Secondary Data Review of SERVQUAL Studies

Essay by oldcowhandUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, February 2004

download word file, 8 pages 4.7

Secondary Data Review of SERVQUAL Studies

Doug Hass

RES341

Ms. Janine Garrard

4 February 2004

Customer Service and its Effects on Customer Retention at ImageStream

Executive Summary of Original Proposal

ImageStream Internet Solutions, Inc. is a privately held company in its 9th year of operation. ImageStream engineers, manufactures, and distributes Linux-based routing products for network and Internet applications. ImageStream products are used by Internet service providers (ISPs), governments, schools, and businesses in more than 75 countries around the world. As ImageStream moves toward its next decade, market forces require it, like most high technology companies, to be fast and responsive. ImageStream faces a competitive marketplace differentiated increasingly less by features and functionality and more by quality customer service and customer retention management.

The study and development of customer service techniques and customer retention management programs has blossomed into its own industry. This increasing focus on customer satisfaction is not surprising, given the positive correlation between happy customers and successful companies illustrated in countless marketing research studies.

This paper highlights SERVQUAL research related to the framework of service quality, the positive and negative impacts of service quality, and the effect of favorable and unfavorable customer intentions on perceived quality. This paper will examine research conducted by the original SERVQUAL authors, as well as follow-on studies commenting on the original methodology. The references enclosed include a summary of all references used in researching this project, whether or not they are quoted in this particular paper in the series.

Background

This paper examines customer retention at ImageStream from the context of customer service quality. As a company seeking to build market share and maintain a burgeoning customer base, ImageStream focuses on customer retention as a key component in remaining viable in the market.

Weinstein and Johnson (1999) recommend that companies like ImageStream should...