Chapter 10: Service as the Offering

In which of the following gaps of the Gap Model of Service Quality can a lack of the right customer data wreak havoc on service delivery?

Gap 1

Which gap in the Gap Model of Service Quality fundamentally represents customer expectations management through marketing communications?

Gap 2

A negative gap between ________ nearly always points to management and employees simply not getting the job done. This could be due to vague performance standards, poor training, or ineffective monitoring by management.

Gap 3

In the Gap Model of Service Quality, which gap asks whether a service is provided in the manner intended?

Gap 3

________ is the period during which a customer interacts in any way with a service provider.

Service encounter

________ represents a formalization of the measurement of customer expectations of a service compared to perceptions of actual service performance.

Service quality

Once a customer begins to have a positive experience with a service provider and builds a relationship with the firm, customer loyalty ________.

tends to be greater for services than for goods

Among the dimensions of service quality, tangibles refer to ________.

the physical evidence of a service or the observable aspects

Which of the following is one of the characteristics of services?

variability

________ of a service means that because it can't be separated from the provider, a service's quality can only be as good as that of the provider.

variability

With services, continual investment in training, retraining, and good management of people is required if ________.

variability is to be consistently low

In a service blueprint, activities are divided between those above and those below the line of ________ to a customer.

visibility

José, an employee of a company that has worked hard to have a customer mind-set, understands that ________.

whether internal or external to the firm, satisfying customers is central to doing his job well

Which of the following services is MOST likely to be high in credence attributes?

tax preparation

In the service-profit chain, customer satisfaction leads to customer loyalty, and results in ________.

--

The enhanced role of human service providers in a customer service experience enables service providers to ________.

--

The percentage of jobs in the United States that are service-related is more than ________ of all jobs.

80%

Perishability of a service means that ________.

a service cannot be stored or saved up for future use

As a dimension of service quality, reliability means that ________.

a service is performed right the first time and every time

As discussed in the text, Caesars Entertainment has found that customers who fall into the zone of ________ spend considerably more money and provide a substantially greater return on customer investment than others.

affection

A frequent Caesars guest who serves as a strong advocate for the Caesars experience to friends and acquaintances is referred to as a(n) ________.

apostle

Mariette was highly regarded by her customers in the bakery because she was knowledgeable about the product and was always courteous to customers. Her customers' faith in her demonstrated ________.

assurance

Of the five dimensions of service quality, the ability to convey trust and build a customer's confidence in the quality of a service refers to ________.

assurance

Many firms are reluctant to invest in great service, largely because ________.

because it takes time and patience to see a noticeable ROI

Gap 5 in the Gap Model of Service Quality is unique in that it is the only gap that occurs ________.

between consumers' expectations and the perception of the service they receive

As a characteristic of services, intangibility refers to the fact that a service ________.

cannot be seen, heard, tasted, or felt by a customer

Which of the following is TRUE of the service sector?

changing US demographics represent a major driver for why the service sector is thriving

Some business schools take the approach that the primary customers for their business are ________.

companies that hire their students

One of the central concepts of the service-profit chain is to ________.

creating an environment in which all employees can be successful

The assessment of which of the following attributes would require customers to have expertise not generally shared by the public?

credence

When a customer cannot make a reasonable evaluation of the quality of a service even after use because they lack expertise, this relates to a service's ________ attributes.

credence

Exceeding customer expectations is often referred to as customer ________.

customer delight

When a company underpromises but overdelivers with respect to its services, it is said to be practicing ________ management.

customer expectations

The service-profit chain is designed to help managers better understand the key linkages in a service delivery system that drive ________.

customer loyalty, revenue growth, and higher profits

One of the difficulties associated with search qualities for consumers when evaluating different service offerings is ________.

customers do not truly know how a service performs until after the sale

In the service-profit chain, external service value leads to all of the following EXCEPT ________.

employee turnover

Once a firm has invested in continuous process improvement and quality control in operations, goods, in general, tend to be much more ________ than services.

standardized

Sometimes, customers can tell if they received good service. For example, vacations, haircuts, and restaurants all have ________ attributes that allow customers to decide whether they will repeat the purchase another time.

experience

One way to make a service more tangible is to have customers ________.

experience the service through a trial

Firms that employ service as a marketing strategy must plan ahead for service ________ and train employees to properly execute service recovery.

failures

The basis of the gap model is the identification and measurement of differences in ________ key areas of the service delivery process.

five

When a company follows a customer-centric philosophy with a high degree of customer orientation, it is likely to ________.

generate an understanding of the marketplace and disseminate that knowledge to everyone in the firm

If a firm is considered customer-centric, it implies that the company ________.

gives more importance to customers in everything that takes place both inside and outside the firm

An organization's focus on internal service quality implies that employees ________.

hold a customer mind-set

The basis of the Gap model of Service Quality is the ________.

identification and measurement of differences in five key areas of the service delivery process

Services are produced and consumed at the same time and cannot be detached from their provider. This characteristic of service is called ________.

inseparability

The ________ of performance and consumption of services heightens the role of human service providers in a customer's experience.

inseparability

Firms that are customer-centric exhibit a high degree of customer orientation, which means that they ________.

instill an organization-wide focus on understanding customers' requirements

A service cannot be experienced through the physical senses. This property represents the ________ of services.

intangibility

The four characteristics of services are that they are ________.

intangible, inseparable, variable, and perishable

Treating employees as customers and developing systems and benefits that satisfy their needs is called ________.

internal marketing

As noted in the text, Caesars Entertainment points with pride to the fact that everyone in the firm understands and can articulate its branding and values. This would be an indication that Caesars is devoted to ________.

internal marketing to achieve the goals in the service-profit chain

A service is described as being inseparable because ________.

it is produced and consumed at the same time

Compared to products, services are ________.

low in search qualities

A service blueprint borrows concepts from manufacturing and operations management to allow a service firm to ________.

map out a complete design and flow of all the activities related to customer service

The face-to-face time between customer and service provider is often called the ________ because that is when customer judgments take place

moment of truth

To enable customers to draw conclusions about a brand's service, service companies face the challenge of making their intangible services seem ________.

more tangible

It may be more accurate to think of a service as being ________ rather than produced.

performed

Fluctuating demand is related to ________ of services.

perishability

A service is a product in a sense that it represents a bundle of benefits that can satisfy customer wants and needs, yet it does so without ________.

physical form

Particularly in a teamwork environment, such as a restaurant, the advantage of a service blueprint is that it ________.

provides managers with a way to integrate service topics into the performance evaluation process

Which of the following is NOT a distinct characteristic of services that is different from physical goods?

reliability

Jonathon works in a hair salon. When a customer approaches him about a problem with a service she had purchased, he made excuses for the service provider and did not offer to help fix the problem. Jonathon demonstrated poor ________.

responsiveness

Which axiom of service-dominant logic applies to this statement? Customers don't buy a car (product)-they buy the company's ability to add value through a defined set of benefits.

service is the fundamental basis of exchange