44) Which of the following is the best example of a service goal for a retailer that is sincere about
reducing the standards gap?
A) “Straighten and organize the merchandise when necessary.”
B) “Greet all customers when they enter the selling area.”
C) “Respond to e-mails as soon as possible.”
D) “Display merchandise on racks within 24 hours of delivery.”
E) “Respond positively to all customer complaints.”
45) Mystery shoppers give importance to all of the following aspects except
A) the attitude of the sales associate toward the shopper.
B) the manner in which merchandise was displayed in the store.
C) the knowledge of the sales associate about merchandise he or she was selling.
D) the responsiveness of the sales associate to the shopper’s complaints.
E) the price of the merchandise offered at the store.
46) Natalie is a senior executive of a department store chain. Every week, she visits one of the
stores and pretends to be a customer. She records her observations on the service provided by the
store’s sales associates and the manner in which her queries were handled. Sales associates who
meet the service standards are awarded a small bonus. Therefore, Natalie is a(n)
A) store advocate.
B) retail inspector.
C) early adopter.
D) mystery shopper.
E) innovator.
47) Retailers can reduce the delivery gap by
A) setting service standards based on internal operations rather than customers’ perceptions.
B) providing employees the necessary skills and knowledge.
C) dwelling primarily on the negative aspects of customer problems.
D) providing standardized rather than personalized services for purchases involving high risk.
E) setting service goals that are broad and intangible.
48) Training employees to effectively deal with customers, providing better assistance to
customers, and explaining the use of complex products to potential customers reduces the
A) production gap.
B) research gap.
C) communication gap.
D) delivery gap.
E) knowledge gap.
49) Marcel works in the linen department of a large department store. When a customer arrives to
collect a tablecloth that she had specially ordered, she is disappointed to know that the delivery of
the ordered merchandise has been delayed. Marcel is able to use empowerment to bridge the
________ by offering to deliver the product to the customer’s residence.
A) knowledge gap
B) delivery gap
C) communication gap
D) research gap
E) brand gap
50) Customer satisfaction is affected by the amount of time it takes to get a question answered or a
problem resolved. Retailers can minimize this time taken using all of the following steps except
A) providing customers with clear and precise information.
B) requiring store employees to get their manager’s approval for all customer service decisions.
C) reducing the number of employees that customers must contact to resolve their issues.
D) not assuming they know what the customers are complaining about or what solution the
customers are seeking.
E) not interrupting the customers when they air their complaints.
51) Which of the following actions is a way to reduce the delivery gap?
A) Reducing instrumental support
B) Empowering employees at the firm’s lowest level
C) Assuming what the customer is about complain
D) Interrupting customers when they explain their problem
E) Adopting an antagonistic approach toward customers
52) Douglas decided to order a Deluxe Werewolf mask from a catalog and called the toll-free
number. Although the call was answered immediately, the operator took Douglas’s information
and transferred the call twice to different departments. What bothered Douglas was that he had to
repeat his contact information and customer ID number to different operators. The first operator
was not trained to handle customer queries. What type of service gap did Douglas encounter?
A) Knowledge gap
B) Standards gap
C) Research gap
D) Communication gap
E) Delivery gap
53) A customer returned a textbook to a bookstore because she decided to drop the class after a few
weeks. The sales clerk refunded the customer’s money immediately because the store had a “no
questions asked” refund policy. Which of the following service gaps was reduced because of the
clearly defined guideline?
A) Procurement gap
B) Knowledge gap
C) Communication gap
D) Research gap
E) Delivery gap
54) To reduce the delivery gap, retailers need to
A) avoid empowering their front-line employees.
B) always assume they know what the customer is complaining about.
C) encourage store employees to have an antagonistic attitude toward customer complaints.
D) provide instrumental and emotional support to employees.
E) set service standards based on internal operations rather than customers’ perceptions.
55) Neil works as a customer service executive in a call center. He handles customer queries and is
often hampered by network and telephone problems. Hence, he is unable to effectively address
customers’ problems. The poor quality of customer service in the given scenario can be attributed
to
A) lack of instrumental support.
B) poor internal communication.
C) distributive fairness.
D) procedural fairness.
E) unrealistic customer expectations.
56) The Hometown Dog Groomer offered a free flea dip to its regular customers. The owner had
extra employees to deal with the crowd but provided only one dip tank, which slowed down the
process. What could the owner do to deliver the desired service level?
A) Plan for a better resource-to-yield output.
B) Provide instrumental support.
C) Offer incentives to customers.
D) Assure the customers of better service in future.
E) Adopt an antagonistic attitude toward customers.
57) A radio advertisement announced that Dan’s Ice Cream would be open until 10:00 p.m. on
Friday evenings. Norm reached the store by 9:45 p.m. to buy an ice cream cone. The store was
locked and a sign on the door said that the store closes at 9:00 p.m. This scenario is an example of
a
A) communications gap.
B) market gap.
C) delivery gap.
D) knowledge gap.
E) research gap.
58) Hector ordered a model fighter jet at a discounted price of $22 from a hobby catalog. However,
he was charged an extra $10 for shipping charges that were not mentioned anywhere on the
catalog. He decided never to buy anything from that catalog again. Due to a ________, the catalog
retailer lost a customer.
A) delivery gap
B) communications gap
C) market gap
D) knowledge gap
E) research gap
59) An electronic retailer advertised that returns would be quick and easy if customers were
dissatisfied with a product. However, customers were unable to find any detailed information
about the retailer’s return policies on its website and on the purchase invoice. This lack of
information is an example of a
A) market gap.
B) delivery gap.
C) communications gap.
D) research gap.
E) knowledge gap.
60) The difference between the service promised by a retailer and the service actually delivered is
known as the
A) communications gap.
B) delivery gap.
C) research gap.
D) market gap.
E) knowledge gap.
61) Thelma goes to collect her clothes from a dry-cleaning store at 8 p.m. The store guarantees a
24-hour pick-up service in all of its advertisements. However, she is disappointed to find that the
pick-up service is available only between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. This is an example of a
A) market gap.
B) delivery gap.
C) knowledge gap.
D) communications gap.
E) research gap.
62) Tyson orders pizzas at a take-out restaurant and is told that the order would be ready in twenty
minutes. After waiting for almost half an hour, he is told that his order was taken up just five
minutes ago and that the pizzas would be ready in 45 minutes. Which of the following service gaps
is exemplified in this scenario?
A) Market gap
B) Communications gap
C) Knowledge gap
D) Delivery gap
E) Research gap
63) Moe’s Restaurant recently advertised that it offered unlimited pasta and burritos for $15 on
Friday nights. However, when customers tried to avail the offer, they were told that enrolling for a
membership was mandatory for the offer. The membership fee turned out to be $10. The
membership condition was not mentioned in Moe’s advertisement. Which form of service gap can
be seen in the given example?
A) Market gap
B) Communications gap
C) Knowledge gap
D) Delivery gap
E) Research gap
64) Roselle was upset with the service she received when she was trying to purchase a handbag at
a store. First, the salesperson seemed preoccupied with a conversation with another associate.
When she finally acknowledged Roselle’s presence, the salesperson offered no assistance to
Roselle and had minimal information about merchandise. Roselle plans to make a formal
complaint to the management. What should the store manager do to recover from this service
failure?
A) Motivate sales associates to have an antagonistic attitude while dealing with the customer
complaint.
B) Encourage the customer to complain without interruption and then give a sympathetic response.
C) Instruct sales associates to always assume they know what the customer is complaining about.
D) Ensure that the customer is referred to several different store employees to get the issue
resolved.
E) Tell the customer to leave feedback on the store’s website.
65) Which of the following is an excellent source of information about a retailer’s offering that
helps in increasing customer satisfaction?
A) Discount coupons
B) Employee handbook
C) External environmental assessments
D) Customers’ complaints
E) Competitors’ financial performance