M: Marketing, 6e (Grewal)
Chapter 13 Services: The Intangible Product
1) Firms that primarily sell products view service as a method to maintain a sustainable
competitive advantage.
2) The marketing of services differs from the marketing of products because services are tangible
and separable from the service provider.
3) Many services marketers use training and standardization to reduce service perishability.
4) The Service Gaps Model encourages the systematic examination of all aspects of the product
creation process.
5) A delivery gap is the difference between the firm’s service standards and the actual service it
provides to customers.
6) Procedural fairness pertains to a customer’s perception of the benefits he or she received
compared with the costs (inconvenience or loss).
7) When Buffalo Bank required all customers to use its online banking services, over 20 percent
of its customers closed their accounts. In this scenario, Buffalo Bank’s service fell outside
customers’ zone of tolerance.
8) In training service providers, service quality goals should be general to allow for the various
needs of consumers.
9) The knowledge gap is where “the rubber meets the road,” where the customer directly
interacts with the service provider.
10) In the marketing of services, empowerment means allowing employees to make decisions
about how service is provided to customers.
11) The communications gap can be reduced by managing customer expectations.
12) Procedural fairness pertains to a customer’s perception of the benefits received compared to
the costs of the inconvenience or loss.
13) All products and services are intangible.
14) The building blocks of service quality are reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy,
and tangibles.
15) The zone of tolerance refers to the area between customers’ expectations regarding their
desired service and the minimum level of acceptable service.
16) Listening to the customer is the first step in service recovery.
17) Hilton Hotels trains its front desk employees to dress neatly and conservatively to project a
professional image. This relates to the service dimension of tangibles.
18) Latosha was employee of the month at Jersey Mike’s Subs, primarily because she provided
excellent customer service by serving food quickly. This relates to the reliability service
dimension.
19) When managers understand what their service providers are facing on a day-to-day basis by
directly observing them and talking to customers, it is called “management by walking around.”
20) A delivery gap always results in a service failure.
21) Sometimes all that needs to be done to satisfy a customer complaint is to listen to the
customer.
22) A service is any intangible offering that involves a deed, performance, or effort that
A) cannot be physically possessed.
B) is high-priced.
C) is supported solely through advertising.
D) can be transformed into a physical product.
E) offers benefits but not costs.
23) By providing good customer service, firms ________ their products.
A) eliminate the communication gap for
B) add value to
C) reduce the assurance for
D) reduce the empowerment cost associated with
E) increase the perishability of
24) Along the service-product continuum, which of the following would be considered the most
service dominant?
A) grocery store
B) apparel specialty store
C) doctor’s office
D) bookstore
E) restaurant
25) Along the service-product continuum, which of the following would be considered the most
product dominant?
A) grocery store
B) auto repair shop
C) doctor’s office
D) cell phone service provider
E) restaurant
26) Many product-dominant firms use quality service
A) as a way to minimize the cost of production.
B) to support a standards gap.
C) as a way to increase the perishability of their products.
D) to install a voice of the customer program.
E) to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage.
27) In countries like the United States, services
A) have almost all been replaced by technology.
B) are a small portion of GDP relative to manufacturing.
C) are replacing property taxes as a source of government revenue.
D) will decrease in demand as the population ages.
E) account for an increasing share of jobs.
28) Food preparation, lawn maintenance, and house cleaning services are all examples of
A) services shifted abroad because costs are lower in developing countries.
B) services an aging population will decrease the demand for.
C) household maintenance activities that people increasingly pay others to perform.
D) the price elasticity effect on services demand.
E) the ability of empowerment to create tangible service products.
29) Medical services and assisted living care are examples of
A) services shifted abroad because costs are lower in developing countries.
B) services an aging population will increase the demand for.
C) household maintenance activities that people increasingly pay others to perform.
D) the price elasticity effect on services demand.
E) the ability of empowerment to create tangible service products.
30) The marketing of services differs from the marketing of products in all of the following ways
except
A) intangibility.
B) inseparability.
C) heterogeneity.
D) renewability.
E) perishability.
31) When marketers say that services are ________, they are referring to the fact that services
cannot be touched, tasted, or seen, like a pure product can.
A) intangible
B) inseparable
C) heterogeneous
D) perishable
E) replenishable
32) Because services are ________, it is often difficult for marketers to convey the benefits to
consumers.
A) heterogeneous
B) inseparable
C) intangible
D) perishable
E) substantial
33) Which of the following refers to variability in a service’s quality?
A) heterogeneity
B) perishability
C) service gap
D) delivery gap
E) communications gap
34) When marketers state that services are________, they are referring to the fact that services
are produced and consumed at the same time.
A) intangible
B) inseparable
C) heterogeneous
D) perishable
E) peripheral
35) The owners of hotels whose services are produced and consumed at the same time know that
consumers do not have the opportunity to try out their service before purchasing. Many hotels
use ________ to overcome the problem of inseparability of services.
A) promotional discounts
B) zone of tolerance allowances
C) perishability gap analysis
D) point-of-purchase displays
E) satisfaction guarantees
36) Sean relocated to take a new job. He immediately got sick and went to a doctor close to
where he lived. During his exam, the doctor was impatient and demonstrated a poor bedside
manner. Sean wished that he could have requested a different doctor in that moment, but it was
too late. Sean’s experience exemplifies which key difference in services?
A) intangibility
B) homogeneity
C) perishability
D) inseparability
E) heterogeneity
37) Martha had several unpleasant experiences trying to find the merchandise she needed at a
large lumber yard and hardware store. The employees—when she could find them—rarely
seemed to know where anything was outside of their own departments. But on her most recent
visit, she was pleasantly surprised to find that the store had installed kiosks where she could get
directions quickly and accurately. The store had found a technological solution to the services
marketing issue of
A) intangibility.
B) part-time employees.
C) perishability.
D) inseparability.
E) heterogeneity.
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38) When marketers state that services are ________, they are referring to the fact that services
are not always of the same quality from one time period to another or from one service provider
to another.
A) intangible
B) inseparable
C) heterogeneous
D) perishable
E) viable
39) The old restaurant saying “You are only as good as the last meal served” reflects the fact that
services are
A) intangible.
B) perishable.
C) heterogeneous.
D) portable.
E) viable.
40) Marketers can take advantage of the variable nature of services by
A) merging services with products.
B) customizing services to meet customers’ needs exactly.
C) offering to expedite intangibles.
D) expanding the standards gap.
E) using strict standardization.
41) One approach marketers are using to reduce service ________ is to replace people with
machines whenever appropriate.
A) intangibility
B) inseparability
C) spendability
D) perishability
E) heterogeneity
42) David’s marketing research returned the finding that customers were staying away from his
bookstore because of a lack of services like gift cards, return policies, and special orders. David
was shocked. “Nobody ever asks about that stuff! If it were that important, people would ask
about it.” David is likely suffering from a(n) ________ gap.
A) knowledge
B) standards
C) ethics
D) delivery
E) communications
43) The customers at Marielle’s coffee shop want to grab a quick cup of coffee before boarding
the commuter train into the city. The sign in the window promises “Quick, In-and-Out Service,”
and usually Marielle’s keeps that promise. But one morning, customers were frustrated when the
staff behind the counter showed more interest in gossiping about their social lives than in waiting
on customers. Marielle’s shop is suffering from a ________ gap.
A) knowledge
B) standards
C) social expectations
D) delivery
E) communications
44) When there is a significant difference between the service customers receive and the service
the firm promotes, the firm has a ________ gap.
A) knowledge
B) standards
C) social expectations
D) delivery
E) communications
45) When marketers state that services are ________, they are referring to the fact that services
cannot be stored for use in the future.
A) intangible
B) inseparable
C) heterogeneous
D) durable
E) perishable
46) Because services like airline flights and hotel beds are ________, many marketers attempt to
match demand with supply using pricing strategies.
A) intangible
B) inseparable
C) heterogeneous
D) perishable
E) accountable
47) Yolanda manages a Best Sleep Inn along an interstate highway. She knows from experience
that 5 to 10 last-minute customers will call after 8 p.m. each evening looking for a room and
asking the price. Yolanda has empowered her staff to offer discounts when the motel is largely
vacant, and to quote the standard price when the motel is close to full. She knows her service is
________, meaning that if no one stays in the room, it generates no revenue that evening.
A) intangible
B) inseparable
C) heterogeneous
D) durable
E) perishable