Service quality in outsourced facility maintenance services

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess service quality of outsourced facility maintenance services (FMS) from end‐user perspective. For this purpose, a two‐dimensional model for service quality in a FMS context is presented.Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on interviews in case study organizations.Findings – The findings suggest that FMS quality may be divided into two industry‐specific dimensions – service recovery quality (response to a service failure) and observed maintenance quality (technical outcome). It seems that the main quality problems are linked to service recovery quality. These problems are caused by personalities of service personnel and lack of communication between end‐users and the service provider.Practical implications – For FMS providers and building owners it is important to understand the nature of end‐user perceived FMS quality formation. This makes it possible to assess the service provision and to improve the performance of FMS if necessary. If the ser...

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