Is the SERVQUAL model an appropriate management tool for measuring service delivery quality in the UK leisure industry?

The SERVQUAL model was applied to six research sites; theatre, art gallery, museum, leisure centre, golf course and amusement park. The model gave numerical values over five dimensions for service delivery quality, from the perspective of both customers and staff. The administration of the instrument and the resulting data, lead the author to question the model's reliability especially when utilized in the non-profit sectors of the leisure industry. The author's critique of the SERVQUAL model rests on a number of issues, including sampling frames, questionnaire design, the notion of excellence, partial non-participation in a service and dimensions of service. The literature from previous critical writers is reviewed in the paper, as are the subsequent replies from the authors of the SERVQUAL model. Suggestions for future developments conclude this work.