Chapter 9

Choosing how to accommodate customer induced variability in a service business is the decision of the front-line service provider.

False Among the decisions that service managers must make is how much they should accommodate the variation introduced by the customer into a process.

"Combine the pain" is an application of behavioral science to service encounters. It means that, when something is going wrong for a group of customers, it is better to totally enrage one or a very few customers rather than slightly annoying a large number of customers.

False Events seem longer when they are segmented. This suggests that we want to break pleasant experiences into multiple stages and combine unpleasant ones into a single stage.

A service system with a high degree of customer contact is less difficult to control than a low degree of customer contact service system.

False Service systems with a high degree of customer contact are more difficult to control than those with a low degree of customer contact.

Which of the following is considered a high-contact service operation?

Physician practice

Because little or no inventory is carried in a service operation, it is easy to separate the operations management functions from marketing in services.

FALSE Too much capacity generates excessive costs. Insufficient capacity leads to lost customers. In these situations, of course, we seek the assistance of marketing. This is one reason we have discount airfares, hotel specials on weekends, and so on. This is also a good illustration of why it is difficult to separate the operations management functions from marketing in services.

A ride at an amusement park is an example of a service operation where there is direct contact between the customer and server, but little variation in the service process -- neither the customer nor server has much discretion in how the service will be provided. As shown on the Service System Design Matrix, which type of service is being delivered?

Face-to-face, tight specs

In the service-system design matrix, a face-to-face total customization service encounter is expected to have which of the following?

Low production efficiency

Which of the following approaches to service design is characterized by having the customer take a greater role in the production of the service?

Self-service approach

Which of the following is one of the three contrasting approaches to delivering on-site service?

Self-service approach

Which of the following is not part of "the service triangle"?

Service encounter

Which one of the following is NOT a major factor distinguishing service design and development from manufacturing design and development?

Service operations can be protected by patents; manufacturing operations cannot.

Service guarantees can be used at the service design stage to focus the firm's delivery system on the things it must do well to satisfy the customer.

True From an operations perspective, a service guarantee can be used not only as an improvement tool, but also at the design stage to focus the firm's delivery system squarely on the things it must do well to satisfy the customer.

Flowcharts are a common process design and analysis tool used in both manufacturing and services. What is a key feature on flowcharts used in service operations that differentiates between the front-office and back-office aspects of the system?

line of visibility

In designing service systems, as you go from mail contact to phone contact to face to face total customization, which of the following is most appropriate?

sales opportunity increases while degree of customer/server contact increases.