In a __________ encounter, both verbal and non-verbal behaviors are determinants of
quality, as are tangible cues such as employee appearance and informational brochures.
A. Face-to-face
B. Public
C. Personal
D. Symbiotic
E. Customer-controlled
Service providers like insurance companies that emphasize acquiring new customers
rather than retaining current customers are broadening provider _____ of the gaps
model of service quality.
A. Gap 1
B. Gap 2
C. Gap 3
D. Gap 4
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
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
Often, _____ are created by providing customized services to the client that are
technology based and make the customer more productive.
A. Financial bonds
B. Social bonds
C. Customization bonds
D. Structural bonds
E. Heterogeneity
All of the following are strategic roles of the servicescape EXCEPT:
A. Package
B. Boundary spanner
C. Differentiator
D. Facilitator
E. Socializer
New owners of the Atlanta Falcons wanted to increase attendance by giving customers
what they wanted, such as an online site to purchase tickets, clean restrooms, more
opportunities to interact with the players and family-oriented halftime show. The first
step to developing these customer-defined standards was to:
A. Translate customer requirements into hard measures
B. Create an action program that contained every possible service encounter
C. Identify the existing service encounter sequence
D. Develop continual feedback mechanisms
E. Brainstorm
The romantic mountain getaway seemed like the perfect Valentine’s Day gift. The
pictures in the brochure showed couples enjoying the amenities in their cabins. When
the couple arrived, they found a cold, uninviting cabin with a shortage of creature
comforts–no down-filled blankets, no wood for the fireplace, paper plates and cups and
a broken chair. In this service example, the _____ was not what the customers expected.
A. Internal marketing
B. Management-driven service
C. Interactive communication
D. Relationship marketing
E. Servicescape
Which of the following statements about service failure and service recovery is true?
A. Those customers who never complain are as likely to repurchase as those who had a
satisfying service experience
B. Resolving customer problems effectively has a strong impact on customer
satisfaction and loyalty
C. All firms employ effective recovery strategies
D. Effective service recovery should not be expected to improve overall service
performance
E. All of the above statements about service failure and recovery are true
An effective service guarantee would never be described as:
A. Unconditional
B. Easy to invoke and collect
C. Standardized and/or generic
D. Meaningful
E. Easy to understand and communicate
When Tom and Ruth checked out of the Marriott Hilton Head Resort, they were each
given a brief postage paid survey to complete and return through the mail. The survey
asked 15 questions about their stay at the Marriott Resort. It covered such attributes as
overall satisfaction, check-in speed/efficiency, cleanliness, decor and comfort of their
room, friendliness and efficiency of the staff, quality of dining experience, quality of
merchandise/gift shop, intention to return, and willingness to recommend to friends.
Which of the following types of research did Marriott conduct?
A. Complaint solicitation
B. Critical incidents studies
C. Relationship surveys
D. Trailer calls
E. Lost customer research
Amber wants to get her ears pierced. In the community in which she lives, she can get
them pierced at a jewelry store in a strip mall. She can get them pierced at the local
tattoo parlor or have them pierced by a friend’s mother who happens to be a nurse.
Amber’s mother has threatened her with dire punishment if she has them pierced and
then gets an infection because the person who pierces them was inept or unsanitary.
Amber chose the nurse because of a(n) _____, which makes her believe it is the method
her mother will most approve of.
A. Explicit service promise
B. Perceived service alternative
C. Word-of-mouth communication
D. Implicit service promise
E. Marketing testimonial
For those people who think they need some sort of psychological counseling but don’t
feel they have the time, talkspace.com allows users to communicate with a licensed
therapist online. Due to a(n) _____, the web site’s owners know most of their business
comes in the evenings and on weekends, so they have hired therapists to work for the
online service at these times.
A. Random demand fluctuation
B. Relative demand shift
C. Predictable demand cycle
D. Vertical demand configuration
E. Organized demand pattern
A consumer who is more likely to engage in negative word-of-mouth than any other
type of consumer is called a(n):
A. Irate
B. Annoyance
C. Aggressive
D. Activist
E. Voicer
In acquaintance relationships, firms generally focus on:
A. Creating service offering awareness
B. Inducing product trial and adoption
C. Gaining specific knowledge of customer’s needs
D. Providing value comparable to the competition
E. Creating clear and easily comprehended communications
The _____ gap is the difference between customer expectations and perceptions.
A. Customer
B. Service
C. Value
D. Quality
E. Delivery
Why would a blood bank, which pays people for their blood donations and then sells
this blood to hospitals, use the name Blood Assurance?
A. Because the assurance dimension of service quality guarantees customer satisfaction
B. Because the assurance dimension of service quality means that the blood donation
will be done accurately
C. Because the assurance dimension of service quality emphasizes the knowledge of the
employees
D. Because the assurance dimension of service quality negates concerns about tangibles
E. Because the assurance dimension of service quality inspires trust and confidence
When Marcus Ross arrived at the airport Enterprise Rent-A-Car to pick up a reserved
SUV, he was told the agency had no such car on the lot and that it had no record of him
making a reservation. The rental agency’s customer service representative Gene Lowery
apologized profusely and called other agencies until he located an SUV at an agency
several miles away. Lowery personally drove him to the other agency, knocked 20
percent off the rental fee, handed Ross $2 to pay a toll that he would now have to pay to
get to his destination and gave him a free tank of gas. Ross’s experience at Enterprise is
an example of which type of service encounter incident?
A. Recovery
B. Adaptability
C. Spontaneity
D. Functionality
E. Coping
Moonlight Catering has increased the deposit it requires before agreeing to cater an
event to $300. This amount is nonrefundable and must be paid when Moonlight
Catering is hired for the job. This increase in deposit will help Moonlight Catering
achieve its goal of:
A. Customer enhancement
B. Prospecting
C. Increasing its value-added service
D. Customer satisfaction
E. Customer retention
Flying across the Pacific Ocean is an eight-hour trip that could be dreadful if you did
not fly by Singapore Airlines. One frequent flyer between the United States and Japan
noted its cabin crew gives the impression that it is truly their pleasure to serve the
passengers. In short, they make flying with Singapore Airlines very satisfying. In terms
of the service marketing triangle, the cabin crew engages in _____ marketing.
A. Internal
B. Interactive
C. Integrated
D. External
E. Transactional
By noting that a number of customers had complained about late bus arrivals at one
particular stop, the bus line rerouted the bus away from a heavy traffic area. By
increasing its miles traveled slightly, the bus was able to improve its arrival time
substantially at the stop where it had formerly been perpetually late. Which service
recovery strategy did the bus line use?
A. Make the service fail safe
B. Learn from recovery experiences
C. Treat customers fairly
D. Encourage and track complaints
E. Respond quickly
Benford Bank hired marketing researchers when it noticed many people who had
savings accounts with the bank did not have checking accounts and credit cards with it.
The first task of the market researchers was to learn if the bank wanted to know how its
customers perceived the bank as a service provider, if it were more interested in what
customers thought was superior about its savings account, if the bank thought some
customer expectations were not being met, or if what the bank really wanted to know
was how it could change its service to better meet customer expectations. The first thing
the research company did was to:
A. Help Benford Bank define the problem and establish research objectives
B. Determine with the bank’s help who should be surveyed
C. Use data mining to see if there were any connections between customers who used
all three services and those who used only one of the services the bank offered
D. Determine what research methodology it would use
E. Decide how data analysis techniques
After determining that reliability was a major concern for its customers, a pest control
company translated customer expectations into behaviors and actions for its monthly
sprayings of homes and businesses. Having accomplished that, the pest control
company needs next to:
A. Provide feedback about performance to employees
B. Establish target levels for standards
C. Determine whether hard or soft standards are appropriate
D. Develop measurements for standards
E. Track behaviors and actions against existing standards
Which of the following statements about communications and the service marketing
triangle is true?
A. External marketing communications include advertising, public relations, personal
selling and sales promotions
B. The sides of the service marketing triangle are customers, providers and the
company
C. Interactive marketing communications are exemplified by vertical and horizontal
communications
D. All communications methods that relate to the service marketing triangle are either
verbal or print
E. Service encounters are an example of internal marketing
Which of the following is NOT one of the properties of intangibility that has been
identified by the research of Banwari Mittal?
A. Nonsearchability
B. Abstractness
C. Incorporeal existence
D. Dynamic vs. static
E. Mental impalpability
Leonard has been commuting to New York City on the Long Island Railroad for 10
years. Every morning he takes the 7:00 a.m. train that is scheduled to arrive in New
York at 8:15 a.m. from Huntington, a suburb of New York. Although Leonard would
like the train to arrive in New York on time, he knows from his experience as a
commuter that it is more likely the train will be 5 minutes late. Leonard’s expectation
that his train will be 5 minutes late reflects his _________ level of service for the Long
Island Railroad.
A. Desired
B. Adequate
C. Transactional
D. Functional
E. Available
The first step in delivering high service quality is:
A. Hiring the right people
B. Understanding customer requirements
C. Innovation
D. A service blueprint
E. Employee training
Horatio’s Hardware Stores recognizes sales associates who provide excellent customer
service by rewarding them with a “Hero Award,” which is displayed in the store where
the sales associate is employed. To measure a sales associate’s service performance,
which type of research should Horatio’s Hardware Stores use?
A. Complaint solicitation
B. Critical incidents studies
C. Relationship surveys
D. Mystery shopping
E. Lost customer research
Which of the following is an intangible component of a car repair shop?
A. Replacement parts
B. Employee uniforms
C. Barrel for storing recyclable motor oil
D. The training the mechanic has received
E. Customer waiting area
One benefit of _____ is that it identifies failure points and common problems in the
service and can help establish an early-warning system for future defectors.
A. Failure ethnography
B. A survey of buyers’ intentions
C. Focus groups
D. Lost customer research
E. Future expectations research
Which of the following is NOT an element of the traditional marketing mix?
A. Production
B. Place
C. Product
D. Price
E. Promotion
What kind of a pricing strategy is a crafts show using when it charges a lower entry fee
for teenagers and senior citizens?
may vary
What kind of a guarantee is a dentist giving that guarantees patients will wait no more
than 15 minutes past their appointment or they will be given $5?
may vary
Discuss the concerns that surround the use of the Net Promoter Score.
may vary
One of the major approaches to overcoming service communication challenges is to
manage service promises. What strategies would a large janitorial service use to manage
its service promises to match service promises with delivery?
may vary
Which type of complainer has sometimes been called the service provider’s best friend?
may vary
What are the questions that managers want answered about defensive marketing?
may vary
What does the text state is another appropriate name for a service encounter?
may vary
What kind of a research technique is SERVQUAL?
may vary
Which characteristic of services best explains the existence of zones of tolerance?
may vary
Research has indicated service providers need to focus on the “back end” of the service
encounter sequence. What does this mean for an airline?
may vary
Tyra has done volunteer fundraising for years. She has recently decided it would be a
good career move for her to become a full-time, paid fundraiser. She likes the idea of
working with a variety of different organizations and then moving on to some new
problem to tackle. She is trying to keep her operation simple. From what Tyra has told
you so far, you understand that she plans on using cost-plus pricing. What problems do
you foresee if she uses this pricing technique? What type of a pricing strategy might be
more appropriate and simpler?
may vary
What organization is represented by the abbreviation ACSI?
may vary
How can customers contribute to quality service delivery?
may vary
Chris has a four-year old daughter and often employs one of the many teenagers in the
neighborhood who regularly baby-sit. When one of the teens raised her price to $5.75
per hour, all of the other babysitters followed suit. Not surprisingly, when another teen
tried to increase his babysitting hours by lowering his rate to $5.25, all of the other
teens made the same reduction in their rates. What kind of a competition-based strategy
does this example depict?
may vary
Heather Lui wants a lawn maintenance company that will pull all the dandelions and
other weeds out of her lawn and that will keep her bushes shapely, but she’ll settle for a
company that will mow her lawn every 10 days. According to the text, what are these
two expectation standards at the upper and lower boundaries of customer expectations?
may vary
The Bank of Charleston uses a Performance Measurement Program that links its most
important customer-defined standards to tangible and measurable aspects of service
provision and uses the feedback provided by this program to locate and improve service
problems. What term should be used to describe the bank’s Performance Measurement
Program?
may vary