This paper describes the development of a 22-item instrument (called SERVQUAL) for assessing customer perceptions of service quality in service and retailing organizations. After a discussion of the conceptualization and operationalization of the service quality construct, the procedures used in constructing and refining a multiple-item scale to measure the construct are described. Evidence of the scale's reliability, factor structure, and validity on the basis of analyzing data from four independent samples is presented next. The paper concludes with a discussion of potential applications of the scale.
