Exam 10: Services: The Intangible Product

Service providers should avoid failure as service recovery won't impact customer satisfaction much.

What is service quality? Describe the five distinct dimensions that customers use to determine the overall quality of a service.Provide one example for each dimension.

The inconsistent nature of services can be used by marketers to their advantage.

Brenda, a manager at a hotel, is trying to solve a complaint from one of the customers who is made to wait for a long time to check into his room.How can Brenda find a fair solution to this service failure?

The knowledge gap pertains to the difference between a firm's perceptions of customers' expectations and the service standards it sets.

The appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials is summarized by the service dimension called:

The hotel scored high on the responsiveness dimension, indicating that the customers are happy with the:

A beach resort has state-of-the-art barbeque equipment and an experienced cook to serve grilled food to customers.However, many customers feel that the grilled food does not always taste the same, even though the cook uses the same technique.Which of the following service characteristics is best demonstrated in this scenario?

The University of Westry has a very traditional campus with an old-world look and feel.The dormitory rooms are large, but the bathrooms look a little old.Which of the following service quality dimensions does this reflect?

Jennifer, who works as a dietician at a gym, checks with customers regarding their food habits and preferences before planning a specific diet chart for them.This specific understanding of the customers' expectations will help her in reducing primarily the:

The zone of tolerance is an important marketing metric used to evaluate the performance of firms on the five service quality dimensions.

When service providers state that services are produced and consumed at the same time, they are referring to the fact that services are:

Carsonrent, a local car rental company, provides kiosks and online tracking of customers' car rental details.Using this system, customers are able to extend their rental period and drop off cars during non-office hours, providing them with flexibility that other rental companies do not provide.Carsonrent is trying to close the delivery gap by:

The managers of firms will increase the delivery gap by providing incentives to service providers.

The service dimension that refers to the willingness of service providers to help customers and provide prompt service is:

Alice is a manager at a grocery retail store.One of the customers who placed an order for groceries at the store received low-quality products.What strategies can Alice use to recover this service failure?

Explain the four characteristics of services that differentiate them from products.How do marketers deal with the challenges resulting from these characteristics? Provide one example for each characteristics.

Responsiveness refers to the caring and individualized attention provided to customers.

Empty seats in airlines and empty rooms in hotels might be sold for a fraction of the original price.This is due to which service characteristic?

How do service providers reduce service inconsistency? Provide one example to support your answer.