Chapter 13
Test Bank
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.
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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.
Multiple Choice Questions
22. A service is any intangible offering that involves a deed, performance, or effort that
23. By providing good customer service, firms __________ their products.
24. Along the service-product continuum, which of the following would be considered the most service dominant?
25. Along the service-product continuum, which of the following would be considered the most product dominant?
26. Many product-dominant firms use quality service
27. In countries like the United States, services
28. Food preparation, lawn maintenance, and housecleaning services are all examples of
29. Medical services and assisted living care are examples of
30. The marketing of services differs from product marketing because services are all of these except
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.
32. Because services are __________, it is often difficult for marketers to convey the benefits to consumers.
33. Which of the following refers to variability in a service’s quality?
34. When marketers state that services are __________, they are referring to the fact that services are produced and consumed at the same time.
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.
36. Sean relocated to take a new job, and when he got sick he needed to find a doctor. He discovered during the visit that he didn’t like the one he had
chosen, and he knew he’d never go back to that doctor. From a marketing perspective, his situation highlights one of the key differences between
products and services, known as
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
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.
39. The old restaurant saying “You are only as good as the last meal served” reflects the fact that services are
40. Marketers can take advantage of the variable nature of services by
41. One approach marketers are using to reduce service __________ is to replace people with machines whenever appropriate.
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.
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.
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44. When there is a significant difference between the service customers receive and the service the firm promotes, the firm has a _______ gap.
45. When marketers state that services are __________, they are referring to the fact that services cannot be stored for use in the future.
46. Because services like airline flights and hotel beds are _________, many marketers attempt to match demand with supply using pricing strategies.
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.
48. Because services like cruises and car rentals are perishable, many marketers use
49. The Service Gaps Model is designed to highlight those areas where
50. When the delivery of a service fails to meet customers’ expectations, a __________ gap exists.
51. A __________ gap reflects the difference between customers’ expectations and the firm’s perception of those customer expectations.
52. Firms can close the __________ gap by matching customer expectations with actual service through use of marketing metrics.
53. The ___________ gap can be closed by getting employees to meet or exceed service standards when the service is being delivered by empowering
service providers, providing support and incentives, and using technology where appropriate
54. When Marcia booked a room at the Pleasant Valley Hotel, she expected that her room would be ready when she got there, the swimming pool would
be heated, the advertised singer would be able to sing, and the breakfast would be fresh. When she arrived, she had to wait for her room, found the
swimming pool to be 50 degrees, realized the singer could not carry a tune, and the free continental breakfast was stale. The Pleasant Valley Hotel was
experiencing a severe ___________ gap.
55. If there is a difference between the firm’s perceptions of customers’ expectations and the service standards the firm has set, a __________ gap exists.
56. By setting appropriate service standards and measuring service performance, firms can attempt to close a __________ gap.
57. The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado, maintains its five-star rating by focusing on five service characteristics: reliability,
responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles. The hotel has been updating rooms built in the early part of the 20th century to meet the needs of
21st-century visitors. To accomplish this, it spent millions in improvements, renovating rooms, and adding a new outdoor pool complex. These
renovations focus on the ______ service characteristic.
58. The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado, maintains its five-star rating by focusing on five service characteristics: reliability,
responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles. Employees are instructed to always address a guest by name, if possible. To accomplish this,
employees are trained to listen and observe carefully to determine a guest’s name. Which service characteristic is this an example of?
59. For years, the Mogul Sheraton, a four-star hotel overlooking the Taj Mahal in India, offered free elephant and camel rides to hotel visitors. Few
customers took advantage of this service. This is an example of a __________ gap in services marketing.
61. To meet or exceed customers’ expectations, marketers must
62. Colin has been directed by his boss to determine if the company is meeting customers’ service quality expectations. One of Colin’s problems is that
services are __________, making evaluation of service quality difficult.
63. All of the following are included in the five dimensions used by consumers to determine overall service quality except
64. Cheryl will let only Martiné cut her hair. She has tried other stylists, but she knows from experience that Martiné cuts her hair well every time. For
Cheryl, __________ is the most important of the five service quality dimensions.
65. Students regularly seek out Professor Guillory to advise them. She has an exceptional manner, and students are confident in her and trust her advice.
For these students, __________ is the most important of the five service quality dimensions.
66. Gerald’s Tire Service provides each employee with a clean, sharp-looking uniform. It also instructs employees to put all tools back where they
belong and keep the work area clean and uncluttered. Gerald’s Tire Service emphasizes __________ in the five service quality dimensions.
67. Because services are intangible, it is often difficult for customers to determine how a service meets their expectations, which marketers call
68. A systematic ____________ program collects customer inputs and integrates them into managerial decisions.
69. Bank of America uses a complex polling system coupled with a customer response measurement system to assess consumers’ responses to new
products and services. Bank of America is using a(n) __________ program to improve service quality and service offerings.
70. When choosing where to eat lunch, Veronica’s major service criterion is speed: being seated promptly and served her meal quickly. For Veronica,
__________ is the most important of the five service quality dimensions.
71. To define the zone of tolerance, firms ask a series of questions about each service quality dimension that relate to all of the following except
72. Nicole knows her restaurant is understaffed today. She is hoping to get through the day without falling below her customers’__________, the
difference between what her customers want and what they will accept before going elsewhere.
73. Customers have a defined __________ when it comes to waiting in line at a retail checkout counter. The amount of time consumers are willing to
wait varies with the type of store.
74. An excellent, inexpensive, and readily accessible method for assessing customers’ service expectations is
75. Training service providers to know exactly what a “good job” entails is setting service