Analysis of Gaps Model for Service Quality
Review of the GAPS model of Service Quality using a personal example:
Service Name: Bell Essential Plus Internet Service
Existence of a Gap: Yes
Expected Service (description of expectation): The expectation was
(without reading the fine print, which is obscure and not indicative of essential
information for new customers) that upon subscribing to Bell Essential Plus I’d be
able to download media content and browse the internet at a speed of “5mbps”.
Perceived Service (description of how the service fell short): The widely
advertised “5mbps” is not actually 5 MB (megabyte) per second but 5 mb
(megabits) per second. 1 MB is equal to 8 mb. Therefore downloading at 5
megabits is equivalent to downloading at 625 kilobytes per second. For example, 1
song is equal to 5MB or 5000 kilobytes, which is equal to 40000 kilobits or 40
megabits. Therefore to download a 5MB song in one second one would require
a 40mbps connection.
I was further piqued when I realised that my download speed was not even the full
5mbps (625 kbps) I was paying for. After repeated calls to the Bell customer service
I was told that because of the wiring in my area and the great distance between my
building and Bell’s nodal office I could not receive a speed of more than 500
kilobits per second. I was flabbergasted and immediately shifted the service to an
alternate service provider.
Provider Gap No.1: In my opinion there is no gap here. Bell very well knows
what the customer wants (high speed internet) and their knowledge of this fact is
evident through their advertisements and their high speed plans. They advantage
from the general ignorance of a majority of their customer base. Most of the
internet users do not know the real potential of their internet plan.
Provider Gap No. 2: There is a big gap between the company perceptions of
consumer expectations and their service designs and standards. In my opinion, this
Service Name: Bell Essential Plus Internet Service
Existence of a Gap: Yes
Expected Service (description of expectation): The expectation was
(without reading the fine print, which is obscure and not indicative of essential
information for new customers) that upon subscribing to Bell Essential Plus I’d be
able to download media content and browse the internet at a speed of “5mbps”.
Perceived Service (description of how the service fell short): The widely
advertised “5mbps” is not actually 5 MB (megabyte) per second but 5 mb
(megabits) per second. 1 MB is equal to 8 mb. Therefore downloading at 5
megabits is equivalent to downloading at 625 kilobytes per second. For example, 1
song is equal to 5MB or 5000 kilobytes, which is equal to 40000 kilobits or 40
megabits. Therefore to download a 5MB song in one second one would require
a 40mbps connection.
I was further piqued when I realised that my download speed was not even the full
5mbps (625 kbps) I was paying for. After repeated calls to the Bell customer service
I was told that because of the wiring in my area and the great distance between my
building and Bell’s nodal office I could not receive a speed of more than 500
kilobits per second. I was flabbergasted and immediately shifted the service to an
alternate service provider.
Provider Gap No.1: In my opinion there is no gap here. Bell very well knows
what the customer wants (high speed internet) and their knowledge of this fact is
evident through their advertisements and their high speed plans. They advantage
from the general ignorance of a majority of their customer base. Most of the
internet users do not know the real potential of their internet plan.
Provider Gap No. 2: There is a big gap between the company perceptions of
consumer expectations and their service designs and standards. In my opinion, this