118) Equipment-based services do not have the marketing concern of inconsistent quality
because ________ have been removed from the delivery of the service.
A) risk and product liability
B) people
C) learning requirements
D) automations
E) accessories
119) Equipment-based services such as ATMs, online brokerage firms, and automated car
washes do not have the marketing concern of
A) inconsistency.
B) intangibility.
C) inseparability.
D) inventory.
E) independence.
120) Which of the following is the best example of an equipment-based service?
A) caterer
B) doctors
C) dry cleaners
D) lawyers
E) janitorial services
121) What do a movie theater, an automated car wash, and electric utilities have in common?
A) They are all tangible services.
B) They are all people-based services.
C) None of them have problems with idle production capacity.
D) They never use off-peak pricing.
E) They are all equipment-based services.
122) What do an online travel agency, a limousine service, and music streaming service have in
common?
A) They are all strictly tangible services.
B) They are all people-based services.
C) None of them have a problem with idle production capacity.
D) They are all equipment-based services.
E) They all require skilled operators.
123) Which of the following is a government agency that provides a service?
A) SterileFeral
B) American Red Cross
C) Home Depot
D) United States Postal Service
E) Chase Bank
124) What do the U.S. Forest Service, the Connecticut Department of Social Services, and the
Phoenix Fire Department have in common?
A) They are all privately owned companies.
B) None fit on the service continuum.
C) They never experience idle production capacity.
D) Capacity management is not an issue for these organizations.
E) They are all government agency service providers.
125) Intangibility, inconsistency, inseparability, and inventory are referred to as the
A) service mix.
B) four I’s of services.
C) service matrix.
D) service program.
E) service continuum.
126) The four I’s of services consist of
A) intangibility, inconsistency, inseparability, and innovation.
B) intangibility, inventory, inflexibility, and impression.
C) intangibility, inconsistency, inseparability, and inventory.
D) intangibility, inventory, innovation, and impression.
E) intangibility, inconsistency, innovation, and impression.
127) The intangibility element of a service refers to the fact that it
A) has value that can only be determined by using subjective criteria.
B) can’t be held, touched, or seen before the purchase decision.
C) requires the ability to provide the service even in times of no demand.
D) can maintain or accumulate good will with customers.
E) can be objectively evaluated.
128) Because services tend to be ________ rather than an object, they are much more difficult
for consumers to evaluate.
A) an opportunity
B) a good
C) a risk
D) a decision
E) a performance
129) To help consumers ________, marketers try to make them tangible or show the benefits of
using the service.
A) assess and compare services
B) reduce inconsistency
C) increase interaction with service providers
D) appreciate the flexibility of services
E) understand the interdependence of services
130) To help consumers assess and compare services, marketers try to make them tangible or
A) temporal.
B) consistent with expectations or promises.
C) adaptable.
D) measurable.
E) show the benefits of using the service.
131) Consumers have more difficulty evaluating services than they do products; the difficulty
results from the
A) intangibility of services.
B) incongruity of services.
C) inseparability of services.
D) inflexibility of services.
E) interdependence of services.
132) An American Airlines ad shows the airline’s new seats and emphasizes their ability to
recline and other benefits, to overcome the ________ of its service.
A) incongruity
B) inconsistency
C) inventory costs
D) inseparability
E) intangibility
133) Sarah has a backache due to overexertion. She believes a massage would loosen her back
muscles and help her feel better. She is concerned because a massage, unlike a pair of shoes,
cannot be experienced or seen before she buys it. Which characteristic of services is she
concerned about?
A) incongruity
B) inconsistency
C) intangibility
D) inventory costs
E) inseparability
134) Before moving out of their apartment, Kelly and Doug decided to have their carpets cleaned
by Stanley Steemer, a company specializing in professional carpet cleaning. The carpet cleaners
arrived on time, cleaned the carpets, and drove away in their bright yellow van. Only then did the
couple see that they did a good job. Kelly and Doug were unable to judge the service before they
bought it, which illustrates the ________ of services.
A) inconsistency
B) inseparability
C) inventory costs
D) intangibility
E) interdependence
135) To help consumers assess and compare its airline service, Frontier Airlines has used
personable animal characters in its advertising to announce and describe benefits, such as leather
seats and “stretch” seating, to help deal with the
A) incongruity of the service.
B) inseparability of the service.
C) intangibility of the service.
D) inflexibility of the service.
E) interdependence of the service.
136) The brochure for Spa Sydell has photographs of people enjoying the various spa amenities.
By seeing the pictures of available treatments at the spa, a customer has a better idea of what she
is buying. Spa Sydell uses a brochure to help customers deal with the ________ that is associated
with using the service.
A) incongruity
B) inconsistency
C) inventory costs
D) inseparability
E) intangibility
137) Because many services depend on the people who provide them, the quality of them is often
A) inseparable.
B) inconsistent.
C) inventoried.
D) tied to a product.
E) independent of the features provided.
138) Services depend on the people who provide them. As a result, their quality varies with each
person’s capabilities and day-to-day job performance. This element of services is referred to as
A) incongruity.
B) differentiation.
C) variation.
D) inconsistency.
E) intangibility.
139) Inconsistency of services refers to the fact that
A) there is no regulation of service industries in terms of basic standards of quality.
B) the quality of service provided by a firm is often inconsistent with its image.
C) the performance of one employee may vary from the performance of another employee even
though the same firm employs both.
D) training and standardization of service delivery procedures cannot be accomplished.
E) services have a varying degree of durability.
140) Organizations attempt to reduce inconsistency in their services by
A) investing in modern manufacturing equipment.
B) reducing incentives available to employees because of poor performance.
C) reducing the customer contact points in the service delivery process.
D) providing standardization and training.
E) exercising better hiring practices.
141) The Philadelphia Phillies baseball team may have great hitting and pitching one day, and
lose by 10 runs the next day. This is an example of a service being
A) inseparable.
B) inconsistent.
C) inventoried.
D) indirect.
E) independent of the quality delivered.
142) A local band performed on campus during a pre-graduation party. The students enjoyed the
performance, and some of them were interested enough to buy tickets to see another show at a
club downtown. But when they went to that concert, the quality of the performance was much
poorer than they had heard and seen on campus. The students’ disappointment was the direct
result of which characteristic of services?
A) inconsistency
B) impressionability
C) intangibility
D) invisibility
E) uniqueness of the service
143) Andrea Arenas is the owner of 2 Places at 1 Time, a concierge company. She and her staff
of 60 perform everyday services, such as walking the dog, picking up cleaning, waiting for the
repairman, and going to the post office for people who are too busy to perform these tasks. One
way she tries to avoid ________ of services for her regular customers is to make sure that the
same well-trained person is always assigned to work for the same client.
A) inseparability
B) inconsistency
C) incongruity
D) inflexibility
E) intangibility
144) Alana operates a wedding preparation service that helps brides-to-be in the planning of their
weddings. To maintain a quality image and a standardized offering, Alana provides extensive
training for each of her employees. What unique aspect of services is Alana trying to address?
A) impressionability
B) intangibility
C) inconsistency
D) inseparability
E) uniqueness of the service
145) Jack graduated from law school and took his mom to dinner after the ceremony. At the
restaurant, the server filled their water glasses, checked on their table, and took care of their
requests. Jason noted that the last time he was at this restaurant, the experience was much worse.
This scenario illustrates the ________ of services.
A) impressionability
B) intangibility
C) inseparability
D) uniqueness of the service
E) inconsistency
146) Inseparability in services means consumers
A) see little variation from one service provider in an industry to another.
B) are unable to differentiate price from quality.
C) cannot evaluate a service until it is being or has been used.
D) cannot separate the service itself from the deliverer of the service.
E) cannot separate themselves from the deliverer of the service.
147) If you find that the staff who work in your college’s career center give you poor advice or
otherwise did not provide sufficient help in finding you employment after graduation, you may
be dissatisfied with your entire college experience. This is an example of which issue associated
with services?
A) inventory
B) intangibility
C) inseparability
D) service continuum
E) inconsistency
148) Chuck is a guide for tours that take visitors to swim with Manatees in central Florida. He is
a very gregarious guy with funny stories and a great way with people, so many online reviewers
mention him by name and say little about the organization he works for. The reviewers’ inability
to see the distinction between Chuck and the tour company is an example of which unique
characteristic of services?
A) intangibility
B) impressionability
C) incongruity
D) inseparability
E) inflexibility
149) When Mandy last got her drive-through order at the fast-food restaurant, she thought the
employee who helped her was cold and unfriendly. The food tasted good but was overshadowed
by the employee’s demeanor. Since then, Mandy often says something derogatory to her friends
about the restaurant based on this single experience. This is an example of which issue associated
with services?
A) inseparability
B) intangibility
C) impressionability
D) incongruity
E) inflexibility
150) How is inventory of services different from that of products?
A) Time is less important to customers of services than customers of products.
B) Only service inventory can be reduced through more efficient movement of products.
C) There are larger costs associated with the handling of service inventory.
D) Unlike goods providers, the service provider is often unavailable when there is a demand for
the service.
E) Service inventory costs are related to idle production capacity rather than storage or
perishability.
151) A situation that occurs when a service provider is available but there is no demand is
referred to as
A) off-peak pricing.
B) idle production capacity.
C) static demand.
D) capacity management.
E) excess inventory.
152) Idle production capacity affects service delivery and is defined as
A) a situation where the demand for a service exceeds the availability of service providers and as
a result, no services can be offered.
B) when the manufacturing of a good is stopped due to poor customer service.
C) a situation where a service provider is available but there is no demand for the service.
D) integrating the service component of the marketing mix with efforts to influence consumer
demand.
E) the reduced effectiveness of one service provider serving multiple clients at the same time.
153) The emergency room staff in Houston’s largest hospital is pleasantly surprised when a four-
day Fourth of July weekend brings in few accident victims for treatment. They know from
experience that such public holidays usually have high rates of accidents. For the hospital’s
business office, the lower demand for the emergency room services means
A) a break in the service continuum.
B) its services are no longer tangible.
C) its services can be separated from the staff.
D) the hospital has idle production capacity.
E) an opportunity for gap analysis.
154) Beverly has 15 tax accountants on her staff. During the months of February, March, and
April, her staff is overworked and she may even hire more employees to meet the tax preparation
needs of her clients. Beverly is not currently experiencing ________; in fact, all of her
employees and equipment are fully being used.
A) off-peak pricing
B) idle production capacity
C) static demand
D) capacity marketing
E) capacity inventory
155) Southwest Airlines operates a daily flight between Chicago and Phoenix using a Boeing
737, which has a capacity of 120 passengers. During the past month, the flight has averaged 112
passengers. Once the plane takes off, the empty seats generate no revenue for the airline for that
flight. What unique aspect of services does this situation describe?
A) incongruity
B) intangibility
C) inconsistency
D) inseparability
E) idle production capacity
156) The ________ cost of a service is the cost of paying the person used to provide the service
along with any needed equipment.
A) intangibility
B) inconsistency
C) inseparability
D) inventory
E) independent
157) In retail stores, idle production capacity can be reduced by
A) using a straight salary compensation plan.
B) hiring additional full-time personnel.
C) allowing personnel to work overtime.
D) minimizing employee absenteeism.
E) reducing worker hours.