Quiz Questions

On average, what percent of customers complain when they are unhappy with service?

5-10%

Firms must ensure that employees have the skills required to deal with jaycustomers that shout, are insulting and likely curse at them. These types of jaycustomers are known as

Belligerents

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

Customer satisfaction is influenced by perceptions of service quality

Low margins, a focus on attracting new customers, and having poorly paid workers with low skill levels are common outcomes for which cycle?

Cycle of failure

At Pronto, a discount store chain, if the shelf price is not on an item, checkout clerks can take the customer's word for prices up to $20. The customer does not have to wait for the clerk to check the price with someone on the floor. By giving its employees the authority to make decisions of the customer's behalf, Pronto is:

Empowering employees

Things that can be counted, timed, or observed through audits are ___ customer- defined service standards

Hard

CRM systems can allow for customers to have a more customized experience and companies to better target customers. All of this is contingent on the company inputting ___ into the CRM software

Meaningful data

When the dentist's office bills the patient who had an appointment but did not show up for it and did not cancel the appointment, it is an example of ___ because the patient was made aware of the policy before making the appointment

Procedural fairness

When the JetBlue flight attendant opened the emergency exit of the plane while on the tarmac, and slid down the emergency exit slide, that person was likely experiencing ___ conflict

person/role

Many airlines have started to change the on-board lighting from regular white light to light with a more blue hue. They are doing this in an attempt to

Signify relaxation and serenity

A __ environment should be designed with low arousal and high pleasantness

Spa

___ are created by providing services to the client that are designed right into the service delivery system

Structural

potential ways to reduce conflict and break down the barriers between departments include

all the above

On a recent tour, the Foo Fighters sang a number of classic songs from their past albums, in addition to playing songs from their newest album. By singing both old songs to satisfy older audience members and songs from its more recent album to satisfy younger fans, the foo fighters were trying to reduce ____ conflict

client/client

Olivia and Ian were due to be wed last March when a tornado blew down the church where the wedding was to be held. Even though the wedding was postponed and they risked losing over one thousand dollars in deposits, they were not worried because they had purchased wedding insurance. The salesperson had guaranteed they would have a perfect wedding no matter what happened. When Ian called the insurance agent, he learned that the policy did not provide coverage if the wedding was postponed due to an act of nature such as a tornado. In this case, provider _____ of the gaps model of service quality was apparent as their "perfect wedding" did not happen as promised.

communication

Salespeople for college texts call on college instructors to sell them on using a particular text for their classes. Improvements in efficiency have led some publishers to stop making sales calls altogether on smaller colleges. It is much better use of the sales force's time to call on schools with large classes and big adoption rates. From the customer's point of view, this application of the profitability tier

could cause resentment

Pandora is an internet-based music discovery service that helps its customers find and enjoy music that they like. A customer can create up to 100 unique stations by identifying favorite songs or artists and then Pandora's expert system analyzes what they like and provides suggestions based on this analysis. Pandora is using ___ to develop and maintain customer relationships

customization bonds

Regency Dry Cleaners operates in a medium-sized community. Its customers all live within a 20-mile radius of the cleaners. Regency provides its regular customers with several alternative pickup and delivery schedules rather than a single weekly pickup and delivery. Regency's driver will pickup clothes in the morning and deliver them back clean in the afternoon if that is what a customer needs. Regency has found the increase in its total number of customers because of this service more than pays its additional operation expenses. Regency has built its customer retention strategy around:

customization bonds

Comcast typifies the ___ since customers find it frustrating to deal with and there is little incentive for it to provide better service

cycle of mediocrity

The Gaps model is used to

diagnose and address service quality problems

When shelly hired the housekeeping service, she asked them to use her hypoallergenic cleaning supplies. Instead the workers used their own supplies and Shelly had to lose a day from work because of her allergic reaction to the smell of the cleaners. When shelly looked at the service guarantee that the workers had left, she found that she could get a reimbursement for all of her out-of-pocket expenses if she had a notarized letter from her doctor describing her condition and her reaction, an affidavit from the workers that they had used the wrong cleaners and another notarized statement that she would not have become ill the workers had used the right cleaners. This service guarantee is ineffective because it is not:

easy to invoke and collect

People are a part of the service environment. It is important to remember that ___ are a part of the service environment

employees and customers

Universal Credit Card Services gives its employees the right to grant credit lines to customers and adjust customers bills without management approval. By giving its employees the authority to make decisions that will benefit its customers, UCCS is:

empowering employees

The large glass font, coupled with clean exterior lines of an Apple store, help make it stand out from most other stores when people walk past. These elements would be which dimension of the service environment?

exterior facilities

service employees are important to customers and competitive positioning because the front line

is the most visible part of the firm

As the flight attendant listened to the business traveler complain about having to sit in the plane and wait for two hours before the plane took off, the attendant sorted through some magazines, got a blanket for another passenger and clearly ignored the legitimate complaints of the businessperson. This is clearly a problem with:

interactional fairness

Many carwashes offer free replacement washes to car owners if it rains or snows within 24 hours of when they had their cars cleaned at the carwash. Because people who would take advantage of this service guarantee are the ones that are concerned about the appearance of their car, this service guarantee:

is very meaningful

The Oaks at Ojai is an award-winning 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 provider _________ of the gaps model of service quality.

knowledge

the ____ is the difference between what service providers believe customers expect and customers actual needs and expectations

knowledge gap

Airlines have begun using ___ at different stages of long-haul flights

lights

FedEx developed a 12-item statistical Service Quality Indicator to measure customer satisfaction and service quality. The index is comprised of customer-defined performance standards such as number of missed pick-ups, number of lost packages and number of late deliveries. Each of the performance standards is weighted based on the relative importance of each standard to customers. By developing a Service Quality Indicator that incorporates customer-defined performance standards, FedEx is closing provider _____ of the gaps model of service quality.

policy

Harrah's Entertainment, a casino hotel company, incentive program weighted toward team results. A relatively small percentage of compensation is based on individual goals. Everyone in the organization is rewarded based on customer service scores. Harrah's entertainment is

promoting teamwork

It is most important that firms have clear ___ or consumers may have anxiety or uncertainty about how to proceed and obtain the desired service

signs and symbols

The westin hotel uses ___ to ensure that people feel good in the environment

scent

The romantic mountain getaway seemed like the perfect Valentines Day gift. The pictures in the brochure showed couples enjoying the amenities in the cabins. When the couple arrived, they found a cold, uninviting cabin with a shortage of creature comforts- no down-filled blankets, no wood for the fireplace, paper plates and cups, and a broken chair. In this service example, the ___ was not what the customers expected

servicescape

Service environments, also called ____________ relate to the style and appearance of the physical surroundings and other experiential elements encountered by customers at service delivery sites.

servicescapes

Elmer Jennings is a government auditor and works for the Bracken and Leach firm. He is the one who checks to see that city and county governments have complied with accounting principles. As an auditor, Jennings sometimes will spend six weeks in one office while he checks its accounting records. The closeness of the relationship that Jennings builds with the government employees he works with was realized by Bracken and Leach when Jennings left the firm, went to work for another one and took his clients with him. This is an example of how _____ benefits can be both helpful and harmful.

social

Miller & Sons Funeral Home has handled all of the funeral needs for the Atwater family since 1957. The family believes that Miller & Sons offers them good value for their dollar and the Miller sons and the Atwater boys played on the same high school football team. Miller & Sons Funeral Home is using _____ to implement its customer retention strategy.

social bonds

in many instances, customers develop loyalty to an organization in part because of costs involved in changing to and purchasing from a different firm. These costs are called

switching costs

the ___ jaycustomer thinks of various ways to cheat the firm. For example, rather than dining and dashing, this jaycustomer would complain about the food or service in order to get it for free, even if everything was fine

the cheat

which of the following is an example of a poka yoke?

the day care center has carefully labeled bins for each parent to fill with food, diapers, clothes and toys so that one childs stuff will not be confused with anothers

During two-day orientation and extensive on-the-job training, each Ritz Carlton Hotel employee learns the Ritz Carlton Gold Standards, which contain a credo, 20 basics of service, knowledge of one's work area, answering the telephone with a smile, wearing immaculate uniforms and the 3 steps of service. The 3 steps of service are comprised of a warm and sincere greeting, anticipation and compliance with guests needs and a fond farewell using the guests name, if possible. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel is using which of the following human resource strategies

training people to deliver service quality

Many airlines like United, Delta and Southwest use the color blue in their logos and branding elements. The color blue is effective for these types of businesses because they:

want to portray relaxation and serenity