Service Quality Evaluation: Patients from A South African University Clinic

AUTHORS:

Eveth Nwobodo-Anyadiegwu, Kidoge Ibrahimu, and Charles Mbohwa

ABSTRACT:

The evaluation of service quality in several service industries remains an important matter to researchers and the management. Providing satisfactory services through maintaining high quality is critical for the success of the service industry. It is more challenging for customers to assess service quality than the quality of tangible products because there is a lack of perceptible evidence related to the service. Consequently, service industries need consistent, methodical and technical tools to appraise their performance, as service quality is a vital measure of organizational performance. SERVQUAL is one of the most used instruments to measure satisfaction of customers in a service industry. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the gap between patients’ expectations and perceptions of the quality of service that is offered at a university clinic. The paper enhances an innovative viewpoint towards understanding how the concept of service quality is implemented in outpatient clinics on campus.

KEYWORDS:

Patient expectation, Patient satisfaction, SERVQUAL