Exam 2: Conceptual Framework of the Book: the Gaps Model of Service Quality

Service companies can close provider gap 4 by:

Enterprise Rent-A-Car closely ties customer service to employee success.With a tracking system called the Enterprise Service Quality Index (ESQi),the company routinely follows up with customers by phone to determine their level of satisfaction with the company.Only completely satisfied customers count toward an employee ESQi score,which is used to measure employee's potential for promotion.Enterprise closes provider _____ by using marketing research.

Provider _____ is the difference between customer expectations of service and company understanding of those expectations.

The use of transactional marketing will tend to narrow provider gap 1.

The synchronizing of supply and demand will narrow provider gap 4.

Provider gap 2 is the difference between development of customer-driven service standards and actual service performance by company employees.

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.

Service companies can close provider gap 4 by doing all of the following EXCEPT:

The sources of customer expectations are all controlled by the service provider.

American Airlines pilots and crews are trained to inform customers immediately when flight delays occur and to keep customers advised at regular intervals about the changes in a flight's schedule.By keeping customers informed during a flight,American Airlines is closing provider _____ of the gaps model of service quality.

Extron Electronics sells coaxial cables for connecting computers to all types of peripheral devices like printers,modems,and fax machines.For the benefit of its customers,Extron provides a laminated card with pictures of all the possible cable connections that a customer could need.With this card,a customer can order from one to any number of connectors with as many feet of cable as is needed.Orders can be placed by calling a toll-free number,sending an email,or using the company's website.Company reps are also available 24-hours a day in case the customer is not sure which drawing on the card matches his or her needs.By integrating its services marketing communications,Extron is closing provider _____ of the gaps model of service quality.

Inadequate vertical communications will broaden provider gap 4.

Provider _____ is the difference between service delivery and the service provider's external communications.

Provider gap 3 of the gaps model of service quality is caused by:

Home Design is a reasonably priced source for home decorating items like bronze bookends and silver candlesticks.Until its recent remodeling,customers who happened into the store were often disappointed because they expected the store to be a discount store.The front of the store had some masonry damage.Its parking lot needed repaving.Its store windows were stained and one was cracked.Now customers who enter the store expect to find unique decorating items because the outside of the store is so tastefully done.This change in servicescape was a way to narrow provider _____ of the gaps model of service quality.

Services marketing bridges the gap between what customers expect to get and what they perceive they actually got.

A national cleaning service sent several crews to New Jersey and New York after Superstorm Sandy in 2012.The crews were trained to deal with mud,mildew,and all the problems of making a flooded home or building inhabitable again.The print and media ads that the cleaning service ran stated that the company had a patented system that would remove all unpleasant odors from flooded structures and leave a clean smell.Its sales reps who contacted owners of apartment complexes and shopping centers promised that the crews could come into an average size of apartment complex and have it looking and smelling like new in two weeks.Several people who rent apartments in the complexes that the service cleaned have commented unfavorably on the sweet smelling air freshener the company used to mask the smell and noted the moldy odor was still perceptible.Also,the time required to clean a complex was more like four weeks instead of the two as promised.Which provider gap does this example describe? List various strategies that can be used to narrow and possibly eliminate this provider gap.

Service companies can close provider gap 2 by doing all of the following EXCEPT:

19.Frequent travelers on airlines know one of the costs of traveling is damaged baggage,but they also know that each airline will either repair or replace any luggage damaged by its baggage handlers.The ability to count on this service in the event a handle is torn off or the side of a bag is gashed helps the airlines narrow provider _____ of the gaps model of service quality.

The sources of customer expectations are market-controlled factors such as: