mktg 4350

empathy

easy access, good communication, understanding the customers

Ally Bank advertises "24/7 live customer care" which means customers can call and speak with a human about banking matters at any time. Ally Bank customers never have to talk toa machine. With this service feature, they are emphasizing the _____ dimension of service quality.

empathy

Universal Credit Card Services (UCCS) 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

Every time Bob and Mari stay at a Hilton Hotel, they earn points that can be used at a later date for free rooms, meals and other hotel amenities. Hilton is using _____ to implement its retention strategy.

financial bonds

One of the customer-defined standards at Delta Airlines is "the number of pieces of luggage damaged per day." "The number of pieces of luggage damaged per day" is a _____ customer-defined service standard.

hard

Emotional labor is when employees _______.

have a gap between what they feel inside, and what management expects them to display to their customers

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

is the most visible part of the firm

Outcomes of the "Cycle of Failure" for firms include ____________ and ____________.

low service quality; high employee turnover

Kelso Massage Therapy promises its clients that there wait for a massage will be less than fifteen minutes or the massage is free. What type of service recovery tool is being used?

offering a guarantee

_____ concerns the results that customers receive from their complaints.

outcome fairness

Effective service recovery procedures should be ____________, ____________, ____________, and ____________.

proactive, planned, trained, empowered

In addition to compensation, customers expect _____, or they expect fairness in terms of policies, rules, and timeliness of complaint process.

procedural fairness

Many service providers think that when a customer complains that is a bad thing. While a service failure is not ideal, effective complaint handling and service recovery is better than having a customer not complain, since it allows the firm to:

reduce customer churn

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

When a customer of Twin Cities Rehabilitation Center complained that his therapist was one hour late for their appointment, the owner of the center gave the customer credit for one free hour of therapy. The action taken by the owner is an example of ___________.

service recovery

The romantic mountain getaway seemed like the perfect Valentine's Day gift. The pictures in the brochure showed couples enjoying the amenities in their 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

3. delivery gap

the difference between the firm's service standards and the actual service it provides to customers

Factors that work to increase the profit growth from loyal customers include:

-reduced customer service costs -referrals -Acquisition costs can be amortized over a longer period -increased purchases

Which of the following statements about the benefits of service guarantees is true?

A good guarantee forces the company to focus on its customers.

The delivery gap of the gaps model of service quality is caused by:

Advertising that over-promised

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

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

The wheel of loyalty is composed of which of the following three main components?

Build a foundation for loyalty; create loyalty bonds; reduce churn drivers

Which of the following is one of the customer-driven approaches to improving productivity?

Changing the timing of customer demand.

____________ arise when the customer is required to pay a penalty to switch providers.

Contractual costs

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

The _____________ is commonly found in large, bureaucratic organizations with standardized service where employees have little freedom in narrow and repetitive jobs.

Cycle of Mediocrity

Jimmy Johns posts the thank you notes from community partners on the walls to let employees and customers know that the restaurant is active in the community. It is a way to help motivate employees by showing them that their job impacts the community. This is an example of which type of reward?

Feedback and recognition

Service companies can help close the communication gap by:

Improving communications between sales and operations departments

The Oaks at Ojai is an award-winning destination spot in California. Two thirds of The Oaks' guest 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 their 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 the ________ of service quality.

Knowledge gap

_______ concerns the results that customers receive from their complaints.

Outcome fairness

_____ are often considered a part of the revenue equations for customers. In addition, their value is often difficult to calculate, however they can be very important to firms.

Referrals

Which of the following statements about service failure and service recovery is true?

Resolving customer problems effectively has a strong impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty

When measuring the value of a customer, firms typically consider two things:

Revenue and Costs

The ______ gap is the difference between customer expectations and perceptions.

Service quality

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

Structural

Which of the following is the BEST example of procedural fairness?

When Tia walked into the salon and asked to have her hair cut, the receptionist pointed to the sign that read, "To keep from inconveniencing our customers, this hair salon will not style the hair of anyone who does not have an appointment"

assurance

competence, courtesy, credibility and security

Salespeople for college textbooks call on college instructors to sell them on using a particular text for their classes. Improvements in the 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

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 owner of a small but growing business, Terry Franklin was becoming overwhelmed with requests from his outside customer service representatives for decisions about solutions to customer problems. Noting the mountain of his own work that was piling up, he instituted a policy change and informed representatives. "keep customers happy" he said, "if it's a problem that takes less than $100 to fix, there's no need to call me, Use your judgement and go ahead and fix it." He is using empowerment to narrow the _____ gap of service quality.

delivery

The Gaps Model is used to __________.

diagnose and address service quality problems

While being trained at Disney University in Orlando, Florida, Disney employees are told they are not just employees but pivotal "cast members" in a "show." From street sweepers to monorail pilots, each cast member must go out of his or her way to make the resort seem unreal. No matter how tired employees are or how deeply guests may try their patience, employees must never lose composure. _______ labor is required of Disney employees to always maintain composure.

Emotional

Flying across the Pacific Ocean is an eight-hour trip that could be dreadful if you did not fly by Singapore Airlines. One frequent flyer between the United States and Japan noted the Singapore cabin crew gives the impression that it is truly their pleasure to serve the passengers. Seating has been designed to provide comfort in the airline's wide body planes. In first class, the seats are referred to as sky suites because they are so roomy. Every meal is carefully planned and served. The commitment to making the long flight as pleasant as possible indicates Singapore Airlines:

Has a service culture

When its sales were declining, Canadian Airline conducted a marketing survey to understand the expectations of the business traveler, its target market. It learned business travelers resent they are bosses in their own offices but are totally controlled by the airlines when they travel. Canadian Airline instituted gate-side business centers, shower facilities and massage chairs as well as continuous "power to the seat" for those who want to work on their laptops. By listening to its business travelers and providing the services they want, Canadian Airline's sales started increasing. What service recovery strategy did Canadian Airline use?

Learn from recovery experience

Sunoco is readying a chain-wide set of marketing initiatives designed to improve its image with women drivers and win more return business to its service station outlets throughout Ontario. It refurbished all of its restrooms and tried to hire friendly personalities and real customer service skills instead of "just who was available". It hired an outside research organization to send people to Sunoco service stations twice monthly to grade staff on their customer interaction skills. What research method did Sunoco use to make sure that each station was implementing the new service strategy?

Mystery shoppers

Adam was working late in his hotel room when the light bulb in the lamp at his desk burned out. He called the front desk and asked for a replacement bulb. The desk manager told Adam that a new one would be provided tomorrow morning and that he did not have the key to the stockroom. Adam tried to explain how much he needed the light to finish his sales report, but the manager was polite but adamant that he could not help. This example illustrates lack of:

Procedural fairness

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

Harrah's Entertainment, a casino hotel company, has a 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

The empowerment of employees makes which of the following service recovery strategies easier to implement?

Respond quickly

The _______ suggests an initially disappointed customer who has experienced good service recovery might be even more satisfied and loyal as result.

Service recovery paradox

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

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

2. policy gap

The difference between management's understanding of customers' expectations and the service standards they set for service delivery

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 three steps of service. The three steps of service are comprised of a warm and sincere greeting, anticipation and compliance with guests' needs and a fond farewell using the guest's name, if possible. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel is using which of the following human resource strategies?

Training people to deliver service quality

American Airlines pilots and crews are trained to inform customers immediately when flight delays occur and to keep customers advised at regular intervals about the changes in a flight's schedule. By keeping customers informed during a flight, American Airlines is closing the _____ gap of service quality.

delivery

4. communication gap

difference between what company communicates and what customer understands or experiences

5. perception gap

difference in what is actually delivered and what customers feel they have received.

If a Finish Line sales associate replaces shoes at no cost to the client, it is an example of ____________.

employee empowerment

Once Mariko had carried her dry cleaning to the car, she took a minute to see if the cleaners had removed the stain from her wool skirt. The stain was still there, so Mariko took the skirt back to the cleaner. When Mariko showed the stained skirt to the cleaner employee, she shrugged and said, "I guess you want us to reclean the skirt?" Mariko responded, "Yes, please." The employee took the skirt, gave Mariko a dirty look and began sorting some items on the counter. The employee did not treat Mariko 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

What is boundary spanning?

jobs that straddle the boundary between external environment and internal operations of the organization

The ____________ is the difference between what service providers believe customers expect and customers' actual needs and expectations

knowledge gap

When a lawyer feels a conflict between what she is asked to do and her own personality, orientation or values she is experiencing _______ conflict.

person v.s. role

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 the _____ gaps of service quality.

policy

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

Molly and Tom are getting married, last month they hired a caterer. This month they attended a wedding for which their chosen catered had provided food, dishes, and flowers. Neither thought the food was good and Molly worries that the dishes looked cheap. However, they feel they cannot change caterers at this date due to the large deposit required by the catering company when it took the job. Molly and Tom do not want to pay:

switching costs

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 bears must be clean shaven every day. All cast members must keep 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

Reliability

the ability to perform a service dependably, accurately, and consistently

tangibles

the apperance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials

1. knowledge gap

the difference between customers' expectations and the firm's perception of those customer expectations

Responsiveness

willingness to help customers and provide prompt service

customer-driven approaches to productivity

- change in timing of demand - encourage lower cost channels and SST - ask customers to use cost effective third parties

What are key prescription of Service Talent Cycle?

- hire the right people - enable your people - motivate and energize

Which of the following is a common reason for the high failure rate of CRMs?

-Challenges with data integration -Lack of customer focus -Viewed as a technology initiative -Inadequate support from management

Mangers often omit which of the cost variables of high turnover/low pay?

-Cost of constantly attracting new customers -Cost of constant recruiting -Income lost from customers turned off by negative WOM -low productivity of inexperienced workers

What percent of dissatisfied customers complain?

5% - 10%