A brand is the identity of a specific product, service, or business.

A brand can take many forms, including a name, sign, symbol, color combination or slogan. The word branding began simply as a way to tell one person's cattle from another by means of a hot iron stamp. A legally protected brand name is called a trademark. The word brand has continued to evolve to encompass identity - it affects the personality of a product, company

Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.

According to Turban et al. (2002),[1] “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation."

customer expectation is based on a customer knowledge and experience

Expectation may vary depending on the type of store.

1.early opening and late closing.2.big parking space.3.wide variety of products.4.displays.5.fast checkouts.6.attendents.

Service quality involves a comparison of expectations with performance.

According to Lewis and Booms (1983), service quality is a measure of how well a delivered service matches the customers expectations.

Tangibles (Physical evidence of the service: appearance of physical facilities, tools and equipments used to provide the service, appearance of personnel and communication materials)

Reliability (The ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately: consistency of performance and dependability, service is performed right at the first time, the company keeps it's promises in accuracy in billing and keeping records correctly, performing the services at the designated time)

Responsiveness (The willingness and/ or readiness of employees to help customers and to provide prompt service, timeliness of service: mailing a transaction slip immediately, setting up appointments quickly)

Assurance (The knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence: competence (possession of the required skills and knowledge to perform the service), courtesy (consideration for the customer's property, clean and neat appearance of public contact personnel), trustworthiness, security (safety and confidentiality))

Empathy (The provision of caring, individualized attention to customers: informing the customers in a language they can understand, Understanding customer's specific needs, Providing individualized attention)

A 6th criteria was proposed by Grönroos in 1988: recovery.It has the same effect as the junk yard strategy, which is used to support the zero defects strategy. The customer needs to stay happy. Since there are many bad services being delivered to the customer and according to latest researches 12 good service encounters are needed to make up a bad one, the criteria recovery can play an important role.

Total Quality Management( TQM).Service Gap Models

Quality if conformation to customer requirements: standards should be as per market research result

Zero defects Quality is free Get it Right First Time

Quality comes from Top Management There must be commitment from top There must be two way communication

Quality is company wide Everyone should be serving a customer or serving someone who will be a

customer Teamwork Self monitoring of activities.

It is defined as the service differencebetween what the customer was expectingand what is being delivered

Service gap is the difference betweenwhat customer expected and what theyperceived was delivered

1. Knowledge gap 2. Standards gap 3. Delivery gap 4. Internal communication gap 5. Perception gap 6. Interpretation gap

Difference between what service providerbelieve customer expect and customer actualneeds and expectation

Difference between management’sperceptions of customer expectations and thequality standards established for servicedelivery.

1) Reliability 2) Access 3) Security 4) Credibility 5) customer understanding 6) Responsible ness 7) Competence 8) courtesy 9) tangibles 10) communication

Difference between specified deliverystandards and the service provider’s actualperformance on these standards.

Difference between what the company’sadvertising and sales personnel think are theproduct’s features, performance, and servicequality level and what the company is actuallyable to deliver.

Difference between what is, in fact, deliveredand what customers perceive they havereceived

Difference between what a service provider’scommunication efforts promise and what acustomer thinks was promised by thesecommunications.