Service quality and loyalty survey (SERVPERF)

Service quality at cafes, restaurants, supermarkets, hotels or banks is a classic thesis topic. SERVPERF measures only perceived performance, so the questionnaire is shorter than SERVQUAL and suits on-site customer surveys.

Research model

Suggested model: five service quality dimensions (Parasuraman et al., 1988; Cronin and Taylor, 1992) affect loyalty, measured with the behavioral intentions scale of Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman (1996). Most theses in Vietnam place satisfaction as a mediator (quality → satisfaction → loyalty); the library has no general customer satisfaction scale, so this template keeps the direct path. If you add satisfaction, cite a separate scale.

• Tangibles → Loyalty (positive)
• Reliability → Loyalty (positive)
• Responsiveness → Loyalty (positive)
• Assurance → Loyalty (positive)
• Empathy → Loyalty (positive)

Questionnaire items

Original English wording. Answered on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly disagree … 5 = Strongly agree) unless the scale page says otherwise; (R) marks a reverse-coded item.

Tangibles (TAN) · SERVPERF scale

Code	Item
TAN1	XYZ has up-to-date equipment.
TAN2	XYZ's physical facilities are visually appealing.
TAN3	XYZ's employees are well dressed and appear neat.
TAN4	The appearance of the physical facilities of XYZ is in keeping with the type of services provided.

Source: Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry (1988). See SERVPERF scale.

Reliability (REL) · SERVPERF scale

Code	Item
REL1	When XYZ promises to do something by a certain time, it does so.
REL2	When you have problems, XYZ is sympathetic and reassuring.
REL3	XYZ is dependable.
REL4	XYZ provides its services at the time it promises to do so.
REL5	XYZ keeps its records accurately.

Source: Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry (1988). See SERVPERF scale.

Responsiveness (RES) · SERVPERF scale

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

Source: Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry (1988). See SERVPERF scale.

Assurance (ASU) · SERVPERF scale

Code	Item
ASU1	You can trust employees of XYZ.
ASU2	You feel safe in your transactions with XYZ's employees.
ASU3	Employees of XYZ are polite.
ASU4	Employees get adequate support from XYZ to do their jobs well.

Source: Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry (1988). See SERVPERF scale.

Empathy (EMP) · SERVPERF scale

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

Source: Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry (1988). See SERVPERF scale.

Loyalty (LOY) · Behavioral intentions battery

Code	Item
LOY1	Say positive things about XYZ to other people.
LOY2	Recommend XYZ to someone who seeks your advice.
LOY3	Encourage friends and relatives to do business with XYZ.
LOY4	Consider XYZ your first choice to buy --- services.
LOY5	Do more business with XYZ in the next few years.

Source: Zeithaml, Berry & Parasuraman (1996). See Behavioral intentions battery.

Tips

• The 1988 version has 9 reverse-keyed items (RES1-RES4, EMP1-EMP5). Parasuraman, Berry and Zeithaml (1991) rewrote them all as positive statements because negative wording lowers reliability. If you use the positive version, take the exact wording from the 1991 paper, remove the reverse-coding flags and state this in Chapter 3.
• Replace 'this store' with the specific business name and survey only people who have used the service.
• REL5 (keeping accurate records) suits banks, hospitals and hotels but is hard to answer for restaurants or shops; you may drop it in the Survey Kit and state the reason.
• Some items (for example about staff appearance) need adjusting for online services; keep the intended meaning of each dimension.

Work out the minimum sample size for this model; once the data are in, clean the responses and run the survey data analysis for your results chapter.

Studies that used this model

• Nguyen, Pham, Tran and Pham (2020). Impact of Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction and Switching Costs on Customer Loyalty. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 7(8), 395–405. Sample: 227 e-banking users in Hanoi; five SERVQUAL-style dimensions → satisfaction → loyalty. Reliability: .
• Nguyen, Nguyen, Phan and Matsui (2015). Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction: A Case Study of Hotel Industry in Vietnam. Asian Social Science, 11(10), 73–85. Sample: 432 guests of 33 three-star hotels; SERVQUAL with 23 variables, 5 dimensions → satisfaction. Reliability: α 0.67-0.93 (Table 3).
• Phan and Nham (2015). Impact of service quality on customer satisfaction of automated teller machine service: case study of a private commercial joint stock bank in Vietnam. Business: Theory and Practice, 16(3), 280–289. Sample: Customers using the ATMs of a joint-stock commercial bank; SERVPERF → satisfaction. Reliability: .

Collecting responses

If your own network cannot reach the target respondents, you can pay for verified responses through Genius Data (referral link, we may earn a commission), paying only for approved responses.