“Goodness of fit” is one way to exceed customer expectations through greater
personalization.
Two critical actions for delivering A-plus information in e-commerce are to make
customer support easily accessible and to honor the feedback loop.
Companies that overpromise a speedy response and then almost make the deadline will
keep their customers loyalty.
An example of a vital behavior might be “give great service.”
“Thank you for calling” is a universal cue that the conversation is ending.
Some products are too complicated and will be perceived as more convenient without
so many features.
Exceeding expectations about what the customer anticipates about speed of service may
be one of the simplest yet most powerful ways of building loyalty.
Advertisements that say “please allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery” sound antiquated to
customers who want it now!
“Perception of value” is a customer’s sense of a product or service’s quality relative to
cost.
Virtually every company should have a ‘service department.”
Customer complaints are opportunities for building customer loyalty.
A typical company will lose 10 to 30% of its customers over what period of time?
A)about ten years
B)every 5 years
C)during the life of the company
D)each year
Doing a communication audit of the company:
A)should include content analysis of messages to evaluate consistency, clarity, and tone.
B)will assess the quantity and quality of information flow.
C)should seek to answer the question, “Does this information exceed expectations?”.
D)All of the above.
Use of the Net Promoter Score:
A)offers little useful information unless accompanied by interview data.
B)is not widely used, although has great potential.
C)identifies the proportion of promoters and detractors.
D)applies 5-point true-false scales.
The letter F in our acronym LIFE stands for:
A)fulfillment.
B)feedback.
C)friendliness.
D)functional.
Harley-Davidson’s HOG membership:
A)fosters open communication with customers.
B)mainly exists to provide Harley with needed extra income.
C)is a marketing gimmick with little relevance to A-plus information.
D)is a special perk available to only the most avid motorcycle riders.
Regarding responding quickly to customers with e-service,
A)waiting more than a few seconds for a screen to refresh is unacceptable to most
customers.
B)long pauses of several minutes in chat sessions are generally okay because they
indicate that you are thinking about the customer’s request.
C)customers are very understanding when e-service is slow, especially when dealing
with a small company that may have fewer resources.
D)the expectation for quick turn-around on customer questions is about the same as it
has been for several years.
Future communication options allow greater customization by such things as:
A)increasing the frequency of messages sent to customers.
B)broadcasting in cable TV.
C)being interactive, two-way information sharing.
D)All of the above.
Examples of “internal noise” which can affect our ability to listen well include:
A)the “cocktail party effect.”
B)a headache, dislike of the person we are talking with, or preoccupation with another
problem.
C)loud chatter nearby.
D)All of the above.
Credit card companies can enhance their perception of value by:
A)giving cash back or airline miles credit for all purchases.
B)offering different levels of cards (gold, platinum, etc.).
C)giving customers access to live-person contact.
D)All of the above could enhance perception of value.
Companies can enhance their “trustability” by:
A)automatically renewing subscriptions or product shipment so that customers don’t
have to do this.
B)giving different policy answers to individual customers.
C)keeping pricing information confidential so that customers do not feel they are
paying too much.
D)exceeding expectation for openness and transparency.
The story of USAA Insurance company’s refund of premiums for military personnel in
the Gulf War illustrates that:
A)profits are not important to some successful companies.
B)illustrated USAA’s cultural value of treating customers the way you’d want to be
treated.
C)insurance companies are almost all open and generous.
D)USAA makes significant profits through ridged cost controls.
“Symbolic atonement”:
A)is a religious ceremony that has no application to customer service.
B)may not fully compensate the customer but indicates that you are trying.
C)describes giving dissatisfied customers something extra to try to win them back.
D)Both B and C are correct.
Why do people hesitate to ask for clarification when a customer is unclear?
A)we can generally figure out the message on our own
B)we don’t want to waste time or effort
C)we fear that we will sound uninformed
D)All of the above.
Regarding customer satisfaction surveys:
A)should be administered to every customer or else the data will be distorted.
B)the most important thing is what you do with customer responses.
C)the more frequent the better.
D)should be loosely worded so that the customer can express himself or herself.
Regarding mystery shoppers, they:
A)have been greatly improved with use of hidden video.
B)should only go to random locations.
C)work best when they observe general conditions rather than pre-determined things.
D)are best used to catch workers doing things wrong.
How can our listening capacity be overburdened, and thus made less effective?
Assertive behaviors are based on six beliefs, according to the discussion in the chapter.
Describe four of these underlying beliefs.
What do we mean by the “use of gatekeepers?” Why is this a potential problem in
customer service?
One form of turnoff discussed arises from inappropriate behavior (often
communication). What is this turnoff called? Give three examples of such turnoffs.
What are the three vocal qualities that must be varied to create interest and hold listener
attention?
Hospitality industry scholars cited in the chapter describe three possible strategies for
mitigating the unpleasant nature of having to wait. What are these? Give an example of
the use of each.
What do we mean by “once-and-done” service? Why is employee “ownership” of the
problem necessary for this to succeed? What company is identified as an example of
this in the chapter?
What does it mean to deliver A-plus information? Why does this offer an opportunity
for building better customer loyalty?
Define what the word “customer” means in the context of this chapter and discuss the
two different kinds of customers that every business has.
What is the difference between ‘share of the market” and ‘share of the customer?”
The chapter identifies four ways to measure your a-plus convenience efforts. With such
measures you should be able to answer key questions. What are these questions?
What does it mean to view feedback as a form of coaching?
What is a company’s “culture?” What are some key characteristics of the culture at
Yum! Brands, Southwest Airlines, and Zappos?