Chapter 12

Why is price an important indicator of quality that consumers use when purchasing services?

Because services are intangible, evaluating quality directly is difficult.

What is a disadvantage of some self-service technologies like ATMs or grocery store scanning stations?

Consumers may perceive them as less personal.

Which of the following are typical ways that a service can be classified?

Delivery by person or equipment Profit or nonprofit

Match the following products with the type of offering on the service continuum. Dog food <-> Nursing <-> Fast food restaurant <->

Dog food <-> Good-dominated offeringGood-dominated offering Nursing <-> Service-dominated offeringService-dominated offering Fast food restaurant <-> Balanced offeringBalanced offering

Which statement regarding relationship marketing and service providers is true?

Encounters with customers provide opportunities to develop bonds with customers that can lead to customer loyalty.

Esperanza 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.

Inconsistency

Modern products lines typically ensure that the quality of durable goods remains at stable levels, but because services depend on the people who provide them, quality may vary from person to person or day to day, in what is known as the ________ of services.

Inconsistency

Standardization of practices and intense training for employees who work in guest relations at the Ritz-Carlton will help to minimize the negative effects of ________ in services.

Inconsistency

One difference between products and services is demonstrated by a visit to a doctor's office, where the doctor delivers the service at the same time the customer receives it. This refers to what feature of services?

Inseparability

There may be a great deal of interaction between a service provider and a consumer in which they co-create value together. In such situations, the customer perceives a high degree of ________ between the service provider and the company he or she represents.

Inseparability

Match each of the four I's of services with the correct definition of it. Intangibility <-> Inconsistency <-> Inseparability <-> Inventory <->

Intangibility <-> A service cannot be held, touched, or seen before the purchase decision.A service cannot be held, touched, or seen before the purchase decision. Inconsistency <-> Because services depend on the people who provide them, their quality varies with each person's capability and day-to-day job performance.Because services depend on the people who provide them, their quality varies with each person's capability and day-to-day job performance. Inseparability <-> In most cases, the consumer does not view the deliverer of the service as distinct from the service itself.In most cases, the consumer does not view the deliverer of the service as distinct from the service itself. Inventory <-> Services are often costly in that the firm must maintain the personnel and equipment necessary to provide the services at the time the consumer wants them.Services are often costly in that the firm must maintain the personnel and equipment necessary to provide the services at the time the consumer wants them.

A Singapore Airlines ad may show the airline's new seats and emphasize their size in order to address which issue that is unique to services?

Intangible

A consumer can see and touch a product such as a new laptop computer, but he cannot touch or feel the service he hires to fix a computer. This example illustrates the fact that services are ______.

Intangible

Because of the inseparability of services, which of the following is true about the place (or distribution) of them?

Intermediaries involved in the distribution are rare.

Ray is the manager of a sandwich shop. He recently received a complaint from a customer unhappy with the service because it took too long to get the food. There was only one employee making sandwiches, resulting in a long line. Ray apologized to the customer and sent her a coupon for a free sandwich. How can Ray best use a gap analysis here?

Ray can identify quick service as an expectation of his customers, and he can schedule labor accordingly.

Match each of the five dimensions of service quality with its definition. Reliability <-> Responsiveness <-> Assurance <-> Empathy <-> Tangibles <->

Reliability <-> Ability to perform the service dependably and accuratelyAbility to perform the service dependably and accurately Responsiveness <-> Willingness to help customers and provide prompt serviceWillingness to help customers and provide prompt service Assurance <-> Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidenceKnowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence Empathy <-> Caring, individualized attention provided to customersCaring, individualized attention provided to customers Tangibles <-> Appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materialsAppearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials

Which of the following are reasons that services are difficult for consumers to evaluate?

Service providers may vary with each delivery of the service. Services cannot be displayed or demonstrated prior to purchase.

Which of the following are reasons that service marketers rely heavily on branding?

Strong branding makes introduction of new services easier. Branding helps convey an image of quality. Branding is a means of differentiation.

What is the primary reason there is greater inconsistency in services than in tangible goods?

The people who provide services vary in capability or daily performance.

Which statement about services in the U.S. economy is true?

The value of services as a portion of U.S. GDP is growing.

What does it mean to say that services are generally considered to be intangible?

They cannot be held, touched, or seen before purchase.

For which of the products would a consumer be most likely to rely on personal sources of information like early adopters and opinion leaders when evaluating it for purchase?

a product high in credence properties

For nonprofit organizations, the most common form of publicity is ______.

a public service announcement

Services can be classified as to whether they are delivered by people or equipment, whether they are for-profit or nonprofit, and whether or not they _______.

are government sponsored

Because services are intangible, they ______.

are much more difficult for consumers to evaluate before the purchase

A gap analysis is done by ______.

asking consumers about both their expectations of and experiences with a service

Due to the fact that services are intangible and more difficult to describe, ________ is very important because it is a means of differentiation and helps to convey an image of quality.

branding

Home Depot's self checkout is an example of one classification of services, service delivery ______.

by equipment

Allegra wants to purchase a cruise to Alaska. In the search process, she discovers this purchase is different from an expenditure on a car in that the cruise ______.

cannot be easily separated from the service providers such as the stewards and crew

Efforts to influence consumer demand for a service with changes in marketing mix elements is known as _____ management.

capacity

The integration of the marketing mix with efforts to influence consumer demand is known as ______.

capacity management

What are four common ways services businesses refer to price?

charges fares fees rates

Off-peak pricing is ______.

charging different prices during different times of the day or week to reflect variations in demand.

A gap analysis focuses service providers on the difference between ______.

consumer expectations and experiences of service quality dimensions

Which two items are considered to be inventory costs of services?

costs associated with equipment needed to provide a service paying a person to provide a service

A customer contact audit is done by ______.

creating a flowchart of the points of interaction between the consumer and the provider

A service provider can better understand the entire sequence of steps in a service process by conducting a(n) ________ audit, making a flowchart of the interaction points for consumers and itself.

customer contact

A service process that is intentional and planned, consistent between occurrences, differentiated from other service offerings, and relevant and valuable to the target market can be developed through ______.

customer experience management

What are benefits for consumers of having a relationship with a service provider?

customized service delivery reduced stress due to a repetitive purchase process an absence of switching costs

A service organization that is attempting to reduce inconsistency may consider a change from ______.

delivery by person to delivery by equipment

Which of the following can be sources of variability in service delivery?

differences between the service provided by two stylists working in the same salon differences between service provided by the same stylist at various times of the day, week, or month differences in appointment scheduling at two different branches of the same salon

Capacity management emphasizes ______.

efforts to influence consumer demand, since services are both inseparable and perishable

In order to meet customer expectations and sustain customer loyalty, firms that engage in internal marketing focus on what three things?

employee skills employee commitment employee attitudes

Internal marketing focuses on the firm's ______.

employees

Because service providers vary in their delivery of a service, consumers have difficulty ______.

evaluating services

Services that can be evaluated only after purchase and during consumption are said to have ________ properties, while those services that are impossible to evaluate even after purchase and consumption have ________ properties.

experience; credence

Which two of the following would be considered services? a video gaming system financial advice a gallon of gasoline an airline trip a pair of garden shears

financial advice an airline trip

One of the most effective methods to assess how well an organization is delivering service to its consumers is use a(n) ________ analysis, questioning them on their expectations and experiences.

gap

Which of the following has been found to account for inflated customer satisfaction levels for services?

giving unauthorized free products or services to customers

Unlike for-profit organizations, the excess revenue a nonprofit organization has accumulated ______.

goes back to the organization to continue to fund its mission

The United State Postal service would be best classified as which of the following types of services?

government-sponsored

The United States Postal Service would best be classified as which of the following types of service?

government-sponsored

Off-peak pricing helps service organizations by ______.

helping to balance consumer demand

The service continuum is a scale that describes an organization's offerings in terms of ______.

how tangible or intangible they are

When a service provider is available but there is no demand for the service, this is known as ______.

idle production capacity

Management of the physical environment for services is sometimes known as ________ management.

impression

A student may be dissatisfied with her education, despite attending a highly regarded university, if she dislikes her instructors, advisers, or administrators. This type of problem arises due to the _______ of services.

inseparability

Which two factors are unique with respect to services, and are part of the four I's? inconvenience inseparability inventory indispensability

inseparability inventory

Sahil is having trouble deciding on which college to attend. While there are buildings, classrooms, and libraries to evaluate, the most important part of the service, the actual teaching and learning, is ________, making his decision more complex.

intangible

The idea that a service organization must focus on its employees before successful programs can be directed at customers is known as ______.

internal marketing

Because of the high salaries of pilots and the expensive equipment, airlines have higher ________ costs in comparison to many other industries.

inventory

If a physician is paid to see patients but no one schedules an appointment, the fixed cost of the physician's salary results in a high ________ carrying cost.

inventory

The physical environment is important in the delivery of services because ______.

it provides physical evidence, and thus helps convey an image to the consumer

Match the following products with the type of property the consumer would be most likely to use as he evaluates the product for purchase. jewelry <-> vacations <-> divorce lawyer <->

jewelry <-> search propertiessearch properties vacations <-> experience propertiesexperience properties divorce lawyer <-> credence propertiescredence properties

While self-service technologies such as ATMs and in-store kiosks create value for consumers, a disadvantage is that they are perceived to be ______.

less personal

Services marketing differs from that of tangible goods, and many firms have adopted a strategy to ______.

manage additional elements, on top of product, price, place, and promotion

Recent WTO estimates show that all countries combined exported ________ valued at $19.4 trillion and ________ valued at $5.2 trillion.

merchandise; commercial services

What two general trends are expected in the services industry in the future?

new and better services expanded variety of choices

Movie theaters attempt to balance consumer demand for their services by charging less for matinee showings, which is an example of ________ pricing.

off-peak

To address the intangible nature of her services and allow patients to compare them to those of others, a medical provider may ______.

offer cues to customers such as comfortable waiting rooms and sparkling clean examination rooms with her diplomas on the wall

In services marketing, netnography is the use of _______.

online information about consumer opinions, experiences, and behaviors in order to better understand service consumers

Which of the following influence a consumer's expectations of a service?

past experiences promotional activities word-of-mouth communications

One of the traits of service marketing is ________, meaning the service must be delivered at a specific time or it is lost.

perishability

United Airlines flies a plane from LA to NY at 8 o'clock on Tuesday morning only 25 percent full. On Friday, the same flight is overbooked by 15 percent. United is unable to capture and save the unused seats from the previous flight, and instead has to pay passengers to fly on future flights. This is an example of the ________ of services.

perishability

In addition to the traditional four Ps of the marketing mix, what three additional factors also require effective management within service organizations?

physical environment process people

For which of the following products would Luis be most likely to ask a coworker or family member about his or her purchase of the same product to gain information on the service's credence properties?

physician's services

Because services are intangible and there may be few other available cues for the customer to judge, they frequently use ________ as an important indicator of a service's quality.

price

The ________ factor for services includes not only "what" gets created but also "how" it is created.

process

The ________ factor for services refers to the actual procedures, mechanisms, and flow of activities by which the service is created and delivered.

process

Nonprofits like public schools and hospitals often use ________ in the form of public service announcements to disseminate their messages.

publicity

Match the following businesses with their level of inventory costs for the services they provide. real estate agency <-> restaurant <-> hospital <->

real estate agency <-> low inventory costslow inventory costs restaurant <-> medium inventory costsmedium inventory costs hospital <-> high inventory costshigh inventory costs

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 website review. Which one of the service dimensions below was not adequately delivered by the restaurant?

responsiveness

The scale that defines what companies bring to the market, from good-dominant to service-dominant offerings, is known as the _____ continuum.

service

What are two primary factors that are likely to result in changes to the services industry in the future?

social imperative for sustainability technological development

Customer experience management is ______.

the process of managing the entire customer experience of a service offering

As it relates to the place (distribution) element of the marketing mix, what two things become the tangible components of a service?

the service deliverer the distribution site

Idle production capacity occurs when ______.

the service provider is available but there is no demand for the service

Which product has the highest degree of service on the service continuum? air travel a tailored suit the theater a necktie

the theater

What distinguishes organizations as either for-profit or nonprofit?

their tax status

What are two ways that firms try to reduce the inconsistency of services?

through employee training programs by standardizing services

Despite the inventory costs, service providers must maintain production capacity because of the importance of ________ to today's customers.

time