Scale library · Service quality

SERVPERF scale: Cronin & Taylor (1992)

SERVPERF was proposed by Cronin and Taylor (1992) as a critique of SERVQUAL's measurement of service quality as perceptions minus expectations. They argued that measuring perceived performance alone is enough, so SERVPERF keeps the 22 perception items of Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1988) and drops all 22 expectation items. The questionnaire is half as long, reduces respondent fatigue and avoids the problems of difference scores. Most theses that measure only perceptions across the five dimensions are in effect using SERVPERF, usually to explain satisfaction or loyalty in banking, healthcare, education or tourism.

Cite the original, not the blog.

Original English items

Items marked (R) are reverse-coded: recode them before computing reliability or scale scores. Replace bracketed placeholders such as [system] with the name of the system, brand or organization you study.

Tangibles (TAN, 4 items)

Code Item wording Reverse-coded
TAN1 XYZ has up-to-date equipment. No
TAN2 XYZ's physical facilities are visually appealing. No
TAN3 XYZ's employees are well dressed and appear neat. No
TAN4 The appearance of the physical facilities of XYZ is in keeping with the type of services provided. No

Reliability (REL, 5 items)

Code Item wording Reverse-coded
REL1 When XYZ promises to do something by a certain time, it does so. No
REL2 When you have problems, XYZ is sympathetic and reassuring. No
REL3 XYZ is dependable. No
REL4 XYZ provides its services at the time it promises to do so. No
REL5 XYZ keeps its records accurately. No

Responsiveness (RES, 4 items)

Code Item wording Reverse-coded
RES1 (R) XYZ does not tell customers exactly when services will be performed. Yes
RES2 (R) You do not receive prompt service from XYZ's employees. Yes
RES3 (R) Employees of XYZ are not always willing to help customers. Yes
RES4 (R) Employees of XYZ are too busy to respond to customer requests promptly. Yes

Assurance (ASU, 4 items)

Code Item wording Reverse-coded
ASU1 You can trust employees of XYZ. No
ASU2 You feel safe in your transactions with XYZ's employees. No
ASU3 Employees of XYZ are polite. No
ASU4 Employees get adequate support from XYZ to do their jobs well. No

Empathy (EMP, 5 items)

Code Item wording Reverse-coded
EMP1 (R) XYZ does not give you individual attention. Yes
EMP2 (R) Employees of XYZ do not give you personal attention. Yes
EMP3 (R) Employees of XYZ do not know what your needs are. Yes
EMP4 (R) XYZ does not have your best interests at heart. Yes
EMP5 (R) XYZ does not have operating hours convenient to all their customers. Yes

Response scale

7-point Likert scale as in the original SERVQUAL appendix (1 = Strongly disagree … 7 = Strongly agree). Many studies use 5 points.

Recoding reverse-coded items: 1–7 scale: new score = 1 + 7 − score = 8 − score; 1–5 scale: new score = 1 + 5 − score = 6 − score.

Licence and permission

The items are the perception part of SERVQUAL, published in the appendix of the 1988 article and widely used in research. Cite both Cronin and Taylor (1992) and Parasuraman et al. (1988); we found no separate licensing conditions.

Sources (APA 7)

Vietnamese translation

A Vietnamese translation of every item, with sample-size advice and studies that used the scale, is on the Vietnamese page for this scale.

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