Subjective appraisal of service quality using fuzzy linguistic assessment

Purpose – This study proposes a conceptual model to assess the perceived service quality properly using fuzzy set theory, since customers' perceptions of service quality are generally expressed subjectively in vague linguistic terms Design/methodology/approach – To demonstrate the proposed model, the exploratory prospect of empirical study with questionnaire is given in measuring the service quality. The customer first records his or her perception of service quality in linguistic terms. The reviewer then quantifies the perception with fuzzy numbers. By mutually comparing all the criteria, importance weights of criteria in assessing the service quality can be prioritized. The fuzzy perceived quality score is then calculated by combining the fuzzy numbers of criteria with the corresponding weights. The fuzzy scores are then transformed to linguistic terms to reflect the customer's satisfaction level of overall service quality as interpreted by the reviewer. Findings – The investigation shows that distinguishing satisfaction scores with crispy numbers may be difficult, but that customer satisfaction is much easier to identify. The sample information reveals the percentage of population customers who are satisfied with the service provided, since customer satisfaction and attitude toward perceived service quality are linguistic in nature. Originality/value – Fuzzy linguistic assessment of service quality is much closer to human thinking than methods based on crispy numbers. Similarly, the proposed method can also be extended to other studies or contests in which the evaluation or appraisal is subjective or verbal in nature.