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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Think about a service you receive. Is there a gap between your expectations and perceptions of that
service? What do you expect that you do not receive?
If students understand the concept of the customer gap—that is, expectations of service not matching
actual perceptions of the service received—then there should be no shortage of examples in
2. Consider the “wish mode” discussion about IKEA. Think about a service that you receive regularly
and put yourself in the wish mode. How would you change the service and the way it is provided?
This question is likely to be more challenging that the previous one. Students may have a difficult
I wish my oil change service could be done at my home, or where I work, so that I would not
have to drive to a specific location and wait in line.
3. If you were the manager of a service organization and wanted to apply the gaps model to improve
service, which gap would you start with? Why? In what order would you proceed to close the gaps?
The most efficient way to use the gaps model is to begin with provider gap 1, determining what
customer expectations are. This approach allows the company to concentrate on the factors that will
4. Can provider gap 4, the communication gap, be closed prior to closing any of the other three
provider gaps? How?
Gap 4, which deals with lowering customer expectations, can be closed at any time. While the first
three gaps are concerned with raising company performance to meet expectations, gap 4 aims to
5. Which of the four provider gaps do you believe is hardest to close? Why?
Gap 3 is the hardest to close because it requires coordination of all of the human resources issues in a
