Exam 13: Services: the Intangible Product

When Dr. Horton checked in at the Ritz-Carlton, it was 3 a.m. He had been traveling for over 12 hours and was exhausted. His suit, which he needed for a speech that morning, looked like he had slept in it. Karen, the night clerk, offered to find a 24-hour dry cleaner and have the suit cleaned while Dr. Horton got a few hours of sleep. Karen's actions are an example of

A ________ gap reflects the difference between customers' expectations and the firm's perception of those customer expectations.

Which service gap is the Ritz-Carlton Hotel trying to address when it takes time and spends up to $1,700 to train a new employee?

By providing good customer service, firms ________ their products.

When Jaime arrived at her hotel room and saw that the bed sheets had not been changed from the last hotel guest and there were cockroaches in the bathroom, she chose to go elsewhere. An undone, bug-infested room was not in Jaime's ________, which is the difference between what she really wants and what she will accept before looking for another hotel.

The Service Gaps Model is designed to highlight those areas where

Effective service recovery efforts can lead to all of the following except

Sean relocated to take a new job. He immediately got sick and went to a doctor close to where he lived. During his exam, the doctor was impatient and demonstrated a poor bedside manner. Sean wished that he could have requested a different doctor in that moment, but it was too late. Sean's experience exemplifies which key difference in services?

Dopson's Hardware was in bad financial shape. It owed so much money that vendors put the store on a cash-only delivery basis. As a result, the store had a dwindling inventory of goods to sell. The owner directed the sales staff to tell any customer asking about an unavailable item that it was on backorder and would be in stock the following week. When customers returned a week later as instructed, the item would still be unavailable. The owner's policy created a(n) ________ gap.

Sam was called in to meet with his boss, Tricia. He was afraid he was going to be fired for the mistake he had made dealing with an important customer of the store. Instead, Tricia explained that he had handled the situation well, listening to the customer and finding a fair solution. Tricia told him that, even more important, working the way he did to correct the error could result in

Empowerment of employees helps address the delivery gap because

Because services are ________, it is often difficult for marketers to convey the benefits to consumers.

When travelers are bumped from overbooked flights, they are frequently offered vouchers good for future travel. The dollar value of the voucher is the airline's estimate of

A systematic ________ program collects customer inputs and integrates them into managerial decisions.

Latosha was employee of the month at Jersey Mike's Subs, primarily because she provided excellent customer service by serving food quickly. This relates to the reliability service dimension.

Effective service recovery entails all of the following except

Hilton Hotels trains its front desk employees to dress neatly and conservatively to project a professional image. This relates to the service dimension of tangibles.

How do airlines and movie theaters overcome the perishability of their services?

Why is it important for marketers to pay special attention to providing excellent customer service?

Most retail stores in the United States do 60 percent or more of their business in the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. What can these stores do to get sales staff to provide "service with a smile" during this stressful part of the year?