The purpose of this paper is to develop a model of service quality and demonstrate its relevance to customer commitmenta promise to retain the relationship with the marketer. In this paper, correlation analysis is employed to show the relationship between the different variables. A series of studies are conducted for the development and validation of multiple measures for the dimensions of service quality. Once the dimensions are identified, data from the study were used to select the items based on factor analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis is then used on the data obtained from a retail chain to examine the factor structure, and provide evidence of dimensionality, scale reliability and validity. A model is developed to measure service quality which shows the relationship between the service quality and customers commitment to retain relationship. The model also shows the outcome of all these activities in the form of customers' trust, satisfaction and commitment. The model finds its relevance with the marketers as a tool to measure their performance. This is the first study to provide a comprehensive, operationally valid measure of service quality. The paper also shows the outcome of service quality.

A deliberate attempt to study services marketing and service quality issues dates back to the mid-1960s (Rathmell, 1966). However, interest on the topic gained momentum only in the past two decades or so. This is not surprising. While on one hand, delivery of high service quality to customers offers firms an opportunity to differentiate themselves in competitive markets, on the other, high service quality results in customer satisfaction and loyalty, greater willingness to recommend to others, reduction in customer complaints, and improved customer retention rates (Bitner, 1990). Today, service quality is considered a critical measure of organizational performance and continues to attract the attention of practitioners and academics (Yavas and Yasin, 2001). Objectively, service quality is abstract and elusive. The unique features of services such as inseparability of production and consumption, intangibility, and heterogeneity make measurement of quality a very complex issue. In the absence of objective measures, firms must rely on the consumers' perceptions of service quality to identify their strengths and/or weaknesses, and design appropriate strategies.