ABSTRACT
The objective of this research was to observe the gap in the level of service quality in the outpatient section (Instalasi Rawat Jalan) at Dr. Mohammad Soewandhi Public Hospital in Surabaya, Indonesia, according to patients’ expectations and perceptions. The data was analyzed by the Servqual method, furthermore, evaluation and recommendation to improve the quality of the service was formulated by using a Fishbone Diagram. Respondents in this research were patients in the outpatient section. Variables which have been observed were tangible, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. The research resulted in gap values between expectation and reality of variable tangible -0,35, reliability -0.35, responsiveness -0.29, assurance -0.28 and empathy -0.23, which indicated that the services have not met the customers’ expectation. Therefore, some improvements need to be implemented in priority variables such as tangible and reliability. Academic and managerial implications will be explained further in the final part of this paper.
