FedEx developed a 12-item statistical Service Quality Indicator to measure customer
satisfaction and service quality. The index is comprised of customer-defined
performance standards such as number of missed pick-ups, number of lost packages and
number of late deliveries. Each of the performance standards is weighted based on the
relative importance of each standard to customers. By developing a Service Quality
Indicator that incorporates customer-defined performance standards, FedEx is closing
provider _____ of the gaps model of service quality.
A. Gap 1
B. Gap 2
C. Gap 3
D. Gap 4
Century Business Systems, Inc. offers all of the non-technical support a business would
need to operate successfully-everything from auditing to management consultant to
financing to marketing advice. Which of the following types of interaction activities is
it likely to use to gain information about its business customers and still be able to have
only a minimal investment of time and money in the research?
A. Employee suggestions
B. Employee internal satisfaction surveys
C. Research on intermediate customers
D. Executive listening approaches
E. Executive visits to customers
Mass transit train and bus service has peak periods of demand Monday through Friday
during morning and evening rush hours. Demand for mass transit service:
A. Fluctuates randomly
B. Follows no discernible pattern
C. Follows a predictable demand cycle
D. Follows a vertical demand configuration
E. Is dissatisfactory
At AT&T Universal Card’s Customer-Service Center in Jacksonville, Florida, customer
service representatives are given immediate access via their computer screen to
information and tools they need to serve the customer efficiently. When a customer
calls, the representative can view the customer’s account records and any notes from
previous telephone calls from the customer. The representatives also have information
on commonly asked questions. By providing immediate access to customer files, AT&T
Universal Card is using which of the following human resource strategies for closing
provider gap 3?
A. Hire the right people
B. Provide needed support systems
C. Retain the best people
D. Develop people to deliver service quality
E. Set service standards
If you own a small advertising agency and have limited funding and even less time to
spend on service marketing research, which of the following types of research would
you be LEAST likely to use?
A. Process checkpoint evaluations
B. Future expectations research
C. Trailer calls
D. Critical incidents studies
E. Complaint solicitations
The last time Dominique traveled on an airplane she took an antihistamine before her
flight to keep her ears unclogged and prevent an earache. Dominique took an
antihistamine to prevent a(n) ____ response to the airplane’s environment.
A. Perceptual
B. Emotional
C. Cognitive
D. Tensional
E. Physiological
The four strategies of tangibilization proposed by researchers Leonard Berry and Terry
Clark are:
A. Documentation, visualization, verification and illustration
B. Illustration, verification, documentation and intimation
C. Association, physical representation, documentation and visualization
D. Association, internalization, testimonials and imitation
E. Intimation, allusion, association and documentation
A man who became intoxicated on a flight started speaking loudly, annoying the other
passengers. The flight attendant asked the passenger if he would be driving when the
plane landed and offered him coffee. He accepted the coffee and became quieter and
friendlier. This is an example of which type of service encounter incident?
A. Reliability
B. Adaptability
C. Spontaneity
D. Functionality
E. Coping
Telepizza S.A. Is a Spanish pizza restaurant chain that offers children membership in its
magic club. The magic club gives its members small prizes, usually simple magic
tricks, with each order their parents place. Telpizza’s use of a frequency marketing
program has allowed it to narrow provider _____ of the gaps model of service quality.
A. Gap 1
B. Gap 2
C. Gap 3
D. Gap 4
According to the text, the relationship value of a customer is not influenced by:
A. The average revenues generated per relevant time period over the lifetime
B. Sales of additional products and services over time
C. Referrals generated by the customer over time
D. The length of the average customer “lifetime”
E. The communication strategy
Which of the following statements has been suggested as a plausible explanation for
the customer perception that service quality is declining?
A. Increasing use of technology is perceived by many customers as less service because
there is no human interaction
B. Companies provide unclear tactics for customers to follow when dealing with service
providers
C. Delivering consistent, high-quality service becomes routine
D. Customers have no concept of what conditions produce to quality service
E. Too many talented employees are left mired in front-end jobs that do not challenge
them
An airline that offers price discounts and “Internet Specials” for passengers who order
tickets online is:
A. Rewarding customers
B. Positioning customers
C. Managing the customer mix
D. Defining customers’ jobs
E. Educating customers
Whether a household or a firm chooses to produce a particular service for itself or
contract externally for the service depends upon a non-economic factor that is referred
to as:
A. Intuitive bonuses
B. Extraordinary incentives
C. Incentives for amelioration
D. Psychic rewards
E. Altruism
New owners of the Atlanta Falcons football team were concerned about declining
attendance figures. As a result, Falcons staff set up kiosks at arena exits and asked
attendees what would make the gameday experience more fun. The management was
gathering _____ measurements.
A. Tangible
B. Basic
C. Formal
D. Soft
E. Informal
Elysian Events, a wedding planning company, noted how many couples had a wedding
catastrophe of some kind. As a result, it abandoned wedding planning and began
offering wedding insurance to protect couples from financial losses due to weather
emergencies, stolen wedding rings, damaged wedding dresses, etc. In terms of the
service blueprint, preparation of documents to submit to the insurance underwriting
company that makes it possible for Elysian Events to offer wedding insurance
inexpensively is part of which section of the service blueprint?
A. Customer actions
B. Onstage contact employee actions
C. Backstage contact employee actions
D. Support processes
E. Audience actions
For years, Allstate Insurance has used the slogan, “You”re in good hands with Allstate.”
Which dimension of service quality is this Allstate promotional campaign
emphasizing?
A. Reliability
B. Responsiveness
C. Assurance
D. Empathy
E. Tangibles
When a customer does not understand his or her role in the service delivery process, he
or she is contributing to provider:
A. Gap 1
B. Gap 2
C. Gap 3
D. Gap 4
When the toddler’s ball rolled under the motel bed, his mother was surprised to find a
dirty sock and used crumbled tissues under the bed also. This physical evidence of
service was not what the mother expected to find in this luxury hotel and served to
broaden the provider _____ of the gaps model of service quality.
A. Gap 1
B. Gap 2
C. Gap 3
D. Gap 4
______ occurs when a service firm develops an advertising campaign without input
from operations and contact personnel are not able to deliver service that matches the
image portrayed in the advertising.
A. Inadequate management of service promises
B. Over-promising in advertising and personal selling
C. Inadequate customer communication
D. Inadequate horizontal communication
E. Differences in policies and procedures across distribution units
Which of the following statements about the Banwari Mittal’s properties of
intangibility is true?
A. Services such as dental care have less nonsearchability than babysitting
B. An ATM is high in incorporeal existence
C. Service benefits such as fun and excitement are concrete terms
D. Services like doctors, amusement parks and health clubs are typically described in
specific terms
E. Services such as an MRI or a cat scan have a high level of mental impalpability
After having a positive service experience at Lens Crafters when she had her eyes
examined and purchased new contact lenses, Diane recommended Lens Crafters to two
of her friends who were planning to get new eyeglasses. Diane is performing which of
the following customer jobs?
A. Helping himself or herself
B. Positioning the company
C. Promoting the company
D. Recruiting customers
E. Helping others
Describe the innovation and learning area of the balanced performance scorecard
including some of the specific measures that may be appropriate for this area.
On a recent concert tour, Aerosmith sang a number of classic songs from its past
albums, in addition to playing songs from its newest album. By singing both old songs
to satisfy older audience members and songs from its more recent album to satisfy
younger fans, Aerosmith was trying to reduce _____ conflict.
A. Person/role
B. Heterogeneous
C. Organization/client
D. Inter-client
E. Demographic
Raul took his dog Buffy to dog training school to stop Buffy from barking. As soon as
the dog returned home, she started her same pattern of barking. Raul was highly critical
of the trainers for not teaching Buffy not to bark even though he had not continued the
reinforcement technique he was supposed to use to encourage Buffy’s good behavior.
Raul customer satisfaction was adversely affected by:
A. Poor service quality
B. His perception of service quality
C. His emotional state
D. His attribution for service failure
E. His perception of equity
Emergency room employees select and see patients in an order based on the patients’
need for treatment. Victims who have life-threatening injuries are seen ahead of those
with minor complaints like an ingrown toenail or a case of poison ivy. Emergency
rooms differentiate their waiting customers on the basis of:
A. Willingness to perform service role
B. Importance of the customer
C. Duration of the service transaction
D. Urgency of the job
E. Payment of a premium price
Miller & Sons Funeral Home has handled all of the funeral needs for the Atwater family
since 1957. The family believes that Miller & Sons offers them good value for their
dollar and the Miller sons and the Atwater boys played on the same high school football
team. Miller & Sons Funeral Home is using _____ to implement its customer retention
strategy.
A. Economic bonds
B. Social bonds
C. Customization bonds
D. Structural bonds
E. Security bonds
To save resources, hotels are asking guests to hang up their towels and reuse them if
they are staying multiple nights. A guest who hangs up his towels is playing the role of
a:
A. Customer mix manager
B. Competitor
C. Productive resource
D. Contributor to quality and satisfaction
E. Recruiter
Lois Kay is an experienced baker. She has decided to bake and decorate her daughter’s
wedding cake instead of ordering one at the bakery. Her decision to bake her daughter’s
cake herself was based on this knowledge and the joy of seeing her daughter’s face as
she first looks at the wedding cake made by her mother. Kay’s decision to produce the
service herself was primarily guided by:
A. Expertise capacity and psychic rewards
B. Economic rewards and trust
C. Control and empathy
D. Resource capacity and economic rewards
E. Economic rewards and psychic rewards
A service provider that has an inappropriate employee evaluation and compensation
system will experience provider:
A. Gap 1
B. Gap 2
C. Gap 3
D. Gap 4
Business travelers today are more likely to order room service than ever before. A tired
piece of chicken in a congealed sauce kept company by a heap of wilted lettuce will
likely cause the customer to think negatively about his or her hotel stay. This is an
example of how _____ influences customer satisfaction.
A. The salesperson’s emotional state
B. Problems with perceived equity
C. A product feature
D. Service validity
E. Service attribution
The fundamental issue underlying supply and demand management in services is the
lack of _____ capability.
A. Inventory
B. Customization
C. Automation
D. Standardization
E. Transportation
The maintenance contract offered by Sears on its Kenmore refrigerators, dishwashers
and microwaves is an example of a(n) _______.
A. Service
B. Experience
C. Attribute
D. Good
E. Benefit
Customers who enjoy participating in the service delivery process are performing
which of the following service delivery roles?
A. Customer mix manager
B. Competitor
C. Productive resource
D. Contributor to quality and satisfaction
E. Recruiter
What kind of service was Miriam talking about when she said, “We should have no
trouble getting good seats on the bus because few people ride at 10:30 a.m. on a
weekday”?
The servicescape can play many strategic roles simultaneously. List them.
What research methodology has been used to determine the benefits of offensive
marketing on a company’s market share and profits?
What is the first step in designing service marketing research?
Comment on the following statement: “The recovery paradox is a superior strategy to
the ‘Do it right the first time’ strategy”.
Comment on the following statement: “New-service development is typically a linear
process”.
What is the primary issue that marketers face in relation to service perishability?
Gracie gets her haircut at a salon almost twenty miles from her house because the price
is low and because Gracie went to school with the woman who owns the salon. What
kind of retention strategy is being used in this example?
Even though it was unusual, the retailer wanted the sign painter to do reverse painting
on her store windows. (Paint the glass and leave the letters clear.) The retailer felt that
this would make her store stand out as a unique place to shop. She had to talk to four
sign painters before she found one that was agreeable to her plan. Which service
dimension were the first three sign painters lacking?
What kind of consumer presence is required when Josefina has the oil changed in her
2001 Ford Taurus?
The money a company makes from customer retention comes from four sources. List
them.