MARK 6350 - Chapters 3 & 4

Which of the following incidents is likely to influence a customer's perception of service quality of an appliance store?

All of the choices are correct

The growth of property offerings for travellers on sites like AiBnB.com and Vrbo.com has primarily impacted the hotel industry by which factor influencing desired and predicted service?

perceived service alternatives

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

Customer satisfaction is influenced by perceptions of service quality

Imagine a bereaved family at a funeral home discovering dirty restrooms, a disco ball in the chapel, and loud heavy metal music on the sound system. You would be correct in saying

the physical environment quality led the family to think less of the overall service quality

Which of the following is NOT an example of technical outcome quality?

the sales associate greeting a customer in a specialty clothing store

What has driven companies to be attuned to the rising level of change in customer expectations?

the technological evolution and competitive landscape

Which of the following statements about service encounters is true?

If a customer is interacting with a firm for the first time, that initial encounter will create a first impression of the organization.

Which of the following statements about predicted service is true?

If the consumer predicts good service, the level of adequate service is likely to be higher than if he or she predicted poor service.

Which of the following statements about the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is true?

The ACSI demonstrates to service providers that there is much room for improvement in customer satisfaction.

Which of the following statements about customer satisfaction is true?

Satisfaction may be associated with feelings of ambivalence when there is a mix of positive and negative experiences

The growth in customers spending time reading online reviews on various sites requires service providers to monitor these sites as they can impact which of the factors that influence which source of desired service expectations?

derived service expectations

Business travelers today are more likely to order room service than ever before. A tired piece of chicken in a congealed sauce kept company by a heap of wilted lettuce will likely cause the customer to think negatively about his or her hotel stay. This is an example of how________ influences customer satisfaction.

a product feature

When Marcus Ross arrived at the airport Enterprise Rent-A-Car to pick up a reserved SUV, he was told the agency had no such car on the lot and that it had no record of him making a reservation. The rental agency's customer service representative Gene Lowery apologized profusely and called other agencies until he located an SUV at an agency several miles away. Lowery personally drove him to the other agency, knocked 20 percent off the rental fee, handed Ross $2 to pay a toll that he would now have to pay to get to his destination and gave him a free tank of gas. Ross's experience at Enterprise is an example of which type of service encounter incident?

adaptability

Leonard has been commuting to New York City on the Long Island Railroad for 10 years. Every morning he takes the 7:00 a.m. train that is scheduled to arrive in New York at 8:15 a.m. from Huntington, a suburb of New York. Although Leonard would like the train to arrive in New York on time, he knows from his experience as a commuter that it is more likely the train will be five minutes late. Leonard's expectation that his train will be five minutes late reflects his________ level of service for the Long Island Railroad.

adequate

_____ service represents the minimum tolerable expectation, the bottom level of performance acceptable to the customer.

adequate

The fluctuation in a customer's zone of tolerance is more a function of changes in the________, which moves readily up and down because of situational circumstances than of the________, which tends to move upward incrementally because of accumulated experiences.

adequate service level; desired service level

Customers often cannot accurately evaluate the technical qualities of legal work like that provided when a homeowner refinances his or her property. Which of the following cues would the homeowner be likely to use to evaluate the legal services?

all of the choices are correct

For technology-based service encounters, which of the following is NOT a form of failure to deliver on the core promise?

all of the choices are correct

Which of the following are determinants of service quality in a face-to-face service encounter?

all of the choices are correct

Which of the following can influence how satisfied a customer is with a service?

all of the choices are correct

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

When a financial planner first meets with a prospective client, she explains her training and understanding of how important the client values protecting their financial assets. This aspect conveys which dimension of service quality?

assurance

Why would a blood bank, which pays people for their blood donations and then sells this blood to hospitals, use the name Blood Assurance?

because the assurance dimension of service quality inspires trust and confidence

A growing concern for service providers is when rude customers record service encounters to spread virally on the Internet. In addition to training in adaptability, what other training in service behavior might help employees when encounters with such "problem customers" occurs?

coping

Which of the following service encounter themes reflects employees' responding to problem customers, i.e., customers who are unwilling to cooperate with the service provider, other customers, industry regulations, and/or laws?

coping

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

credibility

Allstate changed its insurance billing procedure after research revealed customers wanted flexible payment plans and billing information presented in an easy-to-read format. What type of research would Allstate most likely have used to discover how customers perceived Allstate's billing procedure?

critical incident technique

A hotel guest has experienced multiple flight delays getting to the hotel. Aware of the situation, the front desk clerk greets the tired traveler and informs the guest that she has been upgraded at no charge to a suite. What is this typically mean the guest will experience?

customer delight

Product and service features that are unexpected and surprisingly enjoyable are known as________.

delights

A human resources manager who is hiring a sales trainer to improve the company's sales close rate will be concerned whether the trainer will provide the needed tools and motivation to perform his or her job. The human resources manager wants the company's top management and its sales force managers to approve of his selection of trainer. This is an example of a(n)________ expectation.

derived service

A(n)________ expectation occurs when customer expectations are driven by another person or group of people.

derived service

After his home was burglarized, Rich became concerned about the safety of his wife and three children since he often traveled out-of-town on business. To prevent further burglaries and ensure his family's safety, Rich decided to purchase a home security system from ADT Security Systems. Rich's expectation that an ADT home security system will protect his family and prevent future burglaries is influenced by his________.

derived service expectations

Last week, Francine bought a 6-month membership package at Planet Fitness. She plans to exercise at Planet Fitness four days a week by participating in an aerobics class, using the nautilus equipment and having a personal trainer. By the time her 6-month membership expires, Francine hopes to lose 20 pounds, tone and strengthen her muscles, improve her cardiovascular fitness and look and feel more attractive. Francine's expectations for her health and physical appearance reflect her________ level of service for Planet Fitness.

desired

_______ service is the level of service the customer hopes to receive.

desired

The growth of e-tailing has led to the identification of four core dimensions that consumers use to evaluate Web sites at which they experience no questions or problems. They are

efficiency, fulfillment, reliability, and privacy

After returning from spring break vacations, Jenna was excited to tell her experiences with her friends who went to the same resort last year. She discovers that her trip package was more expensive and offered much less amenities than her friends received last year. Her outcome of customer dissatisfaction reflects which component that can impact of

empathy

Ally Bank advertises "24/7 live customer care" which means that customer can call by telephone and speak with a human being about their banking matters any time of day or night. Ally Bank customers never have to talk to a machine. With this service feature, Ally Bank is emphasizing the________ dimension of service quality.

empathy

The________ dimension of service quality is the caring, individualized attention given to customers.

empathy

Customer________ are beliefs about service delivery that function as standards against which performance is judged.

expectations

Tom Grantham, a U.S. citizen, decided to outsource the preparation of his personal income taxes to a company in India. After he emailed his earnings and scanned receipts, his tax return was completed in two days at a cost of $50 - about one-third of what a U.S. firm like H&R Block charges. However, he had to file his return as "self-prepared," since it was not prepared by a U.S. accountant. Using a foreign service provider may require customers to reset their

expectations

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many service institutions chose to institute requirements, such as protective mask-wearing or proof of vaccination, as policy to protect their customers and service employees. Informing customers and employees became an example of:

explicit service promises

Which of the sources of both desired and predicted service expectations are completely within the control of the service provider?

explicit service promises

Oakley Millwork is a supplier of products used in the construction industry. It has a published policy that if a customer places an order from its catalog and the product is not available for immediate delivery, the customer gets the item free. Oakley Millwork's policy is an example of a(n)

explicit service response

Research on the adoption of technology services has identified five groups of customers. The group of customers who are highly motivated to try new technologies are called________.

explorers

In a________ encounter, both verbal and non-verbal behaviors are determinants of quality, as are tangible cues such as employee appearance and informational brochures.

face-to-face

The greatest potential variability in the interaction between a customer and a service firm occurs in a(n) ____ service encounter.

face-to-face

Anika belongs to an Internet library, which lets her trade books she no longer wants for like-valued items she does want. Most members follow the rules of the Web site, but a few unscrupulous members do not mail requested books because they are more interested in acquiring books than sharing them with others. Anika has the potential to experience problems with which e-service quality dimension as she trades books?

fulfillment

Because Virginia's brother died while he was cashing a check at the local bank, Virginia has always hated any type of banking. When it became necessary for her to go to the bank to empty her brother's safe deposit box, she complained the whole time about the inept service, the too-cold air conditioning and the poor parking. Virginia's customer satisfaction was adversely influenced by

her emotional state

Gwen's first trip to an amusement park was as a chaperone for a class of first grade students who were allowed to fill up on sugar on the bus trip to the park. By the end of the day, Gwen was very frustrated and very tired. Later when she revisited the amusement park, Gwen could not enjoy the experience because she kept remembering how miserable she had been acting as a chaperone. Gwen's satisfaction with amusement parks was adversely influenced by

her emotional state.

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

Jack and Luke used the same mechanic to fix their cars. Both were unhappy with recent repairs. Luke who complained because his car was improperly repaired will have a ______ level of adequate service and a _____ zone of tolerance than Jack who did not complain about how poorly his car was running after the mechanic put in new spark plugs and did other maintenance.

higher; narrower

Raul took his dog Buffy to dog training school to stop Buffy from barking. As soon as the dog returned home, she started her same pattern of barking. Raul was highly critical of the trainers for not teaching Buffy not to bark even though he had not continued the reinforcement technique he was supposed to use to encourage Buffy's good behavior. Raul's customer satisfaction was adversely affected by

his attribution for service failure

The highest customer expectations are referred to as________ expectations.

ideal

When a customer chooses between a restaurant in a pricey suburb of Atlanta and a restaurant in a small farming community 45 miles away, there is a(n)________ made by the locations that the customer will be more likely to find exotic cuisine and better trained servers at the downtown Atlanta restaurant.

implicit service response

Zoe was looking for a kennel to board her cocker spaniel for two weeks while she goes on vacation. There are two kennels close to her home. One charges $50 per week and the other charges $125 per week. Zoe chose the higher priced service because her dog is like a member of the family and she wanted it to have the best possible care while she was away. Zoe's service expectation level was determined by a(n)

implicit service response

When introduced to technology-based service encounters, people react in different ways. Your text discusses five categories into which they could be grouped. Which is NOT one of these categories?

influencers

________ quality refers to how a service is delivered to the customer.

interaction

Karen owns a cottage on Martha's Vineyard, a popular island destination for tourists from about April to October. When Karen visits the island in March to dine at her favorite pizza restaurant, she expects great service because the tourists are not there. Because she predicts she will receive great service, her________ than it is during the tourist season.

level of adequate service will be higher

Denise said all she expected from the day care at the gym she belonged to was to get her children back at the end of an hour and learn the police had not been called because of something they did. She uses this particular gym because the day care will let her unruly children stay even though it provides only the nominal supervision. Denise has ___ expectations about the day care.

minimum tolerable

What term is also used to describe the customer's most vivid expression of the service encounter when interacting with service providers?

moment of truth

Customers' tolerance zones vary for different service attributes or dimensions. The________ the factor, the________ the zone of tolerance is likely to be.

more important; narrower

As a service dimension increases in importance, a customer's zone of tolerance________ and his or her desired and adequate service levels________.

narrows; increase

The weekend cruise cost Jason Riggs $800 dollars. Before leaving on the cruise, Riggs told his neighbor, "With the money this trip is costing me, the food better be good and plentiful." What kind of expectations did Roux have?

normative

Velma was preparing to take her first airplane trip in more than 20 years. One of the primary reasons why she has not flown is because she is over six-feet tall and the closeness of the seats made her extremely uncomfortable. Just prior to making plane reservations, she saw an article in a travel magazine congratulating United and American Airlines for increasing the room between passenger seats. She did not have time to read the whole article—just the first paragraph. She made her reservations on United Airlines with the expectation that she would not have to feel like she was "shoe horned" into her seat. When she boarded the plane, she was struck with how close the seats appeared. It wasn't long before she learned that United had only increased the room for the first six rows and American had made sure that every seat had extra room. Velma's service expectation levels were shaped by

past experience and explicit service promises.

Instead of cooking dinner themselves, Jenna and her roommate Sheryl decided to order pizza and have it delivered to their apartment. Although Jenna and Sheryl usually order pizza from Pizza Hut, they had recently received coupons in the mail from two other neighborhood pizza restaurants, JoJi's Gourmet Pizza and Angelo's Pizzeria, for discounts on the purchase of two medium pizzas. JoJi's Gourmet Pizza and Angelo's Pizzeria are providing the roommates with

perceived service alternatives

After returning from spring break vacations, Jenna was excited to tell her experiences with her friends who went to the same resort last year. She discovers that her trip package was more expensive and offered much less amenities than her friends received last year. Her outcome of customer dissatisfaction reflects which component that can impact of

perceptions of equity or fairness

When Joan woke up this morning, she felt terrible. She had a headache, sore throat, and upset stomach. She called her doctor's office, explained her condition to the receptionist and asked if she could make an appointment to see the doctor as soon as possible that day since she was going on vacation tomorrow. Joan desired expectation to see her doctor the same day she became sick resulted from a(n)

personal need

States or conditions essential to the physical or psychological well-being of a customer that are pivotal factors that shape what customers desire in a service are known as________.

personal needs

An important influence in desired service expectations is________, the customer's underlying generic attitude about the meaning of service and the proper conduct of service providers.

personal service philosophy

Lillie worked as a caterer when she was in college. She was highly critical of the caterer and its staff that her parents selected for their 50th anniversary party. Lillie's attitude about how a caterer should act reflects her

personal service philosophy

One factor that influences adequate service is________, the level of service that customers believe they are likely to get.

predicted service

________ is the level of service that customers believe they are likely to get during an impending transaction or exchange.

predicted service

Last Thursday Dylan and Tori had dinner at Pig Pete's, a new restaurant they had heard about from friends. When they received their order of buffalo wings, Dylan noticed the wings were cold and dried out instead of being hot and moist. Dylan complained to their waitress, who apologized, brought out a plate of freshly cooked buffalo wings, and told Dylan and Tori that they would not be charged for the buffalo wings. The couple's experience at Pig Pete's is an example of which type of service encounter incident?

recovery

Southwest Airlines has consistently had one of the best on-time performance records in the airline industry. A critical factor in Southwest's success has been its use of second tier airports such as Midway in Chicago, Hobby in Houston, City in Detroit, and Ontario in Los Angeles. These lower traffic airports allow Southwest to have a faster turnaround for its airplanes so they spend a greater percentage of their time in the air. Seventy percent of Southwest's flights have a turnaround time of 15 minutes. Southwest Airline's on-time performance reflects the________ dimension of service quality.

reliability

________ has consistently proven to be the most important determinant of service quality.

reliability

A service encounter that occurs without any direct human contact is a(n) ___ encounter.

remote

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

Betina had a group of checks that she needed to deposit and another that she needed to cash 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 focuses on the________ dimension of service quality.

responsiveness

The ___ dimension of service quality refers to the willingness to help customers and provide prompt service.

responsiveness

When customers have been surprised by a service outcome that is much better or worse than expected, they tend to look for reasons and their assessments of the reasons can influence their satisfaction. These perceived causes of service success or failure are known as

service attributions

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(n)________ with Disneyland.

service encounter

The factors that influence adequate service expectations are________ in nature and fluctuate________ than the factors that influence desired service expectations.

short term; more

The last time Lia went shopping at Nordstrom's department store she had a very pleasant experience. When she entered Nordstrom's, she asked a sales associate named Sarah for assistance finding a pair of jeans, a pair of shorts, a skirt, and matching tops. Sarah enthusiastically agreed to help and treated Lia like royalty throughout her two-hour shopping trip. Sarah stayed with Lia the entire time she was in Nordstrom's and showed her a number of different styles of jeans, shorts, skirts, and tops. Sarah brought Lia additional items while she was in the fitting room and offered her advice on accessorizing her outfits. After the sale, Sarah thanked Lia for her purchases. Lia's experience at Nordstrom's is an example of which type of service encounter incident?

spontaneity

The Walt Disney Company dress code requires male cast members with mustaches or beards to trim their facial hair to no longer than one-quarter of an inch and be well-groomed. Male cast members without mustaches and beards must be clean shaven every day. All cast members must be kept their nametags visible at all times, have no visible tattoos, and be professional in appearance. The Walt Disney Company's dress code reflects the ___ dimension of service quality.

tangibles

When campus visits by prospective students are organized in certain group sessions in the Spring, universities are highly focused on making sure the campus facilities are clean, the landscaping is beautiful, and the orientation ambassadors talking to students wear color coded polos with the University logo. These all show the importance of ___ in conveying service quality.

tangibles

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many medical professionals would have virtual meetings with n0n-emergency patients via platforms such as Zoom, WebEx, and Microsoft Teams. Such meetings provide service by being

technology-mediated

Phone encounters are a type of________ in which tone of voice, employee knowledge, and effectiveness of handling customer issues are important criteria for judging quality.

technology-mediated encounter

Kelly dined in a family-style restaurant in Mobile, Alabama, shortly after a hurricane had brushed the coastal area. The server apologized because there were no iced drinks available. The water supply had been contaminated by the storm's high tides. The water system was fine now, but after repairing other minor damages, the workers had not yet had a chance to clean the ice machine. Kelly, a long-time resident of Mobile, understood that________ meant she would need to modify her service expectations.

uncontrollable situation factor

John's flight on United Airlines from Chicago to San Francisco departed two hours late because of a snowstorm in Chicago. The snowstorm that delayed John's flight is a(n):

uncontrollable situational factor

Because they are viewed as _____ by customers, natural disasters such as tornadoes or hurricanes may lower service expectations for services such as insurance, telephone, and the Internet.

uncontrollable situational factors

During the days following Superstorm Sandy, telephone and Internet service was poor across a wide area because so many people were trying to get in touch with friends and relatives. Customers of these services soon realized that they should not expect the level of service they were accustomed to prior to the storm. These customers were quite forgiving during this time because they recognized that service performance was being affected by

uncontrollable situational factors.

Jamie desires a haircut that will look just as attractive when she awakens in the morning as it does when she is going out on a date. With the desired haircut, all she has to do to fix her hair is to shake her head. A haircut is adequate when it doesn't have any stray long hairs and it hides her cowlick. Jamie's recent haircut was in her________ because while it didn't look great all the time, a quick brushing was all that was needed to fix it.

zone of tolerance

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

zone of tolerance