The four strategies of tangibilization are documentation, illustration, intimation and
physical representation.
“Improving skills among contact employees” is an effective customer-defined service
standard.
The central focus of the gaps model of service quality is to close the gap between
customer expectations and perceptions.
Despite the importance of services and the bottom-line profit potential for services,
consumers perceive that overall the quality of service they are receiving is declining.
From the inception of service quality, managers had highly sophisticated tools to
measure the impact of improved service on profits.
Service marketing researchers all agree that the terms satisfaction and quality are
interchangeable.
To develop a true customer franchise—immutable customer loyalty—companies must
not only consistently exceed the adequate service level but also reach the desired
service level.
Vertical lines cutting across the line of internal interaction represent internal service
encounters.
With relationship marketing, customers receive the specific inherent benefits of
receiving service value and nothing more.
Bundling and cross-selling are ways to implement a Level 1 retention strategy.
Wide aisles on an airplane let the servicescape act as a facilitator.
Price visibility does not influence reference prices when selecting a stockbroker.
Attributions influence perceptions of satisfaction with services.
When considering customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction, the ability of the service
providers to correct service delivery system failures is very important.
To be effective and efficient in their jobs, service workers require internal support
systems that are aligned with their needs to be customer focused.
The category of complainers called irates has a very optimistic sense of the potential
positive consequences of all types of complaining.
Inappropriate physical evidence can result in provider gap 2.
Word-of-mouth communication about a service may be either personal or nonpersonal,
but it is always verbal.
Requirements research is very basic and essential because it determines the type of
questions that will be asked on surveys and ultimately the improvements that will be
attempted by the firm.
Consumers believe that advertisements in publications like Newsweek, Time and
similar magazines have the highest level of credibility.
A more complex type of integrated marketing communications is needed for goods than
for services.
Demand-based pricing does not consider that customers might be sensitive to
nonmonetary prices and may judge quality on the basis of price.
One of the benefits of conducting marketing research on the Internet is the composition
of the survey samples.
Once the sale is made, service provider can manage customer education by clarifying
expectations after the sale.
A service firm’s yield can be raised by increasing capacity used or by decreasing price.
While the zones of tolerance may vary because of differing personality types, they are
stable with relation to the importance of the service dimensions.
A person/role conflict is most likely to arise in jobs where the service provider relies on
commissions rather than a salary for his or her income.
Price signaling is typical in markets with a high concentration of sellers.
An example of outcome inequity occurred when Logan was rudely told he could not
golf at a particular course because his clubs were not sanctioned by the U.S. Golf
Association.
In a dentist’s office, the wait will seem longer for a patient who is anxious than for a
patient who is calm and relaxed.
Just as all service providers must advertise, all need integration across departments to
be able to deliver quality services.
In most companies, it is significantly easier to improve horizontal communications than
vertical communications.
Service encounters that occur without any human contact are referred to as impersonal
encounters.
Provider gap 2 is the difference between development of customer-driven service
standards and actual service performance by company employees.
Customers do not contribute to quality service delivery when they ask questions.
One of the reasons used to explain why customers evaluate goods and services
differently is:
A. The greater degree of customer empowerment used to sell services
B. Services and goods influence opportunity costs differently
C. That customers often have limited reference prices for services
D. The increased customer autonomy in the pricing of goods
E. The cost of maintaining inventory
Roger Pack is a breeder of Pomeranian dogs. He has used the same grooming salon for
his dogs for the last 10 years. When a new groomer accidentally trimmed too much off
of one of his show dog’s hind quarters, he was upset. He decided not to make a big deal
of the event because of his long-term dealings with the salon owner. Which service
recovery strategy is exemplified here?
A. Make the service fail safe
B. Cultivate relationships with customers
C. Treat customers proactively
D. Use procedural fairness
E. Learn from lost customers
Harrah’s Entertainment, a casino hotel company, has a company incentive program
weighted toward team results. A relatively small percentage of compensation is based
on individual goals. Everyone in the organization is rewarded based on customer
service scores. Harrah’s Entertainment is:
A. Including employees in the company’s vision
B. Empowering employees
C. Creating employees as customers
D. Promoting teamwork
E. Developing service-oriented internal processes
When you visit the web site for Hyatt hotels, you can look at pictures of its newest
hotels, register for its continuity programs and make reservations quickly. Because the
site is inviting, attractive and fun to browse, customers perceive the Hyatt hotels to also
be this way. By designing it this way, Hyatt has used:
A. Clue management
B. Customer-driven cues
C. Company-oriented tangibles
D. A visual enhancement strategy
E. A virtual enhancement strategy
Which of the following is an example of competition-based pricing strategy?
A. Cost-plus pricing
B. Going-rate pricing
C. Fee for service
D. Synchronized pricing
E. Simultaneous pricing
Which of the following is one of the ways an organization benefits from maintaining
and developing a loyal customer base?
A. Employee retention
B. Customers’ increasing expectations of more personalized service
C. A reactive market-growth strategy
D. The ability to engage in guerilla marketing
E. Competitor entrenchment
Following the acquaintance relationship in the evolution of customer relationships is the
customers in _____ stage.
A. Allies
B. Associates
C. Friends
D. Partners
E. Supporters
Which of the following queue configurations is designed to ensure fairness of waiting
time?
A. Multiple queue
B. Double queue
C. Take-a-number queue
D. Queue with barriers
E. Roundabout queue
Phone encounters are a type of ___________ in which tone of voice, employee
knowledge, and effectiveness of handling customer issues are important criteria for
judging quality.
A. Remote encounter
B. Technology-mediated encounter
C. Detached conversation
D. Public discourse
E. Collective encounter
_______-based pricing is used when there are a small number of large service
providers.
A. Demand
B. Profit
C. Competition
D. Supply
E. Cost
By involving employees in cross-functional teams to align their jobs with end customer
requirements, a service firm is:
A. Managing service promises
B. Resetting customer expectations
C. Communicating with customers
D. Managing internal marketing communications
E. Exceeding customer expectations
Emory Vision Center has a packet of information that it sends to people who are
interested in LASIK surgery. The center also has a doctor available to speak to
organizations about how vision can be corrected. In addition, it publishes a newsletter
called The Visionary in which it offers family discounts, clarifies patient expectations
and notes awards and honors the center receives. The center also manages a web site
that contains news on the latest innovative research techniques. Through its
communications with current and potential patients, Emory Vision Center is:
A. Managing internal marketing communications
B. Resetting customer stamdards
C. Managing customer education
D. Leveraging social media
E. Creating effective upward communication
At Universal Credit Card Services’ (UCCS) 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, UCCS 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
Marriott had an advertising campaign with the following theme: “You can’t be late for
business appointments and neither can we. At Marriott, if your breakfast doesn’t show
up on time, it won’t show up on your bill. That’s because we take our business just as
seriously as you take yours. And our business is service. The commitment is what
makes Marriott the business traveler’s first choice”. If a business traveler, who saw this
advertisement, stayed at a Marriott hotel and did not receive breakfast on time and was
charged for that breakfast, Provider _____ of the gaps model of service quality would
have occurred.
A. Gap 1
B. Gap 2
C. Gap 3
D. Gap 4
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
In the service marketing triangle, ______ marketing refers to enabling the service
promise.
A. Internal
B. External
C. Strategic
D. Interactive
E. Integrated
When Theo complained out loud that the hotel restaurant did not serve breakfast late
enough in the morning, a hotel worker overheard him and went to the kitchen. When
the hotel worker returned, he presented Theo with a plate of sweet rolls, a cup of coffee
and the hotel’s apology for having to close down the breakfast service early. Which
service recovery strategy is being used in this example?
A. Make the service fail safe
B. Learn from lost customers
C. Treat customers proactively
D. Use procedural fairness
E. Respond quickly
Every Thursday afternoon for almost twenty years, Jasmine and Tanya have gotten a
manicure at the same location. The manicure salon has changed ownership three times
and has had two different names during that same period, but Jasmine and Tanya still
find it a convenient place to meet and share news about friends and relatives. Jasmine
and Tanya’s relationship with the manicure salon exemplifies how a service provider
uses _____ to support its customer retention strategy.
A. Economic bonds
B. Social bonds
C. Customization bonds
D. Structural bonds
E. Security bonds
A regional chain of travel agencies uses role-playing to determine how courteously and
efficiently a potential employee will handle difficult customers who keep changing their
minds. The travel agency is assessing:
A. Service competency
B. Empathy
C. Assurance
D. Service inclination
E. Service responsibility
In India weddings are timed to occur when Venus is in the ascendant and Jupiter is
strong. This day is deemed lucky. In 2005, almost 15, 000 couples in New Delhi had
their wedding on December 25, the day astrologers announced would be the best day
for a wedding. The service provided by the astrologers is an excellent illustration of the
_____ of services.
A. Intangibility
B. Comparability
C. Divisibility
D. Perishability
E. Compatibility
Banjo Bob repairs guitars, banjos, and other stringed instruments for a living. Banjo
Bob promises his customers “100 percent satisfaction in every repair.” Which service
recovery strategy is Banjo Bob?
A. Make the service fail safe
B. Learn from lost customers
C. Treat customers reactively
D. Implement the service paradox
E. Use procedural fairness
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
Service blueprinting is grounded in all of the following disciplines EXCEPT:
A. Computer systems analysis
B. Decision theory
C. Economics
D. Industrial engineering
E. Logistics
Due to the _____ characteristic of services, customers will frequently interact with each
other during the service production process and may affect each other’s experiences.
A. Comparability
B. Intangibility
C. Heterogeneity
D. Simultaneous production and consumption
E. Perishability
Participants in the Coffee Caf’s loyalty program get a free large cup of coffee after
every 10th cup of coffee purchased. After purchasing 100 cups of coffee from the
Coffee Caf, loyalty program participants receive a $10 gift certificate good for food and
beverage items or merchandise. Coffee Caf’s uses _____ to encourage its customers to
remain loyal.
A. Financial bonds
B. Social bonds
C. Customization bonds
D. Structural bonds
E. Security bonds
Boston Symphony Orchestra realized the classic music market was generally becoming
older and needed to learn how to appeal to younger concert-goers. It hired a research
agency to identify the positive and negative attributes of going to concerts. One type of
research conducted by the agency was to interview former symphony season ticket
holders who were no longer attending the concerts. In other words, the agency used:
A. Complaint solicitation
B. Critical incidents studies
C. Relationship survey
D. Trailer calls
E. Lost customer research
After a service firm maps the service process from the customer’s point of view, the
next step in building a service blueprint is to:
A. Draw the lines of interaction and visibility
B. Link customer and contact person activity to needed support function
C. Map the service process from the customer contact person’s point of view
D. Identify the physical evidence needed to support service quality
E. Add evidence of service at each customer step
A consumer who complains that the stain was not removed from her suit jacket is
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
In which of the following services is inadequate customer communication most likely
to result in customer dissatisfaction?
A. Fast food restaurant
B. Animal boarding
C. Movie theater
D. Physical rehabilitation therapy
E. Overnight package delivery
What is wrong with the following service goal posted in a restaurant: “Do not keep
customers waiting too long to be served”?
A. It is too formal
B. It is not actionable
C. It is not specific enough
D. It does not reflect the goal of the restaurant, which is to provide service quality
E. It is not responsive to customer needs
_________ customers are those individuals and businesses who buy goods and services
from an organization.
A. Internal
B. External
C. Critical
D. Functional
E. Interactive
What is the first step in developing physical evidence strategy?
may vary
Even though it is not a part of the monthly spraying, Crimmins Pest Control employees
are allowed to spray fire ant mounds when the customer requests it without asking
management. What human resources management strategy does this exemplify?
may vary
What do a vacation to Jamaica and a haircut have in common besides the fact that they
are both services?
may vary
On which of the provider gaps does an inappropriate servicescape have the greatest
impact?
may vary
Bianca teaches computer classes on campus as a part of a university continuing
education program. One of her most popular classes is called, “Social Media Sanity.” In
a typical week she teaches three sections of this class and each class meets one day a
week for six weeks. Bianca currently teaches 20 students per class. She spends a lot of
time preparing her class lectures and makes sure that the class meets the needs of the
students in it. Demand for her classes has tripled and she has to turn students away each
term. Discuss the “stretch” strategies Bianca can use to adjust the class capacity.
may vary
What type of service encounter occurs when Raphael uses his computer to order and
pay for concert tickets?
may vary
Describe the form of service research known as mystery shopping and discuss its
potential benefits to service organizations.
may vary
When Tom had the satellite dish placed on the roof of his house, the installer dislodged
and made no attempt to replace a half dozen roofing shingles. Tom has complained
several times to his friends about the lousy service, but he would neither complain to
the Better Business Bureau, nor is he likely to recommend the installer to friends. What
kind of complainer is Tom?
may vary
University presidents often have access to funding to pay to have widely recognized
people such as Condoleeza Rice and Ken Burns come to their campuses as speakers.
When negotiating with speakers’ bureaus for the services of these individuals, college
presidents are primarily concerned with the “get” component of a service and monetary
price is not of primary concern. What types of pricing strategies should the speakers’
bureau use if they wish to appeal to the value as defined by the university presidents?
may vary
What is the basic formula for cost-based pricing?
may vary
Discuss service quality as a competitive advantage for a service provider.
may vary
List the three factors that influence adequate service.
may vary
List two examples of sources of customer expectations over which the marketer has
limited control.
may vary
Discuss conducting marketing research for a national car rental company.
may vary
While at Six Flags over Georgia, Mitch had his picture taken with Tweetie Bird, one of
the many Warner Brothers characters that tour the park. Which component of the
service blueprint does the picture exemplify?
may vary
A commercial for online courses at Santa Rosa Community College shows an
individual doing homework on a laptop computer while lounging on a white sand
beach. Which tangibilization strategy is being used in this commercial?
may vary
When creating a service blueprint, what step follows mapping the service process from
the customer’s point of view?
may vary
Why are public policymakers so interested in the development of a device to measure
and track customer satisfaction?
may vary
A friend of yours plans on opening a home cleaning service. She has decided to
“delight” her customers to gain a competitive advantage over her similar services. For
example, while other cleaning crews vacuum, dust and mop, she will have her
employees do extras like cleaning the fireplace, washing clothes and bathing pets. She
believes these extra services on top of what customers expect will guarantee her
success. What information can you provide her with that may help her develop a
profitable business?
may vary
Which type of qualitative research has as its primary objective to identify customer
requirements as input for quantitative research?
may vary