1

Service Gap of Sonali Bank

and
Prime Bank
1By Md. Delowar Hossain

Service Gap of Sonali Bank and

Prime B

1
Md. Delowar Hossain, student of Department of Marketing (12th Batch), University of Dhaka.
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ABSTRACT

Both public and private banks play a great role in the economy, making up one of the
biggest providers of services in the Bangladeshi economy. In the current banking
environment, service quality is one of the main weapons, which enables the banks to
differentiate from each other. It is said that service quality has become an important
factor to survive and succeed in the banking sector. Hence providing a better service
quality is vital, as banks have to compete for customers. In this paper, the factors
leading to the service provider gaps in case of Sonali Bank and Prime Bank have been
identified and measured. This study has also focused on the relationship between the
provider gaps of these banks and the “gap between expected service and perceived
service” (customer gap). In this paper, there is an endeavor to recognize whether the
service provider gaps and the customer gap are correlated. This study takes into
consideration the problems of organizational quality gaps where the quality losses
occur. Many service quality gaps are reviewed in this paper. This study will help the
management of these banks to know where the service gaps lie and how to close the
gaps for providing quality service to its clients.

1. INTRODUCTION
The economy of a country is largely dependent on banking sector. In this case,
Bangladesh is not exceptional. Both Sonali Bank and Prime Bank are playing a great
role to develop the economy of Bangladesh. Client expectations are increasing day
by day from these banks. That is why; managers in Sonali Bank and Prime Bank are
under increasing pressure to demonstrate that their services are customer-focused
and that continuous performance improvement is being delivered. In spite of having
resource constraints, the banks must concentrate whether the customer
expectations are properly understood and measured. They will also focus on
whether any gaps from client point of view are identified. This information then
assists a manager in identifying cost-effective ways of closing service quality gaps
and of prioritizing which gaps to focus on – a critical decision given scarce
resources.

One of the aims of this study involves the use of service gap model in order to
ascertain any actual or perceived gaps between customer expectations and
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perceptions of the service offered. Another aim of this paper is to point out how
management of these banks can close these gaps effectively.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
The service sector is expanding at an increasing rate and is becoming intensely
competitive (Chen, Gupta and Rom, 1994; Johnson, Dotson and Dunlap, 1988).

Services can be defined as any activity or benefit that one party offers to another
that is essentially intangible and does not result in ownership of anything. Its
production may or may not be tied to a physical product. A company’s offerings
often include some services (Lovelock Christopher, 2004). The nature of most
services is such that the customer is present in the delivery process. This means
that the perception of quality is influenced not only by the ‘service outcome’ but
also by the ‘service process’ (Ghobadian Abby, Speller Simon & Jones Matthew,
1994).

Many researchers and authors define service qualities in different ways. Service
quality is defined as how well the service meets or exceeds the customers’
expectations on a consistent basis (Crosby, 1979; Parasuraman, Zeithaml and
Berry, 1985). Parasuraman et al., Liljander, and Tore agreed that service quality
is the difference between expectation and the performance of the service or the
perception of the customer. Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985) defined
service quality as “the comparison between customer expectations and
perceptions of service.” Liljander and Tore (1992) defined service quality as “the
difference between what a service company should offer and what it actually
does offer.” In some earlier studies, service quality has been referred as the
extent to which a service meets customers’ needs or expectations (Lewis &
Mitchell, 1990; Dotchin & Oakland, 1994).

Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988, p. 16) define perceived service quality
as “a global judgement, or attitude, relating to the superiority of the service.”
Additionally, they link the concept of perceived service quality to the concepts of
perceptions and expectations as follows: “perceived quality is viewed as the
degree and direction of discrepancy between consumers’ perceptions and
expectations” (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry 1988, p. 1). In the services
marketing literature, perceptions are defined as consumers’ beliefs concerning
the service received (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry 1985) or experienced
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service (Brown and Swartz 1989). Expectations are defined by Parasuraman,

Zeithaml, and Berry (1988, p.17) as “desires or wants of consumers, i.e., what
they feel a service provider should offer rather than would offer.”
Service quality is so important that companies have gone to great efforts to
evaluate and keep records of service quality levels (Hauser and Clausing, 1988;
Phillips, Chang and Buzzell, 1983; Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry, 1990). Not
surprisingly, there are strong linkages between service quality dimensions and
overall customer satisfaction (Anderson and Sullivan, 1993). Many industries
are paying greater attention to service quality and customer satisfaction, for
reasons such as increased competition and deregulation (Reichheld & Sasser,
1990; Schlesinger & Heskett, 1991). The academic literature proposes that
customer satisfaction is a function of the discrepancy between a consumer’s
prior expectation and his or her perception regarding the purchase (Churchill &
Surprenant, 1982; Oliver, 1977). As reported in the relevant literature high
quality service helps to generate customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and
growth of market share by soliciting new customers, and improved productivity
and financial performance (Lewis, 1993; Andereson, Fornell, & Lehmann, 1994).

Parasuraman and his colleagues developed the service quality measurement

model known as SERVQUAL. This model is based on a comparison between the
customer's expectations of the standard of service he/she will receive and
his/her perception of the standard of service that is actually delivered.
Furthermore, Parasuraman et al. see their service quality measurement model as
one of the models that has been shown to enjoy a high degree of validity and
stability.

The most well known model is the model of Parasuraman et al. (1985) which is
widely utilized in the literature. The model attempts to show the salient
activities of the service organization that influence the perception of quality.
Moreover, the model shows the interaction between these activities and
identifies the linkages between the key activities of the service organization or
marketer, which are pertinent to the delivery of a satisfactory level of service
quality. The links are described as gaps or discrepancies: that is to say, a gap
represents a significant hurdle to achieving a satisfactory level of service quality
(Ghobadian et al., 1994).
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Word of Mouth Personal Needs Past Experience

Communication

Expected Service

Gap 5
Perceived Service

Consumer

Company Service Delivery External

Communication to
Gap 1 Gap 3 Gap 4 Customers

Service Standards

Gap 2
Management
Perceptions of
Consumers’
Expectation

Source: Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V., Berry, L. L. (1985, 1998)

Figure 1: Conceptual model of service quality Gap

The upper part of the model (Figure 1.) includes phenomena tied to the consumer,
while the lower part shows phenomena tied to the supplier of services. The
expected service is the function of earlier experiences of the consumer, their
personal needs and oral communication. Communication with the market also
influences the expected service. Experienced service, here called perceived service,
is the result of a series of internal decisions and activities. The management’s
perceptions of the consumer’s expectations are the guiding principle when deciding
on the specifications of the quality of service that the company should follow in
providing service. If there are differences or discrepancies in the expectations or
perceptions between people involved in providing and consuming services, a
“service quality gap” can occur, as shown in figure 1. Since there is a direct
connection between the quality of service and the satisfaction of clients in banking
industry, it is important for the company to spot a gap in the quality of service.

The primary thesis of this model is that the service quality shortfall (i.e. Gap 5, the
gap between customer service expectations and perceptions) is the result of a series
 6

of shortfalls within the service provider’s organization (i.e. Gaps 1-4). Thus,
improving the quality of service experienced by customers (i.e. closing Gap 5)
requires diagnosing the causes of and correcting the internal deficiencies (i.e. Gaps
1-4) (Parasuraman, 2004).
Luk and Layton (2002) developed the traditional model of Parasuraman et al.
(1998) by adding two more gaps. They reflect the differences in the understanding
of consumer expectations by manager and front-line service providers and the
differences in consumer expectations and service providers' perception of such
expectations. This model is illustrated in Figure 2.

Word of mouth
Communications Personal needs Past experience

Expected service

Gap5
servic
Consumer e
Perceived service
Gap6
servic
e

Service delivery Gap4 External

(including pre-and servic communications
post contacts) e to customers

Provider
Employee Gap3
perceptions servic
of consumers' e
Translation of
expectation perceptions into
service quality
specifications
Gap1
servic Gap7 Gap2
e servic servic
e e
Management
perceptions of
Consumers’
expectations

Source: Parasuraman et al., 1985; Curry, 1999; Luk and Layton, 2002
 7

Figure 2: Conceptual model of service quality Gap.

These seven gaps are described below briefly.

GAP 1: Customers’ expectations versus management perceptions: This gap

occurs because of the lack of a marketing research orientation, inadequate
upward communication and too many layers of management.
GAP 2: Management perceptions versus service specifications: It happens
because of inadequate commitment to service quality, a perception of
unfeasibility, inadequate task standardization and an absence of goal setting.
GAP 3: Service specifications versus service delivery: The third gap takes
place because of role ambiguity and conflict, poor employee-job fit and poor
technology-job fit, inappropriate supervisory control systems, lack of perceived
control and lack of teamwork.
GAP 4: Service delivery versus external communication: It arises from
inadequate horizontal communication and propensity to over-promise.
GAP 5: The discrepancy between customers’ expectations and their
perceptions of the service delivered: Because of the influences exerted from
the customer side and the shortfalls (gaps) on the part of the service provider,
the fifth gap that is known as customer gap, happens.
GAP 6: The discrepancy between customers’ expectations and employees’
perceptions: This gap is created because of the differences in the understanding
of customers’ expectations by front-line service providers.
Gap7: The discrepancy between employee’s perceptions and management
perceptions: The seventh gap happens because of the differences in the
understanding of customers’ expectations between managers and service
providers.

According to Brown and Bond (1995), "the gap model is one of the best received and
most valuable contributions to the services literature". The model identifies seven
key discrepancies or gaps relating to managerial perceptions of service quality, and
tasks associated with service delivery to customers. The first six gaps (Gap 1, Gap 2,
Gap 3, Gap 4, Gap 6 and Gap 7) are identified as functions of the way in which
service is delivered, whereas Gap 5 pertains to the customer and as such is
considered to be the true measure of service quality.
At past many studies were done using the service gap model and SERVQUAL model.
Such as Ivanković Jadranka (2006) used both SERVQUAL and service gap model in
 8

food industry. He focused on skillful personnel to provide better service to the

customers. He also emphasized on CRM to understand the customer needs and
expectations.
Alam M.M.D. and Momotaz S.N. (2008) measured the Diagnostic Centers’
expectations and perception about service of local customized software of
Bangladesh. They found out the gap between the clients’ expectations and
perception using SERVQUAL model. They also showed the relationship between the
five dimensions (reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibility) and
client satisfaction.
Urban W. (2009) also worked for service industry on Poland. He used the service
gap model developed by Parasuraman et al. (1985). He highlighted the four provider
gaps (GAP 1, GAP 2, GAP 3, and GAP 4) to determine how much internal gaps existed
in the service industry in Poland.

There have been a number of studies of retail bank service quality. Most of these
studies have measured service quality by replicating or adapting the SERVQUAL
model.
In the study of service quality in the banking sector in Turkish banking, Yavas et. al.
(1997), focused on the relationship between service quality on consumer
satisfaction, complaint behaviour and commitment. Their study found that overall
service quality was a significant determinant customer satisfaction, complaint
behaviour and commitment. Bahia and Nantel (2000) suggested alternative scale for
the measurement of perceived service quality in retail banking. Their study found
that when comparing BSQ dimensions and SERVQUAL, it seemed that BSQ
dimensions were more reliable than SERVQUAL. Jabnoun and Al-Tamimi (2002)
examined service quality at UAE commercial banks using SERVQUAL model and
included thirty items in the five dimensions of SERVQUAL. When they tested the
developed instrument for reliability and validity, they found that the instrument had
only three dimensions. Arasli et al. (2005) studied service quality perceptions of
Greek Cypriot bank customers using SERVQUAL model. They however, extend the
study by looking at the relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction
and positive word of mouth. They found that the expectations of bank customers
were not met where the largest gap was obtained in the responsiveness-empathy
dimension. In addition, the reliability items had the highest effect on customer
satisfaction, which in turn had a statistically significant impact on the positive word
of mouth. Finally, in 2008 Amin and Isa examined the relationship between service
quality perception and customer satisfaction in Malaysian Islamic banking. Amin
and Isa found that the relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction was significant.
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From the literature review it can be easily known that most of the past studies
emphasized on SERVQUAL model to analyze the service quality of a service firm.
Only Urban W. (2009) used four provider gaps (GAP 1, GAP 2, GAP3, and GAP4) of
the service gap model to find out the internal gaps of the service industry. In this
study, I have done same job. But I have focused on six provider gaps (GAP 1, GAP 2,
GAP 3, GAP 4, GAP 6, and GAP 7). I have also shown the relationship between these
provider gaps and the customer gap (GAP 5).

Management’s
Management’s unawareness about
unawareness about employees’
customers’ expectations perception of
(GAP 1) f customers’
a expectations (GAP 7)

b Variation between
Employees’
expected service
unawareness
& perceived service
about customers’
(CUSTOMER GAP)
expectations
Not selecting right (GAP 6)
service designs &
standards (GAP 2)

e
c

Not delivering to d
service standards
Not matching
(GAP 3)
performance to
promises (GAP 4)

Figure 3: Key factors leading

to the customer gap
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In this paper, I have used service provider gaps as independent variables. These are
a. Management’s unawareness about customers’ expectations (GAP 1)
b. Not selecting right service designs & standards (GAP 2)
c. Not delivering to service standards (GAP 3)
d. Not matching performance to promises (GAP 4)
e. Employees unawareness about customers’ expectations (GAP 6)
f. Management’s unawareness about employees’ perception of customers’
expectations (GAP 7)
Here dependent variable = “Variation between expected service & perceived service
(CUSTOMER GAP)”
Figure 3 shows how the provider gaps, the independent variables, lead to the
customer gap (GAP 5).

In this paper, I have focused on following factors to measure the provider gaps.
a. Management’s unawareness about customers’ expectations (GAP 1)
 Whether the managers perfectly understand customers’ expectations
 Whether the management emphasizes on customer relationship
 Whether the marketing research conducted in the company concerns
service quality
b. Not selecting right service designs & standards (GAP 2)
 Whether quality standards of service reflect managers’ perception of
customers’ expectations
 Whether there is the same pressure on the quality improvement like
on the sale of services
 Whether equipments to deliver service are modern looking
 Whether physical facilities are visually appealing

c. Not delivering to service standards (GAP 3)

 Whether the service is provided perfectly according to the set
standards and specifications
 Whether employees have appropriate skills to realize the service well
 Whether employees know which aspects of service are particularly
important from customer point of view
 Whether employees are eager to learn new things for better service
providing

d. Not matching performance to promises (GAP 4)

 Whether advertisement and other communications perfectly reflect
services which are provided
 Whether advertisement announcements have an effect on the contact
personnel
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 Whether there are adequate communications to educate the

customers

e. Employees unawareness about customers’ expectations (GAP 6)

 Whether employees enquire customers’ expectations
 Whether employees have friendly interaction with customers
 Whether employees give individual attention to every customer

f. Management’s unawareness about employees’ perception of customers’

expectations (GAP 7)
 Whether the managers encourage contact personnel to share
customers’ opinion
 Whether the management has frequent face-to-face contact with the
contact personnel
 Whether there are only a few layers between contact personnel and
top management

3. METHODOLOGY

The data of this paper have been collected both from primary and secondary
sources of information. Primary data have been collected from the respondents of
Sonali Bank and Prime Bank situated in Dhaka City through questionnaire. And the
secondary data have been collected from various published materials and Internet
resources in 2010. Major findings of the study are represented in the tabular and
text format.

Types of Research:
Since the past studies identified the factors affecting the service quality, I did not
used exploratory research here. I have conducted ‘Descriptive Research’ to measure
the extent of the problem. I have also conducted ‘Regression Analysis’ to show how
the provider gaps affect the customer gap.

Sources of Data:
This study covered two types of data, which are
1. Primary data:
Survey method
Personal observation
2. Secondary data:
Web information
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Journals
Published reports on service quality of Sonali Bank and
Prime Bank

Sampling Process:
The target population for the questionnaire is defined as below:
Elements
Service holder
Business people
Target Population Students
Teacher
Doctor
Others
Area
Dhaka City

Sampling and Sample size:

I have used simple random sampling technique. That means I have collected data
from the respondents randomly.
The sample size for Sonali Bank is 27. 81.5% of respondents are male and 18.5% are
female. Among the respondents, 11.1% are students, 70.4% are service holder, 7.4%
are businessperson, 3.7% are teachers, and 7.4% are others.
I have selected 26 respondents for Prime Bank. Among them 69.2% are male and
30.8% are female. Here 38.5% are students, 23.1% are service holder, 23.1% are
businessperson, and 15.4% are female.

Questionnaire Development:
I have used a structured questionnaire here to collect data. The questionnaire has
been developed in a way that reveals the respondent’s response related to each of
the independent variables. The questionnaire has been formed on seven point Likert
Scale to measure the degree of perception of respondents on each variable. The
respondents were asked to rate statements based on their perception; from 1 to 7.

1= Strongly Disagree 2= Disagree 3= Some what Disagree

4= Neutral 5= Some what Agree 6= Agree
7= Strongly Agree
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Data analysis:
Since the first purpose of this study is to measure the provider gaps, I have found
out the average (mean) value of each sub-variable under the independent variables
(provider gaps) and then subtracted the mean value from the maximum value 7 to
find out the gap. Thus, determining the average of these sub-variable gaps, I have
determined and measured the each provider gap.

Another purpose of this paper is to determine the correlation between the provider
gaps (independent variables) and customer gap (dependent variable). I have also
detected and analyzed the relationship between them using a linear regression
analysis. In this analysis, the coefficient correlation indicates how strong the
relationship is. Here both t-value and significance designate the nature and
importance of the relationship.

4. RESULTS & FINDINGS

In this research the gaps have been calculated by subtracting the found score from
the maximum score 7. Past studies suggest that service provider gaps affect the
customer gap i.e. the gap between customer expectation and customer perception of
service. In this study also, a relationship between the provider gaps and customer
gaps is reviewed. The results are shown in the following tables.

A. SONALI BANK
Descriptive Analysis

Average gap score of seven gaps is 3.922333. Though the score of the smallest gap,
gap 1 is higher than the average score of seven gaps, it shows that the management
has somewhat knowledge about the customer expectations. Gap between customer
expectations and employees’ perceptions (gap 6) is found as the largest quality gap.

Table 1: Gap 1 according to the research

Research items (GAP 1) N Mean SD GAP

Score
Managers perfectly know customers’ expectations. 27 3.6296 1.86358 3.3704
Management emphasizes on customer relationship 27 3.1481 1.51159 3.8519
Marketing research conducted in the company
27 2.2593 1.63125
concerns service quality. 4.7407
Gap between customers’ expectations and
3.6296 1.86358
management perceptions 3.3704
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Table 2: Gap 2 according to the research

Research items (GAP 2) N Mean SD GAP

Score
Quality standards of service reflect managers’
27 2.5926 1.71552
perception of customers’ expectations. 4.4074
There is the same pressure on the quality
27 3.1481 1.23113
improvement like on the sale of services. 3.8519
Equipments to deliver service are modern looking.
27 3.5185 1.88864
3.4815
Physical facilities are visually appealing. 27 2.4815 1.57798 4.5185
Gap between management perceptions and
2.9352 1.04604
service specifications 4.0648

Table 3: Gap 3 according to the research

Research items (GAP 3) N

Mean SD GAP
Score
The service is provided perfectly according to the 27 2.9259 1.43918 4.0741
set standards and specifications
Employees have appropriate skills to realize the
27 3.4815 1.78391
service well 3.5185
Employees know which aspects of service are
particularly important from customers point of 27 3.3333 1.73205
view 3.6667
Employees are eager to learn new things for better
27 2.8519 1.83353
service providing 4.1481
Gap between service specifications and service
3.1481 1.15663
delivery 3.8519

Table 4: Gap 4 according to the research

Research items (GAP 4) N Mean SD GAP

Score
Advertisement and other communications
27 3.0000 1.35873
perfectly reflect services which are provided 4
Personal selling perfectly reflects services that are
27 3.1111 1.33973
provided 3.8889
Advertisement announcements have an effect on the
27 3.6667 1.44115
contact personnel 3.3333
There are adequate communications to educate the
27 2.8148 1.41522
customers 4.1852
Gap between service delivery and external 3.1481 1.06125
communication 3.8519
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Table 5: Gap 6 according to the research

Research items (GAP 6) N Mean SD GAP

Score
Employees enquire customers’ expectations 27 1.8889 .80064 5.1111
Employees have friendly interaction with customers 27 3.0370 1.45395 3.963
Employees give individual attention to every
27 2.7407 1.60750
customer 4.2593
Gap between customer expectations and
2.5556 1.05003
employees’ perceptions 4.4444

Table 6: Gap 7 according to the research

Research items (GAP 7) N Mean SD GAP

Score
the management encourages contact 27 3.0000 1.35873
personnel to share customers opinion 4
the management has frequently face-to-face 27 3.1111 1.21950
contact with the contact personnel 3.8889
there are only a few layers between contact 27 3.0370 1.60484
personnel and top management 3.963
Gap between employee’s perceptions and
3.0494 1.13869
management perceptions 3.9506
The average of seven gaps 3.077667
3.922333

Though in this study, gap 1 is appeared as the lowest gap in case of Sonali Bank; still
there exists a significant gap. This gap refers that the management is yet unable to
understand the customer expectations properly. We see that insufficient marketing
research is a major contributor to gap 1. Customer relationship is not focused in this
bank.
Empirical findings show that service specifications and design (gap 2) exerts a
significant impact on service quality. It is the second largest internal gap of Sonali
Bank. Lack of customer driven standard and poor visually appealing physical
facilities of this bank, increase the customer dissatisfaction in a great extent.
We see here that gap 6 represent the largest quality gap for Sonali Bank. Lack of
friendly interaction between the employees and the customers and employees
unawareness of customer expectations are great impediments to improve service
quality of Sonali bank.
Score of gap 3, gap 4, and gap 7 are also very close to the score of largest gap. This
indicates that there is a lack of coordination among the inter and intra departments
 16

of Sonali Bank. That is why; large service gaps exist which decrease service quality
and causes poor customer satisfaction.

Regression analysis
Table 7: Model summary

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate

1 .698a .487 .333 1.36580

a. Predictors: (Constant), Average score of GAP 7, Average score of GAP 1,

Average score of GAP 6, Average score of GAP 3, Average score of GAP 2,
Average score of GAP 4

Positive Value of coefficient correlation (R) indicates that there is a positive

relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Value of R is 0.698,
which indicates there is a moderate relationship between the dependent variable
(Variation between expected service and perceived service) and the independent
(GAP 1, GAP2, GAP 3, GAP 4, GAP 6, and GAP 7) variables considered at the model.

The value of coefficient of determination (R2) is 0.487 and this specifies that 48.7%
of the variation in the dependent variable be explained by the independent
variables. That means 51.3% variation in the dependent variable is clarified by
other external variables.

Table 8: Coefficient correlation

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Analysis of co-efficient provides us which independent variables have significant

relationship with the dependent variable. So,

Variation between expected service and perceived service (Customer gap) (Ŷ) = 1.694 +
0.102* X1 + 0.928* X2+ 0.424* X3 -0.753* X4 + 0.38* X5 -0.206* X6

Where, X1 = GAP 1, X2 = GAP 2, X3 = GAP 3, X4 = GAP 4, X5 = GAP 6, and X6 = GAP 7

From the table it can be seen that only the significance level for GAP 2 (gap between
management perceptions and service specifications) (0.006), and GAP 4 (gap
between service delivery and external communication) (0.036) are less than level of
significance (0.05). Hence, there may have a significant relationship between the
“Customer gap” and GAP 2 and GAP 4. But for all other variables, significance level is
higher than 0.05. So, we can conclude that there may not have any significant
relationship between “Customer gap” and GAP 1, GAP 3, GAP 6, and GAP 7.

B. PRIME BANK
Descriptive Analysis
The average gap score of seven gaps is 2.4279. The score of smallest gap, gap 2
shows that service design standard and service specifications of Prime Bank are
desirable. According to the research, service specifications are considered as the
smallest problem concerning quality losses. In case of Prime Bank, Gap between
customer expectations and employees’ perceptions (gap 6) is found as the largest
quality gap.

Table 9: Gap 1 according to the research

Research items (GAP 1) N Mean SD GAP

Score
Managers perfectly know customers’ expectations. 26 4.7692 1.55712 2.2308
Management emphasizes on customer relationship 26 5.3462 1.54770 1.6538
Marketing research conducted in the company
26 4.3077 1.71509
concerns service quality. 2.6923
Gap between Customers’ expectations and
4.8077 1.40846
management perceptions 2.1923
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Table 10: Gap 2 according to the research

Research items (GAP 2) N Mean SD GAP

Score
Quality standards of service reflect managers’
26 5.0000 1.54919
perception of customers’ expectations. 2
There is the same pressure on the quality
26 5.1154 1.45126
improvement like on the sale of services. 1.8846
Equipments to deliver service are modern looking.
26 5.5000 1.42127
1.5
Physical facilities are visually appealing. 26 5.0000 1.49666 2
Gap between management perceptions and
5.1538 1.05375
service specifications 1.8462

Table 11: Gap 3 according to the research

Research items (GAP 3) N Mean SD GAP

Score
The service is provided perfectly according to the
26 4.7692 1.58260
set standards and specifications 2.2308
Employees have appropriate skills to realize the
26 5.0000 1.74356
service well 2
Employees know which aspects of service are
particularly important from customers point of 26 4.8077 1.64971
view 2.1923
Employees are eager to learn new things for better
26 4.1923 1.54969
service providing 2.8077
Gap between service specifications and service
4.2019 .81246
delivery 2.7981

Table 12: Gap 4 according to the research

Research items (GAP 4) N Mean SD GAP

Score
Advertisement and other communications
26 4.7308 1.58890
perfectly reflect services which are provided 2.2692
Personal selling perfectly reflects services that are
26 4.6538 1.41258
provided 2.3462
Advertisement announcements have an effect on the
26 4.5769 1.55366
contact personnel 2.4231
There are adequate communications to educate the
26 4.3462 1.64784
customers 2.6538
Gap between service delivery and external
4.5769 1.32055
communication 2.4231
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Table 13: Gap 6 according to the research

Research items (GAP 6) N Mean SD GAP

Score
Employees enquire customers’ expectations 26 4.3846 2.04112 2.6154
Employees have friendly interaction with customers 26 5.5000 1.70294 1.5
Employees give individual attention to every
26 4.6154 1.79057
customer 2.3846
Gap between customer expectations and
4.0385 1.05547
employees’ perceptions 2.9615

Table 14: Gap 7 according to the research

Research items (GAP 7) N Mean SD GAP

Score
the management encourages contact personnel to
26 4.9615 1.48272
share customers opinion 2.0385
the management has frequently face-to-face
26 4.6538 1.44062
contact with the contact personnel 2.3462
there are only a few layers between contact
26 4.3462 1.57334
personnel and top management 2.6538
Gap between employee’s perceptions and
4.6538 1.26660
management perceptions 2.3462
Average of seven gaps 4.5721 2.4279

The issue of how to match employees’ perception and customers’ expectations in

the organization is important difficulty (gap 6) for the Prime Bank. In the researched
bank, apparently, it is a little bit challenging to educate and make qualify the
personnel to understand the customers’ need and expectation from the bank.
According to the study in this area of the bank, it comes to the largest distortion of
customer requirements and expectations.
Empirical findings show that performance according to the set standards and
specifications (gap 3) exerts a significant impact on service quality. It is the second
largest internal gap of Prime Bank. Ineffective recruitment, failure to meet clients’
demand in rush period, difficulty of controlling quality and consistency of this bank
increase the customers’ dissatisfaction in a great extent.
Apparently, the internal gaps-gap 1, gap 2, gap 4, and gap 7 of Prime Bank may be
seen as minor. But here still exists some problems, which cause the service quality
to deteriorate. So, management is expected to take corrective measures where
needed as par the reports. For example, in order to reduce long queue at service
 20

point, management may decide to install one more service counter (Faruk ANM,
2010).
Regression Analysis

Table 15: Model summary

Adjusted R Std. Error of the

Model R R Square Square Estimate
1 .765a .585 .454 1.15395
a. Predictors: (Constant), Average score of GAP 7, Average score of GAP 2,
Average score of GAP 4, Average score of GAP 6, Average score of GAP 1,
Average score of GAP 3

Positive Value of coefficient correlation (R) indicates that there is a positive

relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Value of R is 0.765,
which indicates there is a strong relationship between the dependent variable
(Variation between expected service and perceived service) and the independent
(GAP 1, GAP2, GAP 3, GAP 4, GAP 6, and GAP 7) variables considered at the model.

The value of coefficient of determination (R2) is 0.585 and this specifies that 58.5%
of the variation in the dependent variable be explained by the independent
variables. That means 41.5% variation in the dependent variable is clarified by
other external variables.

Table 16: Coefficient correlation

 21

Analysis of co-efficient helps us know which independent variables have significant

relationship with the dependent variable. So,
Variation between expected service and perceived service (Customer gap) (Ŷ) = -0.787 +
0.426* X1 + 0.264* X2 +0.628* X3 +0.255* X4 -0.137* X5 -0.196* X6

Where, X1 = GAP 1, X2 = GAP 2, X3 = GAP 3, X4 = GAP 4, X5 = GAP 6, and X6 = GAP 7

From the Table 16, we see that the significance levels for all provider gaps are higher
than level of significance (0.05). Hence, there may not have any significant relationship
between the “Customer gap” and GAP 1, GAP 2, GAP 3, GAP 4, GAP 6, and GAP 7.

Table 17: Comparative review of service quality and service gap

Service gaps Sonali Prime

Bank Bank
Gap between customers’ expectations and management 3.3704 2.1923
perceptions (GAP 1)
Gap between management perceptions and service 4.0648 1.8462
specifications (GAP 2)
Gap between service specifications and service delivery 3.8519 2.7981
(GAP 3)
Gap between service delivery and external communication 3.8519 2.4231
(GAP 4)
Gap between customer expectations and employees’ 4.4444 2.9615
perceptions (GAP 6)
Gap between employee’s perceptions and management 3.9506 2.3462
perceptions (GAP 7)
The average of seven gaps 3.922333 2.4279

After a comparative analysis of Sonali Bank and Prime Bank, it can be concluded that
the internal (provider) gaps of Sonali Bank are higher than that of Prime bank.
Though Sonali Bank is largest commercial bank in our country, it cannot fulfill its
customer expectations. Sonali Bank has a higher average of seven internal gaps,
which states that the service quality and customer satisfaction are very poor in
Sonali Bank. On the other hand, the internal service gaps in case of Prime Bank are
lower. That means the service quality of Prime Bank is better than that of Sonali
Bank. But the authority of Prime Bank should be conscious of existing service gaps
to ensure more quality service and customer satisfaction.
 22

5. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The findings of this study can be generalized after taking into consideration certain
limitations. A small number of respondents (27 for Sonali Bank, and 26 for Prime
Bank) from Dhaka city have been used in this study. The respondents were selected
on the basis convenience. So, the samples may not represent the population of the
country. Besides, there were time and financial constraints to perform the study.
Finally, in this study I have focused on the perception of the clients of the service of
the banks, which may not perfectly represent the actual service gaps of these banks.
So the future researchers are suggested to remember the limitations of the study in
further research in this area.

6. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Since Sonali Bank is the largest commercial bank in Bangladesh, its clients expect
something more from it. But it cannot meet the ever-increasing demand of the
clients. In the competitive banking industry to compete with other banks, Sonali
Bank has to improve its capability and remove the internal problems. From this
study, we can learn that there is a huge gap in service providing process. To remove
this gap, the overall organizational system should be changed and improved.
Following criteria are recommended from clients’ viewpoint to reduce the service
gaps and increase customer satisfaction.

The company mission should include a focus on customers.

A strong relationship with existing customers prevents Gap 1 from occurring
and companies are more able to understand the changing needs and
expectations of their existing customer base.
Employees have to express solidarity with the customer.
Employees have to be aware of customer expectations.
As this is the largest commercial bank of country, more employees have to be
engaged here to serve the customers properly.
Skilled personnel have to be employed here.
Training and motivational programmes should be introduced to improve the
employee skill.
The bank should take steps to minimize the operation time.
The bank should establish sufficient number of counter to reduce the long
queue.
More modern equipments have to be introduced here to provide better
service.
To provide better transaction facilities, new ATM booth should be
established.
 23

There is a messy environment in this bank. There should have a disciplined

work procedure.
There is a bureaucratic practice in this bank. This bureaucratic relationship
between the management and front line personnel should be removed.

From the study, we have known that though the performance of Prime Bank is
satisfactory, there is a huge gap between customer expectations and employees’
perceptions. Beside that, still some clients are not satisfied with the service of this
bank. So, it is high time the bank would give proper attention to the problem of
employees’ unawareness about customer expectations and improve its overall
service quality.

Every client should be focused individually.

The bank has to be more conscious of building customer relationship. To do
this, the bank can consider “Customer Involvement Program.”
To meet the demand of increasing number of clients, work force has to be
enlarged.
The bank management should ensure that all employees posses skill and
quality.
Employees should have a friendly interaction with the clients.
The bank should be fast to provide service to the clients. More counters have
to be established to afford quick service. Front desk service may be
introduced here.
Smart and polite personnel should be engaged in the cash counters.
To reduce customer queue time, token system may be introduced.
Clients’ problems should be solved swiftly.
Service providing procedure should be simple and easy.
In this bank, the employees are always in a pressure. They may be provided
some recreational facilities to offer them mental satisfaction.
The bank should give not only attention to the contemporary services but
also certainty to provide these services.
The bank should give special attention to “One Stop Service.”
Retail banking functions should be more expanded.
The bank has to start any branch banking service properly.
E-banking facilities of this bank have to be more improved.
The bank should provide technological facilities incessantly.
The bank should develop own ATM or CDM system to provide service
quickly and comfortably. The number of ATM booth should be increased
immediately.
Often the ATM booths of the bank become disabled. The concerned authority
should remove this problem.
More branches have to be established in district level.
 24

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 27

APPENDICES

Questionnaire

Name: ……………………………………………………………………………………………..

Contact Number…………………………………………………….

3. Your Education:
1. Your Gender:
Higher Secondary 1
Male 1
Graduation 2
Female 2
Post Graduation 3

2. Your Age: 4. Your Profession:

18 to 23 years 1 Student 1
24 to 29 years 2 Service Holder 2

30 to 35 years 3 Businessperson 3

Above 36 years 4 Teaching 4

Doctor 5

Others:________ 6

5. Do you have a bank account?

1. Yes 2. No

6. If yes, in which bank;

1. Sonali Bank 2. Prime Bank 3. Others………………….

7. Your expected service and perceived service match with this bank.

Strongly Disagree Some what Neutral Some what Agree Strongly

Disagree Disagree agree Agree

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
 28

8. Management’s unawareness about customers’ expectations (GAP 1)

Some what

Some what
Disagree

Disagree
Disagree

Strongly
Strongly

Neutral

Agree

Agree
agree
1. Managers perfectly know customers’ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
expectations.
2. Management emphasizes on customer 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
relationship.
3. Marketing research conducted in the company 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
concerns service quality.

9. Not selecting right service designs and standards (GAP 2)

Some what

Some what
Disagree
Disagree

Disagree

Strongly
Strongly

Neutral

Agree

Agree
agree
Quality standards of service of an excellent
1. bank reflect customers’ expectations. It is also 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
seen in case of this bank.
Like an excellent bank, there is the same
2. pressure on the quality improvement like on 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
the sale of services.
3. Equipments to deliver service are modern 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
looking.
4. Physical facilities are visually appealing. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10. Not delivering to service standards (GAP 3)

Some what

Some what
Disagree

Disagree
Disagree

Strongly
Strongly

Neutral

Agree

Agree
agree

Having a customer driven standard, the service

1. is provided according to the set standards and 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
specifications.
2. Employees have appropriate skills to provide 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
the service well.
Employees know which aspects of service are
3. particularly important from customers’ point of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
view.
4. Employees are eager to learn new things for 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
better service providing.
 29

11. Not matching performance to promises (GAP 4)

Some what

Some what
Disagree

Disagree
Disagree

Strongly
Strongly

Neutral

Agree

Agree
agree
1. Advertisement perfectly reflects services that 2 3 4 5 6 7
1
are provided.
2. Personal selling perfectly reflects services that 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
are provided.
3. Advertisement announcements have an effect 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
on the contact personnel
4. There are adequate communications to 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
educate the customers

12. Employees’ unawareness about customers’ expectations (GAP 6)

Some what

Some what
Disagree

Disagree
Disagree

Strongly
Strongly

Neutral

Agree

Agree
agree
1. Employees enquire customers’ expectations 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2. Employees have friendly interaction with 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

customers.
3. Employees give individual attention to every 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
customer.

13. Management’s unawareness about employees’ perception of customers’ expectations (GAP 7)

Some what

Some what
Disagree

Disagree
Disagree

Strongly
Strongly

Neutral

Agree

Agree
agree

This bank always improves services according

1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
to the customers’ expectations.
Your bank’s understanding of customers’
expectations refers that management of the
2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
bank has frequent face-to-face contact with
contact personnel.
Their response speed refers that there is a less
3. bureaucratic relationship between the top 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
management and the contact personnel.
30