Service quality implementation: problems and solutions Moshe Sharabi Sociology and Anthropology Department, Yezreel Valley College, Emek Yezreel, Israel and The Center for the Study of Organizations and Human Resources, Graduate School of Business, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel, and Moshe Davidow Marketing and Services Department, Carmel Academic Center, Haifa, Israel Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the problems in the measurement of service quality, why management seems to ignore some of the costs of poor service quality, as well as the repercussions of this, and how to implement service quality correctly in organizations. Design/methodology/approach – The paper defines service quality and highlights some of the main points of the literature. The paper then focuses on developing a matrix to categorize quality costs which offers insights as to why more managers have not fully implemented service quality in their organizations. Findings – Utilizing this quality costs matrix, the paper focuses on describing several of the main problems or pitfalls in service quality implementation. Practical implications – In light of these findings, the paper discusses the practical implications and focuses on recommendations how to implement service quality correctly. Originality/value – The paper suggests a novel categorization of quality costs and suggests recommendations that will assist managers to correctly implement service quality and eliminate the problems of poor quality. There are also future research recommendations to further the knowledge of service quality theory and implementation. Keywords Customer services quality, Quality management, Costs, Complaints, Performance measurement (quality) Paper type Conceptual paper Introduction In today’s economic environment, both small and large businesses are required to become more efficient and participate in a competitive global market (virtual and real) where client expectations are continually increasing. In this new reality, quality is critical for success. While the economic benefits of quality have been long established, many managers still ignore them at their own risk. This is especially the case for service quality. This paper will focus on service quality, common reasons why managers have not yet adopted service quality as a competitive advantage, and what can be done to overcome this resistance. By focusing on the difficulty of defining and measuring service quality, and the costs of poor service quality, we will suggest a novel categorization of quality costs from the managerial perspective. Following this, we will highlight the problems and present some solutions for implementing service quality. The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1756-669X.htm Service quality implementation 189 International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences Vol. 2 No. 2, 2010 pp. 189-205 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1756-669X DOI 10.1108/17566691011057357