Human Relations: Interpersonal Job-Oriented Skills, 12e (DuBrin)
Chapter 14 Customer Satisfaction Skills
14.1 Multiple Choice Questions
1) Audrey is an internal customer at her company because she
A) purchases company products for her own use.
B) uses the output from the information technology group.
C) recommends that friends and family members purchase from the company.
D) purchases company products in the store rather than online.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
2) The most important reason that dissatisfied customers are so significant is that they
A) usually ask for a refund.
B) tend to not become a repeat customer.
C) tell many other people about their dissatisfaction.
D) fill consumer satisfaction surveys with exaggerated, negative comments.
AACSB: Analytical thinking
3) Pierre, an assistant hotel manager at an upscale hotel, decides to provide a “wow” experience
to a newlywed couple staying at the hotel. Which one of the following actions by Pierre would
most likely deliver the “wow” experience to the couple?
A) Place a surcharge of $150 for having stayed in the honeymoon suite.
B) Send the couple a tweet, asking them how they have enjoyed married life so far.
C) Off the couple a five percent discount providing this is the first marriage for each of them.
D) Deliver the couple a framed photo of the two of them kissing while checking into the hotel.
AACSB: Analytical thinking
4) In terms of dealing with a customer problem, a worker with tendencies toward service-
oriented organizational citizenship behavior, is likely to
A) go beyond ordinary expectations to solve the problem.
B) carefully follow company procedures in resolving the problem.
C) ask a coworker to take responsibility for the problem.
D) convince the customer that the problem is not serious.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
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5) A study found that when customer service workers receive emotional support from coworkers,
they
A) have the courage to be rude to customers.
B) provide better service to customers.
C) have a lower customer-service orientation.
D) lower their organizational citizenship behavior.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
6) According to research studies, a leader is likely to positively influence the customer service
behavior of employees when the leader
A) is charismatic and good at setting visions.
B) imposes strict control over employee behavior.
C) is so grouchy and angry that he or she is a good model of behavior to avoid.
D) complains a lot about poor customer service.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
7) A study conducted in Taiwan with hair stylists and store managers found that charismatic and
visionary leaders
A) had no impact on employee service.
B) enhanced employee service for the most low-performing hair stylists.
C) enhanced employee service.
D) detracted from employee service because the leaders were self-centered.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
8) The way to add value for customers is to
A) reduce the price of goods.
B) provide training for using the product or service.
C) offer a discount for future purchases.
D) satisfy their needs.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
9) The emphasis in effective selling is to
A) get customers to accept the same solution to their problems.
B) minimize the size of the order.
C) maximize the size of the order.
D) solve customer problems.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
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10) In terms of solving customer problems, in-depth product knowledge by sales representatives
is
A) generally less important than the representative smiling.
B) a major contributor resolving the problems.
C) mostly important at the retail level.
D) mostly important in selling industrial products.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
11) The cycle of service chart lists a series of
A) highs and lows in providing customer service.
B) moments of truth experienced by a customer.
C) service problems encountered by a customer.
D) times at which a product should be serviced.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
12) Lauren, a customer service technician at a Jaguar dealer knows she is empowered when she
has the authority to
A) tell a dissatisfied customer to go online to learn how to operate the Jaguar’s navigation
system.
B) please wait in the customer lounge for an hour.
C) explain more clearly the problem with his or her Jaguar.
D) grant $500 in service coupons to a dissatisfied customer.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
13) Empowerment often improves customer service because
A) customer service workers have the authority to refer problems to higher management.
B) managers have more time to work with customers.
C) employees have the authority to resolve customer problems.
D) more employees work in customer service positions.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
14) A major role played by information technology in improving customer service is to
A) present customers with a long menu of options when they ask for help.
B) sell customer lists to other companies.
C) provide uniform services.
D) individualize service.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
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15) Which of the following problems is said to be the major reason for lost business?
A) poor product knowledge
B) rude treatment of customers
C) poor product quality
D) over-attentive customer-contact workers
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
16) Rudeness toward customers is sometimes a form of hostility because rudeness
A) often stems from anger.
B) is usually triggered by anger from customers.
C) usually takes the form of teasing the customer.
D) is displayed primarily by sales associates with a personality disorder.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
17) To bond with a customer is to
A) form an emotional relationship.
B) establish a tight legal agreement.
C) enter into frequent negotiations about price.
D) accept liability for service problems.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
18) Erik, a seller of luxurious home furnishings, has a strong customer service orientation. As a
result, he is likely to
A) provide good service only for customers he likes.
B) form bonds with his customers.
C) seek low-priced alternatives to his company’s furniture.
D) become bored with ordinary customer requests.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
19) A study about employee smiling conducted with college students found that when the
employee smiles, customers are likely to perceive that the
A) employee was trying to compensate for poor service.
B) service was of low quality.
C) service was of high quality.
D) price was much lower than reality.
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20) The best-accepted axiom about keeping customers happy is to
A) keep prices lower than the competition.
B) get involved in relationship selling.
C) stay informed about what the competition is doing.
D) maintain high-quality service.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
21) According to the macaron (referring to a French, sandwich-like pastry) technique of selling a
luxury product, the sales representative
A) mentions the high price in between other benefits.
B) distracts the customer by giving him or her a pastry.
C) mentions the price first, and then gets on to the benefits.
D) mentions the price after having described the romantic benefits.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
22) A plausible way of building relationships with a large number of customers is to
A) place TV ads explaining how much the customers are valued.
B) place welcoming ads on billboards near highways.
C) interact with customers through blogs and social networking sites.
D) make robot calls to their cell phones.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
23) Lauren, a customer service technician at the Jaguar dealer, listens to a customer rant about
hearing wind vibrations in his Jaguar when he drives over 100 miles per hour on the highway.
Lauren can show emotional leadership by,
A) informing the customer that he behaves like a lunatic on the highway.
B) ranting even louder about the customer being a danger to society.
C) laughing at the customer and ask him to imitate the sound of the wind vibration.
D) remaining calm until the customer quiets down, and then begin to look at the problem.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
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24) In terms of dealing with customer problems, a study in a medical billing operation found that
the most effective technique was to
A) focus more on the problem than the customer’s emotion.
B) focus more on the customer’s emotion than the problem.
C) immediately offer a refund rather than attempting to deal with an unhappy customer.
D) ask the customer for sympathy and compassion.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
25) A realistic customer retention policy centers on the idea that
A) some customers are so unreasonable they are not worth keeping.
B) the customer is always right.
C) a customer retention rate of about 50 percent is realistic.
D) a company should strive to retain all their customers.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
Job Scenario, Multiple-Choice
Karen is an outside sales representative for a distributor of heavy construction equipment such as
forklift trucks, cranes, and bulldozers. Her company distributes products for both domestic and
foreign companies. Although her company has been enjoying a 34 percent increase in sales this
year, management wants her to increase her orders to help make up for three mediocre years the
company has experienced. At the same time several of Karen’s customers have complained that a
line of imported small bulldozers have been difficult to start.
26) Karen’s first field visit today is with Bedford Construction that has a contract to demolish an
old office building located in the commercial district. She visits them at the downtown site, and
engages in conversation with project manager Rob. Although Rob does not have the authority to
make an equipment purchase at the site, he has the authority to make recommendations to the
company owners. After about one minute of small talk about the weather and the traffic, Rob
says, “Talking about the weather. It’s a good thing it’s not too cold today. If it were cold, that
latest bulldozer we bought from you might not start.” To deal with this comment, it would be
best for Karen to say to Rob,
A) “We have sold dozens of these forklifts in cold regions. So far, no problems.”
B) “We sold you a forklift, not a Mercedes or a Cadillac.”
C) “I am sorry that the forklift has some problems starting in cold weather. Let’s work on the
problem together.”
D) “I need evidence that you really have a problem.”
AACSB: Reflective thinking
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27) Rob wants to explore the problem of the slow-starting forklift truck further, so he
accompanies Karen to the section of the construction site where the forklift is in use. The
operator is Brian, who looks at Karen and says, “Wow. I’m glad the company sent a pretty girl to
fix this problem.” Karen grits her teeth because she feels that Brian is sexist, and might be
committing environmental sexual harassment. However, Karen does not want to lose the
account. It would be best for Karen to say to Brian,
A) “You’re a pretty cute boy yourself. But I need you to act more professionally before I can
work on the forklift problem.”
B) “Yes, I am the woman sent by my company to work on your problem. The company also sent
me to work on the problem because of my product knowledge, not my looks.”
C) “I don’t think I would be comfortable working with you on this problem. I suggest you go to
our Web site, www.modernconstructionequip.com, to get help with your problem.
D) “I like your joke Brian. The slow-starting problem could be that you’re not paying careful
enough attention when you start the forklift.”
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
14.2 True/False Questions
1) Jennifer works for Macy’s in Chicago. Because Jennifer buys some of her clothing at the store,
she is classified as an internal customer.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
2) The founder of a technology consulting firm cited in the human relations text contends that
most client issues with consultants deal with hard skills.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
3) Employees who can satisfy customers contribute heavily to profits.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
4) People with low self-esteem are more likely to experience high job satisfaction.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
5) Employees who exhibit high organizational citizenship behavior typically provide poor
customer service because they are so preoccupied with their jobs.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
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6) The company expectations in terms of what constitutes good customer service are often not
clearly stated.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
7) Customer service workers who receive emotional support from coworkers tend to provide
better customer service.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
8) Research evidence suggests that a leader who is charismatic and visionary influences
employees to be customer oriented.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
9) A study with hair stylists and their managers in Taiwan supported the widely-held belief that
good customer service was associated with customer return visits.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
10) A challenge in delivering high levels of customer satisfaction is that many customers may not
be able to express their needs clearly.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
11) The basic approach of a customer-centric sales process is to get around customer concerns
and complaints by presenting them loads of information.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
12) A recommended approach to solving a customer problem is to ask the customer what
problem he or she hopes to solve with the product.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
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13) Having in-depth product knowledge is no longer important for sales representatives because
customers can be told which Web site to visit to solve their problems.
AACSB: Analytical thinking
14) A moment of truth in customer service would occur when you walk into a computer store and
ask for assistance in purchasing software that would enable you to create your own Webpage.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
15) The cycle of service chart lists the dates on which the company is available to provide you
with customer service.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
16) An empowered employee has the authority to make a quick decision as to whether the
company or the customer is right about a customer problem.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
17) A major contribution information technology makes to customer service is the ability to
individualize service for customers.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
18) A widespread example of using information technology to enhance customer service is the
use of apps for mobile devices that enable consumers to deposit a check.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
19) Because most customers multitask themselves, it is acceptable behavior for the customer-
contact worker to talk to an associate while serving the customer.
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20) The executive team at McDonald’s Restaurants has decided that customers should expect to
sometimes be treated rudely because many store associates earn close to the minimum wage.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
21) Forming a bond with a customer implies that the sales representative builds an emotional
relationship with the customer.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
22) The experience of an extended-stay hotel found that providing amenities such as mints on the
pillow and free Internet connections were much more important than having contact workers
interact with guests.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
23) A study conducted at a medical billing operation found that an effective way for agents to
deal with customer complaints was to modify problems that were leading to negative emotion for
the customers.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
24) A study conducted at a medical billing operation found that the most effective way of dealing
with customer complaints was to attempt to change the caller’s emotional response rather than
deal directly with the problem.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
25) When dealing with an upset customer who is making an unreasonable demand, a
recommended technique is to keep arguing until the customer quiets down.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
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