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Presents two questionnaires for measuring service quality. Derived from the SERVQUAL instrument, they have been field tested on around 100 subjects. The adapted questionnaires are shorter and more flexible when compared with SERVQUAL. They may be used separately or in combination. One questionnaire is given to consumers of the service and the other may be given to the service providers. Comparing results from the two groups can help shape the service quality strategy of the provider. Although describing a hospitality application, the approach to adapting SERVQUAL can be followed in other service contexts. Further introduces the concept of “decentring” in a quality context i.e. perceiving the service from the consumer’s viewpoint. Using the two adapted questionnaires helps service providers see quality from the customer’s perspective and so promote customer focus.

Presents a method of operational benchmarking especially suited to those seeking a low profile or low key approach. Benchmarking is interpreted in a broad sense, thus making the technique accessible to those who would not want a large‐scale project. The IDEAS acronym represents the inquiring, deciding, expanding, analysing and specifying stages that would take the benchmarking organization to the point of implementation. Describes a service quality case study to provide an example of the method. The case study is an investigation of how to improve counter service in banking and is based on research conducted in Taiwan and Britain.