MKTG 3310 Ch. 13

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

A dental exam

Which two of the following are important considerations for place in the marketing of services?

A presence on the Internet

Which of the following are characteristics that make marketing services different from product marketing? (Select all that apply.)

Heterogeneous Perishable Intangible

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

High customer satisfaction ratings

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

Improved word of mouth Increased purchase intention

The ________ gap reflects the difference between customers' expectations and the firm's perception of those customer expectations.

knowledge

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

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

Volatility

The service dimensions with the _______ zones of tolerance are the most important for a business to deliver on.

shortest

In addition to providing service employees with emotional and instrumental support, management should offer the staff ______ that reward them for providing customers with good service.

incentives

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

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

The ________ gap pertains to the difference between the firm's perceptions of customers' expectations and the service standards the firm sets.

standards

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

intangible

Which of the following is NOT a dimension of service quality measured by the zone of tolerance?

Accuracy

The knowledge of and courtesy by employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence describes which service quality dimension?

Assurance

A hair stylist who gives a bad haircut in the morning because he or she stayed out late the night before is an example of which core difference when marketing services?

Heterogeneity

________ pertains to a customer's perception of the benefits he or she received compared with the costs (inconvenience or loss).

Distributive fairness

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

False

The Service Gaps Model can be very useful to improve the delivery of services. Match each of the following gaps with an example of that gap.

Knowledge - Diners at a restaurant think the portions are too small, but the manager is unaware of this complaint. Standards - Management believes that customers in a restaurant think the service is very slow, however, management allows servers to stand around and chat. Delivery - A restaurant usually serves fresh bread made on the premises, but at the end of the day the ovens shut down early and only cold loaves are available. Communication - A restaurant advertises they are open for breakfast, but when guests arrive on Sunday morning, there is a sign on the door indicating they only open for brunch at 11:00.

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.

A business that experiences service delivery gaps can use which of the following methods to improve the quality of its service? (Select all that apply.)

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

A university that focuses its advertising on offering a sound curriculum with consistent course offerings, extensive placement services and internships is focused on which service quality dimension?

Reliability

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 - Appearances of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials

_______ is the willingness to help customers and provide prompt service.

Responsiveness

A university that promotes itself as a very traditional campus with an old-world look and feel, where the facilities are manicured and the dorm rooms are large is focusing on which service quality dimension?

Tangibles

What are some common problems caused by the use of technology in a service setting? (Select all that apply.)

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

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

Delivery gaps always result in a service failure.

True

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

After Jennifer booked a hotel room she had seen advertised, she discovered that the price advertised was not available during the weekend, and a three-day minimum stay was required. This is an example of 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 to close the ___________ gap.

communication

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 ______.

communication gap

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

complaint

When Sarah went to the hotel lobby for the free hot breakfast provided by the hotel, she found a poor selection of food that was not only stale, but also tasteless. This is an example of a ______ gap.

delivery

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

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

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

When many students are complaining about a problem at an online university, one of the best things the university can do to better serve its students is to ______.

honestly listen to students' complaints and use their messages to build a committed relationship

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

human inputs generate differences

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

When getting a haircut, the customer not only is present, but also may participate in the service process. This is an example that the production and consumption of this service is_________.

inseparable

Because of the _______ of services, the images that marketers use must reinforce the benefit or value that a service provides.

intangibility

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

intangible

The most fundamental difference between a product and a service is that services are __________, which means they cannot be touched, tasted, or seen like a pure product can.

intangible

One of the first steps in service recovery is that the firm needs to allow the customer to air his grievance and for the firm to ______ him.

listen to

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

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

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

Services are _______ in that they cannot be stored for use in the future.

perishable

Effective service recovery entails all of the following EXCEPT _______.

placing blame with the customer to reduce costs

Customers tend to believe they have been treated fairly if the service providers follow specific company guidelines. This is an example of _______.

procedural fairness

With regard to complaints, _______ refers to the perceived fairness of the process used to resolve customer complaints.

procedural fairness

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

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

respond to the customer and resolve the problem quickly

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

service

Customers have certain expectations about how a service should be delivered. When the delivery of that service fails to meet those expectations, a _______ results.

service gap

Customers' perceptions of how well a service meets or exceeds their expectations is referred to as _______.

service quality

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

An important marketing metric used to evaluate how well firms perform on the five service quality dimensions is the __________, which refers to the area between customers' expectations regarding their desired service and the minimum level of acceptable service.

zone of tolerance