Exam 13: Services: the Intangible Product

Jackson manages an upscale French restaurant in the Washington,DC,area.His restaurant offers a few specials each evening in addition to its regular menu.Jackson has trained his servers to report comments and requests for items that have previously been offered only as specials.Jackson uses this information to reduce the __________ gap in services marketing.

When managers understand what their service providers are facing on a day-to-day basis by directly observing them and talking to customers,it is called "management by walking around."

A delivery gap always results in a service failure.

Many product-dominant firms use quality service

__________ represents the systems and equipment resources that service providers need to be able to close the delivery gap.

Debbie spoke to the customer service representative at Sprint and was told her text messages would be unlimited on her plan.However,when she got her bill,she had been charged extra for text messages.She called the company back and was told that since she didn't record the conversation,they couldn't verify what she was told and she'd have to pay the bill.Explain which service gap(s)occurred in this instance.

Explain the concepts of emotional support and instrumental support.When are they important?

When there is a significant difference between the service customers receive and the service the firm promotes,the firm has a _______ gap.

Marketers can take advantage of the variable nature of services by

The distinct dimensions of service quality are reliability,responsiveness,assurance,empathy,and tangibles.

Firms that primarily sell products view service as a method to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage.

Because services like airline flights and hotel beds are _________,many marketers attempt to match demand with supply using pricing strategies.

Along the service-product continuum,which of the following would be considered the most product dominant?

After observing a customer verbally abuse a server,the first thing a manager can do to ensure quality service is to

Saltdust Grill is known as the premier restaurant in town.With its elegant dining area,extensive wine list,and gourmet chef,residents and tourists flock to the restaurant.Recently,Trey took a large group to the Saltdust Grill and almost every diner sent their entrée back to the kitchen.The Saltdust Grill was experiencing a(n)__________ gap in service quality.

How do airlines and hotels overcome the perishability of their services?

Food preparation,lawn maintenance,and house cleaning services are all examples of

The old restaurant saying "You are only as good as the last meal served" reflects the fact that services are

Kayla is the new manager of a resort hotel.She knows from reviewing customer complaints that service quality at the hotel is not consistently meeting customers' expectations,and she believes that the biggest problem is that her employees are not sure what is expected of them.To improve service quality,Kayla will

All products and services are intangible.