations are made possible by using IT in interfaces have become rooted among consumers. Unlike the face-to-face encounters of traditional services, these service encounters are intermediated by IT.

Because users of such IT interface services do not have direct contact with the service providers, it was expected that the emphasis would be on results rather than process. By tracing customer experiences and observing assessment factors, however, this paper shows that process and interaction are important assessment factors even in IT interface services. Service blueprinting, which makes the visualization of customer experiences possible, is an effective tool for service quality control; this effectiveness can be enhanced by identifying the assessment factors at each step.