Brown, Churchill, and Peter (1993) have written a thoughtful critique ofSERVQUAL, an instrument for measuring service quality that we developed in 1988 (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry 1988) and later refined(Parasuraman, Berry, and Zeithaml 1991). 1 The primary focus of BCP'scritique is the difference-score (i.e., perception minus expectation) conceptualization invoked by SERVQUAL to operationalize service quality.Specifically, they voice psychometric concerns about this conceptualization and, based on an empirical evaluation of SERVQUAL and an alternative non-difference score measure, conclude that the latter is superior. Inthis note we respond to their critique by addressing their concerns, raisingBecause of frequent references to Brown, Churchill, and Peter in this note, hereafter, werefer to them as BCP. Likewise we use initials in citing our own work, e.g., PZB.140 Journal of Retailing More on Improving Measurementquestions about several of their interpretations, and introducing additionalissues that must be considered in comparing alternative scale formats. Weargue that the alleged psychometric deficiencies of the difference-scoreformulation are not as severe as BCP suggest, and that the richer diagnostics of SERVQUAL may more than justify the separate measurement ofperceptions and expectations. Our intent is to present additional perspective on the issues involved in choosing the most appropriate approach forassessing service quality.