Final: Exam 1

For years, allstate insurance has used the slogan, "you're in good hands with allstate" which dimension of service quality is this allstate promotional campaign emphasizing?

Assurance

The central focus of the gaps model of service quality is the:

Difference between customer expectations and perceptions

If customers believe they have multiple service providers to choose from for a particular service, or if they can provide the service for themselves, their levels of adequate service are ____ those of customers who believe it is not possible to get better service elsewhere

Higher than

An attorney who charges a client for a missed appointment is taking into account the _____ characteristic of services.

Perishability

____ has consistency proven to be the most important determinant of service quality

Reliability

The factors that influence adequate service expectations are ___ in nature and fluctuate ___ than the factors that influence desired service expectations

Short-term; more

Services companies can close the communications gap by doing all of the following except:

Conducting market research

The letters ACSI, are an acronym for the association of customer service institute, which meausres customers' perceptions of service quliaty around the world (T/F?)

False

The oaks at Ojai is an award wining destination spa in California. Two thirds of the oaks guests are repeat visitors who return to the spa for a fun and relaxing service experience unsurpassed by other spas. Just before heading home, each guest is asked to complete a questionnaire and provide feedback about his or her experience. Questions are specific and management meets weekly to review and discuss the improvements suggested by guests. Each guest who completed a questionnaire receives a letter of thanks with a promise to follow up on any issues mentioned. By conducting research and focusing on customer relationships. The oaks is closing ____ of the gaps model

Listening gap

On which of the provider gaps do the actions of retailers, franchisees, agents, and brokers have the greatest impact?

On the service performance gap.

Historically, the Japanese have had poor dental care. As part of their beauty regimen, the Japanese do have a habit of lightening and whitening their skin. Teethart has developed "tooth manicure" salons, which allow japanse to match their teeth coloration to their skin. A personalized whitening mouthpiece is developed for each patient. The mouthpiece is placed around the teeth and a cleaning solution is added. The patient listens to soothing music and sits in a comfortable chair while his or her teeth are whitened. Monthly treatments in this spa-like treatment reflect the _____ element of teethart's service mix.

Process

Betina had a group of checks that she needed to deposit and another that she needed to cahs for a trip she was leaving on the next day. When she got to her bank on Saturday, she was very disappointed to see it was closed. There was one car in the parking lot and a man was walking toward it. She pulled into a place to decide what to do. The man she had seen walked up to her car and asked if he could help. When she explained her problem, the man introduced himself as the bank's vice president and offered to cash her checks with the money he had in his wallet. Betina has since learned that this kind of service is commonplace at her bank. She knows the bank fouces on the ____ dimension of service quality

Responsiveness

To be effective, complaint solicitation requires

Rigorous recording of numbers and types of complaints through many channels

PSE&G a utility company located in New Jersey, is conducting a service marketing research study to assess its service performance. It will measure the gaps between customer expectations and perceptions along the five dimensions of service quality. Which of the following types of research should PSE&G use?

SERVQUAL

Which of the following is not a source of desired service and predicted service?

Situational factors

The walt Disney company dress code requires male cast members with mustaches or beards to trim their facial hair no longer than one-quarter of one inch and be well-groomed. Male cast members without mustaches and beards must be clean shaven every day. All cast members must keep their nametags visible at all times, have no visible tattoos. The walt Disney dress code reflects the ____ dimension of service quality.

Tangibles

What is the central focus of the gaps model of service quality?

The difference between customer expectations and perceptions.

Improved upward communication can be used to narrow the listening gap. (T/F?)

True

The extent to which customers recognize and are willing to accept variation in service performance is called the ___

Zone of tolerance

Leonard has been commuting to NYC on the long island railroad for 10 years. Every morning he takes the 7:00 am train that is scheduled to arrive in New York at 8:15 am from huntington, a suburb of NY. Although, leonard would like the train to arrive in NY on time, he knows from his experience as a commuter that it is more likely the train will be five minutes late. Leonard's expectations that his train will be five minutes late reflects his ___ level of service for the Long Island Railroad

Adequate

Marriott had an advertising campaign with following theme: "you can't be late for business appointments and neither can we. At Marriott, if your breakfast doesn't show up on time, it won't show up on your bill. That's because we take our business just as seriously as you take yours. And our business is service. The commitment is what makes Marriott the business traveler's first choice." If a business traveler, who saw this advertisement stated at a mariott hotel and did not receive breakfast on time and was charged for that breakfast. ________

Communications gap

A man who become intoxicated on a flight started speaking loudly, annoying the other passengers. The flight attendant asked the passenger if he would be driving when the plane landed and offered him coffee. He accepted the coffee and became quitter and friendlier. This is an example of which type of service encounter incident.

Coping

_____ qualities are characteristics of a product consumers may find impossible to evaluate even after purchase and consumption

Credence

Which of the following themes is NOT a source of customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction in service encounters?

Credibility

Which of the following statements about customer satisfaction and service quality is true?

Customer satiscfaction is influence by perceptions of service quality

US franchise system franchises its brand names such as Microtel Inns and suties hawthorne suites and best inns to independent hotel owners and operators. Every three months, employees from a different franchise overseen by USFS conduct customer satisfaction telephone surveys. Among the employees who regularly participate in the survey process are senior managers, who are trained and certified to conduct survey interviews. Which type of interaction activity is USFS using to improve upward communication?

Executive listening approaches

A customer's perceived service alternatives are a source of desired expectations.

False

When a customer chooses between a restaurant in a pricy suburb of atlanta and a restaurant in a small farming community 45 miles away, there is a ____ made by the locatiosn that the customer will be more likely to find exotic cuisine and better trained servers at the downtown atlanta restaurant

Implicit service promise

One of the most useful forms of analysis in marketing research is the ____ which combines information about customer perceptions and importance ratings.

Importance/performance matrix

Drew had his house professionally sprayed for cockroaches last week. Yesterday he found a roach in his kitchen sink. He has requested the company that did the initial spraying return to his house and spray again. Briefly describe how Drew's adequate expectations would affect his zone of tolerance for this second spraying.

Increasing /narrowing the zone of tolerance. The company didn't do it right the first time, so he is going to expect it to be done correctly the second time.

Which of the following statements has been suggested as a plausible explanation for the customer perception that service quality is declining?

Increasing use of technology is perceived by many customers as less service because there is no human interaction

The most distinguishing characteristic of services is

Intangibility

When IKEA, wanted to open a store in Chicago, the company asked groups of customers to dream up their ideal shopping experience and draw a design for a store that would satisfy their needs. IKEA subsequently incorporated their customers' ideas into the service design for the store. Instead of simply conducting surveys to determine customer expectations, IKEA put customers in a "wish mode" and successfully used an innovative approach to close provider ____ of the gaps model

Listening gap

Key energy co. provides quality oilfiled construction, dirlling, and other services. The company's top management feels that stakeholders do not have a clear image of the company and are considering changing the name to clarify the organization's position in the market. Senior management is interviewing the company's salespeople to learn how they feel. About selling key energy's services. As part of examining the corporate image, the company is using

Market oriented ethnography

Horarito's hardware stores recognizes sales associates who provide excellent customer service by rewarding them with a "hero award" which is displayed in the store where the sales associate is employed. To measure a sales associate's service performance which type of research should horarito's hardware stores use?

Mystery shopping

As a teenage, louis spent his summers as a lifeguard. When he and his children went to swim at a public swimming pool, he noticed its lifeguard seemed to spend all of their time flirting with each other and not watching for swimmers in distress as Louis had been taught to do. Because of his ____ personal service philosophy louis had his children pack up their belongings and leave the pool

Personal Service Philosophy

Steve, a baseball fan who regularly goes to games right after work, is thirsty and hungry by the time he gets to the ballpark. He hopes and desires that the food and drink vendors will visit his section of the stands frequently. Another fan, Bart, who regularly has dinner elsewhere before he attend games, has a lower level of desired service from the food and drink vendors at the ballpark. In this example, steve and bart have different ____

Personal needs

In ____ encounters, the tangible evidence of the service and the quality of the technical processes and systems are the primary bases for judging quality

Remote

On a recent trip to Disneyland, rose had her picture taken with Minnie mouse. After the picture was taken, Minnie mouse signed rose's autograph book. Rose's interaction with Minnie mouse was actually a ___ with Disneyland

Service encounter

Jiffy lube, a franchiser of 10-minute oil and lubrication services, has been plagued by a lack of consistency across franchise outlets. The lack of consistency has result from Jiffy lube's failure to require franchisees to adhere to common service standards as it rapidly expanded its franchise business across the US jiffy lube's failure to require franchisees to adhere to common service standards has led to provider _____ of the gaps model of service quality

Service performance gap

The romantic mountain getaway seemed life the perfect Valentine's day gift. The pictures in the brochure showed couples enjoying the amenities in their cabins. When the couple arrived, they found a cold, uninviting cabin with a shortage of creature comforts—no down filled blanks, no wood. In this service example, the ___ was not what the customer expected.

Servicescape

Discuss the following statement: "The terms satisfaction and quality can be used interchangeably."

Statement is not entirely correct. Although people do use the terms interchangeably, they are actually quite different. Quality is determined by the 5 service dimensions. Satisfaction is determined by the service quality, product quality, and price.

Which of the following would result in a broadening of the listening gap?

The marketing research done by the motel chain includes insufficient research about what its target market wants

Johanna want to learn self-defense and has signed up for a class at her local YMCA. She chose this particular class because of her sister took it last year and told her it was great class. While johanna has never had a need to defend herself, everyone tells her it is a good idea to learn how. Johanna's service expectation for the class was shaped by:

WOM communication

Which of the following statements has been suggested as a plausible explanation for the customer perception that service quality is declining? a. technology-based services, which are superior to human-based services, are not being implemented enough b. Services are leveling the playing field and consistently trying to offer the same level of services to every customer c. Companies decreasing their reliance on self- d. Customer expectations are higher because of the excellent service they receive from companies

d. Customer expectations are higher because of the excellent service they receive from some companies.

Which of the following trends has directly influenced the development of services marketing concepts and strategies? a. The decreasing importance of service industries to the US and world economies b. The growth in information-based technology c. Decreased competition in professional services d. The fact that manufacturing firms are p-lacing increased emphasis on providing services. e. None of the above

d. The fact that manufacturing firms are p-lacing increased emphasis on providing services.

Customers' adequate service levels are less stable than their desired levels (T/F?)

True