Can you spot the quality gaps?

Overview

Every time you buy something and consume it you make a quality judgement.  Most of the time you are satisfied (it meets your expectations); sometimes it is better than thought it would be and you are pleased; and sometimes it fails to meet your expectations and you complain (if not to the vendor then to your friends and colleagues).  So you are a de facto Quality Inspector.  This activity gets you to analyse in more detail all those occasions when a product or service disappointed you.

Activity Description

Some time this week you are going to spend money on something that does not live up to your expectations.  Just spend some time analysing why this is the case in more detail…

  • Was it because the operator/vendor clearly does not understand what people like you want? (Positioning gap)
  • Was it because the operator/vendor cut corners in making the product or delivering the service? (Specification gap)
  • Was it because the product was damaged or the service was poor? (Delivery gap)
  • Was it because the product or service did not match up to the advertising hype? (Communication gap)
  • Was it you – your expectations were just too high? (Perception gap)
  • Was it more than just one of these?
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