Measuring service quality: A test-retest reliability investigation off SERVQUAL

Abstract

The SERVQUAL scale has been widely used by both academics and practicing managers to measure service quality but recent research has raised concerns about the reliability of SERVQUAL. Using the test-retest correlation method, this paper assesses short - and long - range stability of SERVQUAL. The results indicate that the SERVQUAL scale is not stable over time as revealed by the insignificant correlation between the test scores and retest scores. Although items in the expectation battery of the SERVQUAL scale remain fairly stable over time, the performance items are subject to instability even in a one-week test-retest interval. These results seem to cast doubt on the usefulness of using SERVQUAL performance items to measure service quality.