Chapter 13 BA 370

In delivery of a service, one of the most important early steps is addressing the knowledge gap, or the ability to understand ______. Multiple choice question. costs and profitability demand for the service how to handle a service failure consumer expectations

consumer expectations

Jane has realized that she does not enjoy taking a taxi to work because there is substantial ______ in the delivery of the service depending on who is driving her cab that day. Multiple choice question. price differential perishability intangibility heterogeneity

heterogeneity

One of the most effective methods to assess how well a firm is delivering adequate service to consumers is to employ the ______ Model to evaluate their service provision. Multiple choice question. Knowledge Service Gaps Intangibility Service Recovery

Service Gaps

Which of the following products or services is considered perishable in the sense that it cannot be stockpiled? Multiple choice question. A pair of shoes A box of candles A package of gum A dental exam

A dental exam

The Gaps Model can be very useful to improve the delivery of services. Match each of the following gaps (on the left) with an example of that gap (on the right).

Knowledge - Diners at a restaurant think the portions are too small, but the manager is unaware of this complaint.Standards - Management believes that customers in a restaurant think the service is very slow, however, management allows servers to stand around and chat.Delivery - A restaurant usually serves fresh bread made on the premises, but at the end of the day the ovens shut down early and only cold loaves are available.Communication - A restaurant advertises they are open for breakfast, but when guests arrive on Sunday morning, there is a sign on the door indicating they only open for brunch at 11:00.

A restaurant is facing a problem in service delivery on a night when there are twice as many customers dining than usual. An integral part of recovery of the service dilemma is to provide both distributive and procedural-------- in resolving the delays in getting all customers served. (Enter one word in the blank.)

fairness or justice

When many students are complaining about a problem at an online university, one of the best things the university can do to better serve its students is to ______. Multiple choice question. record the complaints and analyze all data in the future after all parties involved have subdued their emotions honestly listen to students' complaints and use their messages to build a committed relationship reduce the price of courses to all students in order to overcome the anger and anxiety many students are experiencing inform students that the problem cannot be fixed during the current term but their complaints will be used to address the issue in the next semester Need help? Review these concept resources.

honestly listen to students' complaints and use their messages to build a committed relationship

Sally is having trouble deciding which college to attend. While there are buildings, classrooms, and libraries to evaluate, the actual learning is much more difficult to evaluate. It is this ______ of the purchase that makes marketing the service, a college education, complicated. Multiple choice question. volatility inseparability perishability intangibility

intangibility

A deed, performance, or effort that cannot be physically possessed is called a(n) ______. Multiple choice question. item product package service

service

Which of the following is most likely to lead to high levels of customer loyalty? Multiple choice question. High levels of customer dissonance Intangible compensation for service failures High customer satisfaction ratings Low prices

High customer satisfaction ratings

Which of the following are benefits that a service provider receives from engaging in effective service recovery? (Select all that apply.) Multiple select question. Increased purchase intention Improved word of mouth Lower service costs Higher levels of customer satisfaction than prior to the service failure

Increased purchase intention Improved word of mouth

Mary went to the local supermarket, where she shopped regularly, to purchase her groceries for the week. Which of the following was a delivery gap that resulted in a service failure by the grocery store? Multiple choice question. Mary did not find a parking spot that was as close as she wanted to the store. It took Mary a little longer to find what she needed since they recently remodeled the store. Mary had to wait a long time in the checkout line because the clerk kept making errors using the cash register. Mary had trouble finding the coffee aisle because the signs were unclear.

Mary had to wait a long time in the checkout line because the clerk kept making errors using the cash register.

A business that experiences service delivery gaps can use which of the following methods to improve the quality of its service? (Select all that apply.) Multiple select question. Provide incentives and support for service providers. Ask each customer what level of service he or she expects when he or she enters the business. Empower employees to work in the customer's best interest. Implement self-service technologies.

Provide incentives and support for service providers. Empower employees to work in the customer's best interest. Implement self-service technologies.

Which of the following is NOT a method to reduce delivery gaps? Multiple choice question. Threaten to terminate employees Provide support and incentives Empower employees Use technology to minimize errors

Threaten to terminate employees

Which of the following is NOT a method to reduce delivery gaps? Multiple choice question. Threaten to terminate employees Use technology to minimize errors Provide support and incentives Empower employees

Threaten to terminate employees

Which of the following is an example of a service? Multiple choice question. A pair of boots A book A cup of coffee A massage

a massage

True or false: Service providers that have high customer satisfaction ratings this year are unlikely to achieve the same level of satisfaction next year.

false

Poor service delivery can be converted into a positive interaction through service ______, an effort that resolves the problem fairly and shows the buyer that the firm is listening to the complaint. Multiple choice question. recovery recognition repositioning repetition

recovery

A continuing dilemma for marketers of services is to understand buyers'___________ , which means to understand in advance what they think will be delivered based on their previous experiences and knowledge.

expectations

In addition to providing service employees with emotional and instrumental support, management should offer the staff ______ that reward them for providing customers with good service. Multiple choice question. better benefits pensions more hours incentives

incentives

Which of the following situations best evidences how a firm can offer employees emotional support and stand behind the employees' actions? Multiple choice question. At a dry cleaning store, employees are told not to charge unhappy customers but to enter their name on a "black list" of clients. At the return desk at a large home repair store, employees are taught not to accept any item that is no longer in an unopened package. At a copy center, part-time employees are encouraged to turn over any unhappy customer to the supervisor immediately. At a picture framing store, employees are told to ignore unruly, dissatisfied customers and wait on other buyers first.

At a copy center, part-time employees are encouraged to turn over any unhappy customer to the supervisor immediately.

Which of the following characteristics is not one that discriminates services from products? Multiple choice question. Inseparability Perishability Intangibility Heterogeneity Volatility

Volatility

f the Americana Hotel has successfully closed the standards gap, the knowledge gap, and the delivery gap in providing customers with service, it is still necessary to close the______ gap.

communications or communication

Janet had to deal with a very difficult customer who wanted to be given complimentary services such as free flights and upgrades on future flights when he very vocally complained in the airport about delays and lost luggage. He screamed at Janet and was very offensive. Her supervisor made Janet feel a little better about the unsettling experience by offering ______ support and commending her on how she handled the difficult passenger. Multiple choice question. emotional physical financial instrumental

emotional

An airline employee is able to make a decision at the moment of assigning a passenger a seat at the gate when it is obvious the flier is in a wheel chair. The firm has _____ the employee by allowing him to move the passenger to first-class seating. Multiple choice question. empowered supported rewarded incentivized

empowered

When a firm such as Ruth's Chris Steak House tells servers to "use your best judgment" in serving a customer who is not satisfied with his or her $40 steak, it is allowing the server to make decisions at the point of delivery. This is called _______

empowerment or empowering

One difference between products and services is demonstrated by a hair salon, where the stylist delivers the service at the same time the customer receives it. This is called ______. Multiple choice question. inseparability intangibility heterogeneity perishability

inseparability

One of the basic ways in which services differ from products is that production and consumption are ______ from each other. Consequently, service providers often include options for the customer to become more involved in the production of the service, which usually results in greater customer satisfaction. Multiple choice question. infinite intangible perishable inseparable

inseparable

Consumers can see and touch a product, such as a laptop computer, but cannot touch the financing program used to purchase the laptop. Services cannot be touched, tasted, or seen; they are ______. Multiple choice question. intangible inseparable heterogeneous perishable

intangible

One of the best ways for managers to reduce the ______ gap is to conduct ongoing research and regularly talk with employees to explain what customers expect to get from the brand and the firm. Multiple choice question. communication standards delivery knowledge

knowledge

The marketing manager needs to communicate with customers and employees on an ongoing basis in order to understand buyers' expectations and to reduce the ______ gap. Multiple choice question. communications delivery knowledge standards

knowledge

One of the first steps in service recovery is that the firm needs to allow the customer to air his grievance and for the firm to ______ him. Multiple choice question. listen to reward reduce the price for ignore

listen to

For the marketing manager to be able to deliver consistent quality service, it is imperative to set ______. Multiple choice question. high prices to impart high quality high employee-to-customer ratios measurable goals that are based on customer expectations general goals based on employee feedback

measurable goals that are based on customer expectations

One of the most important factors for adequate service recovery is for the provider to ______. Multiple choice question. allow the customer to solve the problem on his or her own find a solution that costs the company the least amount of money possible guarantee that all problems will eventually be resolved in the order in which they occur respond to the customer and resolve the problem quickly

respond to the customer and resolve the problem quickly

When a hotel has a service delivery problem such as a broken air conditioning system on a very hot weekend, one critical element of service recovery is to ______. Multiple choice question. offer the most frequent customers an equivalent number of nights free on a future stay offer the customers who complain the most an equivalent number of nights free on a future stay find a solution that seems fair to all customers ask each customer who complains what they feel would be equitable

find a solution that seems fair to all customers

True or false: To assess service quality, it is necessary to understand both customers' perceptions and their expectations. True false question.TrueFalse

true

Which of the following are characteristics that make marketing services different from product marketing? (Select all that apply.) Multiple select question. Intangible Perishable Profitable Heterogeneous

Intangible Perishable Heterogeneous

Lilly went to the Yummy Fork for lunch, and her food arrived in a timely manner and was hot and tasty. However, the server took a long time to bring her check, which caused her to be late to work. She later posted a negative comment about the Yummy Fork on a blog. Which one of the five service dimensions was used by Lily to determine she did not like the service by the Yummy Fork?

Reliability

Ryanair advertised the lowest rates in Europe with fares of $12 between Paris and Munich. However, when Bill arrived at the airport, he had to pay $28 in taxes, $25 for one small carry-on bag, $6 for a non-alcoholic beverage, and $2.50 to use the restroom on the plane. Between Ryanair and the customer there is a ______. Multiple choice question. knowledge gap communication gap delivery gap standards gap

communication gap

Service quality is defined as ______. Multiple choice question. customer expectations for the service managers' perceptions of how well a service matches the standards it was designed to meet the ways in which a service communicates its value despite its intangibility customers' perceptions of how well a service meets or exceeds their expectations

customers' perceptions of how well a service meets or exceeds their expectations

The primary reason there is greater heterogeneity in services than in products is because ______. Multiple choice question. of unknown outcomes on the buyer's part of the increasing use of technology in delivering services human inputs generate differences cost inequities generate differences

human inputs generate differences

Service providers cannot inventory or stockpile things like haircuts during slow times to "sell" later when the facility is busy. This characteristic of services is called ______. Multiple choice question. intangibility infinity inseparability perishability

perishability

Despite having to deal with difficult guests, the service provider can be motivated to provide "service with a smile" when the firm ______. Multiple choice question. establishes a policy for the firm that the customer is NOT always right does not deal with unruly customers and removes them from the service list provides frequent training programs for employees provides support and incentives to motivate quality service

provides support and incentives to motivate quality service

McDonald's has a policy that, in addition to ketchup, mustard, and onions, all burgers must have two pickles. This contributes to efforts to reduce the ______ gap and provide measurable service quality based on expectations. Multiple choice question. delivery communication standards knowledge

standards

A customer with a complaint about the way in which a washing machine repair was made will become increasingly more annoyed with the service provider ______. Multiple choice question. as the perceived fairness of the process increases the longer the service provider listens to his or her complaint as the compensation becomes more tangible the longer it takes to get an answer from the firm

the longer it takes to get an answer from the firm

True or false: Delivery gaps always result in a service failure.

true