Service Quality Improvement of Automotive 4S Stores Based on the 5GAP Model

Abstract

To address the pervasive misalignment between service quality and customer expectations in automotive 4S stores and enhance their market competitiveness, this study investigates Chengdu X 4S Store, a luxury brand dealership. We integrate the 5GAP and SERVQUAL models to conduct a systematic analysis. Based on 220 valid survey responses, we employ SPSSAU for reliability and validity testing and quantitative statistics to identify five major service quality gaps and their root causes.The results reveal an overall service quality gap score of -0.1665 for the dealership. The most pronounced discrepancy is the Service Standards Gap (GAP2, -0.237). Within the Customer Perception Gap (GAP5), the complaint-handling process exhibits the largest shortfall (-0.413).This study’s primary novelty lies in establishing an integrated “Dual-Model Framework – Quantitative Diagnosis – Targeted Intervention” methodology. Accordingly, we propose tailored strategies, including precise customer needs capture, optimized service standardization, enhanced employee competency, improved internal communication/collaboration, and a robust service recovery closed-loop system.Our work not only provides actionable solutions for the specific case but also offers a theoretical and practical paradigm for service quality management in luxury automotive 4S stores.