MKTG 303 - Chapter 13

Which of the following is NOT a method by which managers can provide rewards and incentives to employees?

Providing technology and instrumental support at the facility

Which of the following would most likely cause the delivery gap to negatively impact service quality?

The company doesn't understand what the customer wants.

Which of the following usually leads to the best outcome for a service failure?

The company works with the customers to find a solution.

In delivery of a service, one of the most important early steps is addressing the knowledge gap, or the ability to understand ______.

consumer expectations

If a customer issues a complaint about poor service but is compensated in a way that he or she feels offsets the inconvenience of the service failure, the customer has received ______.

distributive fairness

A continuing dilemma for marketers of services is to understand buyers' _______, which means to understand in advance what they think will be delivered based on their previous experiences and knowledge.

expectations

In delivery of a service, one of the most important early steps is addressing the knowledge gap, or the ability to understand

consumer expectations

The marketing manager needs to communicate with customers and employees on an ongoing basis in order to understand buyers' expectations and to reduce the ______ gap.

knowledge

An effective method to assess customer service expectations is to analyze customer ______ behavior in which management is told by buyers what dissatisfies them.

complaint

Firms are able to gain a better understanding of customers' service expectations by using quantitative and qualitative market ______ which can be extensive and expensive.

research

One of the most important factors for adequate service recovery is for the provider to ______.

respond to the customer and resolve the problem quickly

For the marketing manager to be able to deliver consistent quality service, it is imperative to set ______.

measurable goals that are based on customer expectations

True or False: Delivery gaps always result in a service failure.

True

True or False: To assess service quality, it is necessary to understand both customers' perceptions and their expectations.

True

The zone of tolerance refers to ______.

the area between customers' desired expectations and the minimum level of acceptable service

What are some common problems caused by the use of technology in a service setting?

- Customers do not understand how to use the technology. - The technology does not perform adequately. - Customers dislike replacing humans with machines.

Which statements about dealing with service failures are true? (Choose every correct answer.)

- The proper approach can create a somewhat positive outcome from a negative experience. - The company should find a way to involve customers in the actual resolution process. - Teamwork between the company and customers usually gives the best result.

Which of the following are potential sources of heterogeneity of service quality at a hair salon? (Choose every correct answer.)

- The same hair stylist working at different times of the day, week, or month - Two different hair stylists working at the same location

What is the purpose of the "management by walking around" strategy? (Choose every correct answer.)

- To provide opportunities for managers to interact with customers directly - To have managers understand what their service providers face each day

When using zone of tolerance marketing metrics, the five scores assigned to service quality dimensions will always total ______.

100%

Which of the following products or services is considered perishable in the sense that it cannot be stockpiled?

A dental exam

Which of the following situations best illustrates how a firm can offer employees emotional support and stand behind the employees' actions?

At a copy center, part-time employees are encouraged to turn over any unhappy customer to the supervisor immediately.

The perceived equity of the process used to resolve complaints is called _______ _______.

Blank 1: procedural or procedure Blank 2: fairness, fair, or justice

______ is a customer's perception of the benefits received compared to the costs.

Distributive fairness

_______ fairness refers to customers' desire to be compensated a fair amount to correct a perceived loss that resulted from a service failure.

Distributive, Distribute, Distributed, Distribution, or Distributing

isa is a manager at a customer service call center for a footwear manufacturer. One of the customer service representatives, Mark, is upset because he just finished a call in which the customer berated him for the poor quality of a pair of shoes. Mark is worried that he may be punished for offering the customer a refund and a 20% discount on her next pair of shoes, but Lisa reassures him that he made the right decision and tells a few jokes to get his spirits up. What type of support has Lisa provided?

Emotional

True or False: Service providers that have high customer satisfaction ratings this year are unlikely to achieve the same level of satisfaction next year.

False

According to the Service Gaps Model, which of the following is NOT one of the gaps that might be encountered by a service provider in meeting the customer's needs?

Financial

Which of the following is most likely to lead to high levels of customer loyalty?

High customer satisfaction ratings

Joe owns a large retail company and wants to find out more about his customers' service expectations. Which one of the following is the best way for Joe to gain this insight?

Joe needs to engage in structured market research on his industry and brand.

Mary went to the local supermarket, where she shopped regularly, to purchase her groceries for the week. Which of the following was a delivery gap that resulted in a service failure by the grocery store?

Mary had to wait a long time in the checkout line because the clerk kept making errors using the cash register.

Mike is the manager of a sandwich shop and received a complaint from a customer unhappy because it took too long to get his food. Mike apologized to the customer and sent him a coupon for a free sandwich for the next time he visited. Why is it important for Mike to listen to the customer and provide feedback?

Mike is able to identify a way to improve service; he can schedule labor appropriately and set benchmarks.

Mike is the manager of a sandwich shop and received a complaint from a customer unhappy because it took too long to get his food. Mike apologized to the customer and sent him a coupon for a free sandwich for the next time he visited. Why is it important for Mike to listen to the customer and provide feedback? Multiple choice question.

Mike is able to identify a way to improve service; he can schedule labor appropriately and set benchmarks.

Lilly went to the Yummy Fork for lunch, and when her food arrived, it was not what she ordered. She later posted a negative comment about the Yummy Fork on a blog. Which one of the five service dimensions was used by Lilly to determine she did not like the service by the Yummy Fork?

Reliability

Match each of the five dimensions of service quality (on the left) with its definition (on the right).

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

An interior design consulting firm offers a $100 gift card to the employee with the highest customer satisfaction scores at the end of each month. Which method of eliminating the delivery gap is this an example of?

Rewards and incentives

One of the most effective methods to assess how well a firm is delivering adequate service to consumers is to employ the ______ Model to evaluate their service provision.

Service Gaps

Marissa works for a local restaurant. Each time a customer reports a compliment to a manager about an employee, the employee receives a star pin to wear. What is the advantage of the "star pin" to the restaurant and Marissa?

The star pin is a reward that reinforces the provision of excellent customer service and makes the employee feel recognized.

In the context of the Service Gaps Model, which of the following should the management do to bridge the knowledge gap?

Use marketing metrics such as service quality and the zone of tolerance

Which of the following characteristics is NOT one that distinguishes services from products?

Volatility

Is providing rewards to employees for excellent services a key part of customer service program? Why or why not?

Yes, rewards reinforce behavior that encourages employees to continually give great service.

Customer service is best represented by which of the following statements? Customer service ______.

adds to marketing efforts by helping to meet the customers' needs and wants

An important element of offering emotional support to employees is to ______ when they have been empowered to make decisions in dealing with the customer.

avoid punishing them

In addition to empowering and rewarding service providers, as well as offering instrumental support, service managers are advised to ______.

be consistent and predictable in their support

Ryanair advertised the lowest rates in Europe with fares of $12 between Paris and Munich. However, when Bill arrived at the airport, he had to pay $28 in taxes, $25 for one small carry-on bag, $6 for a non-alcoholic beverage, and $2.50 to use the restroom on the plane. Between Ryanair and the customer there is a ______ gap.

communication

If the Americana Hotel has successfully closed the standards gap, the knowledge gap, and the delivery gap in providing customers with service, it is still necessary for the hotel to close the _______ gap.

communications, communication, communicating, or communicate

Service quality is defined as ______.

customers' perceptions of how well a service meets or exceeds their expectations

Janet had to deal with a very difficult customer who wanted to be given complimentary services such as free flights and upgrades on future flights when he very vocally complained in the airport about delays and lost luggage. He screamed at Janet and was very offensive. Her supervisor made Janet feel a little better about the unsettling experience by offering ______ support and commending her on how she handled the difficult passenger.

emotional

A restaurant is facing a problem in service delivery on a night when there are twice as many customers dining as usual. An integral part of recovery of the service dilemma is to provide both distributive and procedural _______ in resolving the delays in getting all customers served.

fairness or justice

Since humans' work output cannot be standardized to the same degree as the output of a machine, one substantial difference between the marketing of services and products is the ______ of service delivery.

heterogeneity

One difference between products and services is demonstrated by a hair salon, where the stylist delivers the service at the same time the customer receives it. This is called ______.

inseparability

One of the basic ways in which services differ from products is that production and consumption are ______ from each other. Consequently, service providers often include options for the customer to become more involved in the production of the service, which usually results in greater customer satisfaction.

inseparable

The most fundamental difference between services and goods is that services are ______.

intangible

One of the problems in using customer complaint behavior to assess buyers' service expectations is that ______.

managers often are more concerned with resolving the complaint than analyzing the essence of the problem

Service providers cannot inventory or stockpile things like haircuts during slow times to "sell" later when the facility is busy. This characteristic of services is called ______.

perishability

Despite having to deal with difficult guests, the service provider can be motivated to provide "service with a smile" when the firm ______.

provides support and incentives to motivate quality service

Poor service delivery can be converted into a positive interaction through service ______ an effort that resolves the problem fairly and shows the buyer that the firm is listening to the complaint.

recovery

Procedural fairness is defined as ______.

the perceived fairness of the process used to solve complaints

The failure of a service to meet the customer's expectations is known as a service _______.

gaps or gap

Which of the following are benefits that a service provider receives from engaging in effective service recovery? (Check all that apply.)

- Increased purchase intention - Improved word of mouth

Which of the following are characteristics that make marketing services different from product marketing? (Choose every correct answer.)

- Perishability - Intangibility - Heterogeneity

A business that experiences service delivery gaps can use which of the following methods to improve the quality of its service? (Choose every correct answer.)

- Provide incentives and support for service providers - Implement self-service technologies - Empower employees to work in the customer's best interest

Match each type of service gap (on the left) with its definition (on the right).

Knowledge gap ------- The difference between customer expectations and what the firm perceives the customer to expect Standards gap ------- The difference between the firm's perceptions of customers expectations and the service standards it sets Delivery gap ------- The difference between the firm's service standards and the actual service it provides to customers Communications gap ------- The difference between actual service provided to customers and the service that the firm's promotion program promises

Jane has multiple managers at her retail job. It is company policy that customers cannot return items without a receipt, but sometimes managers will allow customers to receive store credit for their returns. One day a customer was irate that Jane would not allow a return for store credit because the manager on duty adhered to the company policy. The customer wrote a complaint about Jane to the corporate office. What needs to change about this situation?

The support that managers provide must be consistent and coherent throughout the organization.

What problem might occur if a grocery store decides to install self-checkout devices?

The technology will be too challenging for some customers.

Which of the following is NOT a method to reduce delivery gaps?

Threaten to terminate employees

An airline employee is able to make a decision at the moment of assigning a passenger a seat at the gate when it is obvious the flier is in a wheel chair. The firm has ______ the employee by allowing him to move the passenger to first-class seating.

empowered

When a hotel has a service delivery problem such as a broken air conditioning system on a very hot weekend, one critical element of service recovery is to ______.

find a solution that seems fair to all customers

The primary reason there is greater heterogeneity in services than in products is because ______.

human inputs generate differences

McDonald's has a policy that, in addition to ketchup, mustard, and onions, all burgers must have two pickles. This contributes to efforts to reduce the ______ gap and provide measurable service quality based on expectations.

standards

When a firm such as Ruth's Chris Steak House tells servers to "use your best judgment" in serving a customer who is not satisfied with his or her $40 steak, it is allowing the server to make decisions at the point of delivery. This is called _______.

empowerment, empowering, empowered, empowers, or empower

Services are _______, which means that they cannot be touched, tasted, or seen.

intangible or intagible

One of the best ways for managers to reduce the ______ gap is to conduct ongoing research and regularly talk with employees to explain what customers expect to get from the brand and the firm.

knowledge

Customer _______ refers to human or mechanical activities undertaken by firms to help satisfy their customers' needs and wants.

service

A customer with a complaint about the way in which a washing machine repair was made will become increasingly more annoyed with the service provider ______.

the longer it takes to get an answer from the firm

Match each type of service gap (on the left) with the corresponding way of achieving closure (on the right).

Knowledge gap ------- Conduct research to better understand what customers want Standards gap ------- Set appropriate service goals and measure service performance Delivery gap ------- Improve employee performance through support, incentives, and the use of technology Communications gap ------- Be realistic in telling potential buyers about the services that can be provided and manage those customer expectations effectively

One method to recover from a service delivery problem is to provide ______ fairness, by which customers perceive they are getting an equivalent return for the inconvenience they suffered when the service was not delivered as expected.

distributive

Jane 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.

heterogeneity