(1992). Despite this it is still instructive to apply these dimensions of service quality to
customer service on the web (see for example Chaffey and Edgar (2000), Kolesar and
Galbraith (2000), Zeithaml et al. (2002) and Trocchia and Janda (2003)):
tangibles– the physical appearance of facilities and communications;
reliability– the ability to perform the service dependably and accurately;
responsiveness– a willingness to help customers and provide prompt service;
assurance– the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust
and confidence;
empathy– providing caring, individualised attention.Online marketers should assess what customers’ expectations are in each of these areas,
and identify where there is an online service-quality gapbetween the customer expecta-
tions and what is currently delivered.
Research across industry sectors suggests that the quality of service is a key determi-
nant of loyalty. Feinberg et al. (2000) report that when reasons why customers leave a
company are considered, over 68% leave because of ‘poor service experience’, with other
factors such as price (10%) and product issues (17%) less significant. Poor service experi-
ence was subdivided as follows:
poor access to the right person (41%);
unaccommodating (26%);
rude employees (20%);
slow to respond (13%).This survey was conducted for traditional business contacts, but it is instructive since these
reasons given for poor customer service have their equivalents online through e-mail
communications and delivery of services on-site.
We will now examine how the five determinants of online service quality apply online.Tangibles
It can be suggested that the tangibles dimension is influenced by ease of use and visual
appeal based on the structural and graphic design of the site. Design factors that influ-
ence this variable are described later in this chapter. The importance customers attach to
these different aspects of service quality is indicated by the compilation in Table 7.6
which considers the reasons why customers return to a site.CHAPTER 7· DELIVERING THE ONLINE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCEOnline service-
quality gap
The mismatch between
what is expected and
delivered by an online
presence.Table 7.6Ten key reasons for returning to siteReason to return Percentage of respondents
1 High-quality content 75
2Ease of use66
3 Quick to download 58
4 Updated frequently 54
5 Coupons and incentives 14
6 Favourite brands 13
7 Cutting-edge technology 12
8 Games 12
9 Purchasing capabilities 11
10 Customisable content 10
Source: Forrester Research poll of 8600 online households, 1998INMA_C07.QXD 17/5/06 4:23 pm Page 336