Abstract:
The concept of service quality evolved because of difficulties in applying product quality concepts to services. Construction offers an interesting scenario for studying service quality because it is a central feature in a ¿means to an end¿ process of procuring a physical end product. The paper posits that service quality is likely to be important to non-professional and technically inexperienced customers ¿ such as those that occur in detached housing construction. As a result, the paper focuses on developing a means of measuring service quality. The SERVQUAL survey instrument ¿ as developed in the marketing discipline - is used as basis for development. This instrument has undergone considerable peer review which has served as a validation process. The ultimate result offers a base instrument with guidelines for modification and adoption to suit individual industry applications. A survey of 51 customers was undertaken to determine additions, adjustments and changes to SERVQUAL, to suit the housing construction service setting. From this work, the study proposes a new hybrid instrument referred to as BUILDSERV and a proposed regime for its administration to customers in the housing construction sector.
