Deck 10: Customer-Defined Service Standards

Question 1

A land surveyor will come out to your home, survey your property and draw you a plat showing you the shape of your land and how it looks in relation to land around it. The work is routine unless the deed for the property is over one hundred years old. One of the ways a surveyor determines what land belongs to you is by using old deeds. This becomes a complicated practice when the deed says "west from live oak tree" and "northeast 30 feet from Gray family cemetery". Often these landmarks, which were there 100 years ago, are long gone and no one remembers where exactly they were. Surveyors may differ by a couple of feet in their determination of where these landmarks used to be. This is an example of the difficulty involved in:

A) Relying on the tangibles dimension of services
B) Integrating service functions
C) Standardizing services
D) Changing customers' perceptions
E) Modifying customers' expectations

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Delta Airlines was dissatisfied with customer reactions to its attempt to offer passengers their choice of cold deli sandwiches instead of the more traditional airplane meal. Its intent was to provide passengers with better food. Passengers saw the move as another way Delta was trying to skimp on service and save money. When trying to deliver service quality, Delta forgot to:

A) Consider customer requirements
B) Create a service blueprint
C) Offer relevant employee training
D) Consider the services marketing triangle
E) Estimate production/quality tradeoffs

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Standardization of services occurs through:

A) Substitution of technology for personal contact and human effort
B) Organizational flattening
C) Employee encroachment
D) Division of labor and specialization
E) Autonomous management

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The first step in delivering high service quality is:

A) Hiring the right people
B) Understanding customer requirements
C) Innovation
D) A service blueprint
E) Employee training

Question 5

Service companies experience difficulty in setting standards to match or exceed customer expectations because of a lack of:

A) Simultaneous organization and presentation
B) Vertical communication
C) Employee partnering
D) Functional integration
E) Operational benchmarking

Question 6

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 uses a _____ customer-defined standard.

A) Reactive
B) Proactive
C) Informal
D) Hard
E) Soft

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT a technology substitution for personal contact and human effort?

A) On-line services
B) Restaurant salad bar
C) Voice mail
D) Automatic teller machines
E) Automatic car wash

Question 8

Canadian Airline did market research to determine the expectations of business travelers-its target market. It learned business travelers don't view air travel as a simple product any more but as a sequential process with a series of customer service interactions which to them seemed at times arbitrary. A traveler could not estimate how much time it would take to make reservations, to check-in, to board or any of the other interactions-the time spent on these activities was typically directly related to the experience and training of the airline's employees. Canadian Airline could provide better service to its highest-yield customers if it could:

A) Change customers' perceptions of flying
B) Integrate all service functions
C) Standardize its services
D) Rely more on the tangible dimensions of service
E) Modify customers' expectations

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT a technology substitution for personal contact and human effort?

A) On-line services
B) Restaurant salad bar
C) Voice mail
D) Automatic teller machines
E) Automatic car wash

Question 10

Progressive Insurance looked at insurance from the customers' viewpoint and saw how difficult it was to get an auto claim processed and paid by insurance companies. Then the company crafted its service strategy around solving that problem. The company has fleets of claim adjustors on the road every day, ready to rush to the scene of an accident in their territory and provide fast claims processing-sometimes on the spot. Progressive Insurance relies on _____ defined service standards.

A) Company-defined
B) Competitor-focused
C) Customer-defined
D) Cost-focused
E) Service provider-defined

Question 11

What is wrong with the following service goal posted in a restaurant: "Do not keep customers waiting too long to be served"?

A) It is too formal
B) It is not actionable
C) It is not specific enough
D) It does not reflect the goal of the restaurant, which is to provide service quality
E) It is not responsive to customer needs

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT an example of a hard customer-defined service standard?

A) On-time delivery
B) 36-hour response time
C) Number of missed pickups
D) Orders entered the same day they are received
E) Understand the customer's question or request

Question 13

One of the customer-defined standards at Delta Airlines is "the number of pieces of luggage damaged per day". "The number of pieces of luggage damaged per day" is a _____ customer-defined service standard.

A) Formal
B) Hard
C) Informal
D) Measurable
E) Soft

Question 14

The _____ customer-defined standards are opinion-based measures and cannot be directly observed.

A) Responsive
B) Intangible
C) Informal
D) Measurable
E) Soft

Question 15

New management of the Falcons football team surveyed former season ticket holder to determine why they were no longer attending the games. As a result, it set "Clean and well-stocked restrooms" as one of its _____ customer-defined standards.

A) Responsive
B) Hard
C) Informal
D) Measurable
E) Soft

Question 16

One of Florida Power & Light's customer-defined standards is "Do not put customers on hold or transfer them". "Do not put customers on hold or transfer them" is a _____ customer-defined standard.

A) Responsive
B) Intangible
C) Informal
D) Measurable
E) Soft

Question 17

Which of the following statements about service standardization and employee empowerment is true?

A) For every service standardized, some degree of employee empowerment is always eliminated
B) Any service standardization makes employee empowerment impossible
C) Service standardization is not necessary when the organization empowers its employees
D) The use of service standardization is compatible with employee empowerment
E) There is no overlapping relationship between service standardization and employee empowerment

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT a soft customer-defined standard?

A) Uniforms are to be immaculate
B) Avoid other tasks while on the telephone with customers
C) Orders delivered when promised
D) Thank the customer at the end of the call
E) Listen to customers attentively

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT an example of an effective formal service goal?

A) Deliver products quickly
B) Call the customer back within 2 hours
C) Replace lost credit cards within 48 hours 98 percent of the time
D) Answer phones within 3 rings
E) Connect new cable service on the date promised

Question 20

Things that can be counted, timed or observed through audits are _____ customer-defined service standards.

A) Formal
B) Hard
C) Informal
D) Qualitative
E) Responsive

Question 21

Nike's introduction of women-only boutiques called Nike Goddess to satisfy the needs of a growing number of women athletes is an example of a(n):

A) Compliant standard
B) Concrete substitution
C) Internal anchor
D) One-time fix
E) Quick solution

Question 22

New owners of the Atlanta Falcons wanted to increase attendance by giving customers want they wanted. After determining that family-oriented halftime shows was an important consideration for a large portion of its target market, the Falcons researched specific ideas such as fireworks displays, a battle of the bands featuring local high school bands, drawings for prizes and musical concerts. The additional research would have been done during which step of the developing customer-defined standards?

A) Developing feedback mechanisms for measurement of standards
B) Identifying existing or desired service encounter sequences
C) Establishing measures and target levels for standards
D) Deciding whether hard or soft standards are appropriate
E) Translating customer expectations into behaviors and actions for each service

Question 23

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 is using:

A) Complaint solicitation
B) Lost customer research
C) Trailer calls
D) Customer panels
E) Critical incident studies

Question 24

Which of the following measurement research methods can document customers' opinions about whether performance met the standards established?

A) Structured brainstorming
B) Relationship surveys
C) Customer panels
D) In-depth interviews
E) Critical incident studies

Question 25

The Boston Symphony Orchestra wanted to determine why its number of season ticket holders was declining. It asked patrons not only about the concerts themselves but also about each step in the purchasing process. As a result of customer input, it greatly simplified its online ticket sales site and season ticket sales have increased. Customers' request for a simplified web site where tickets could be easily purchased is an example of a(n) _____ that is relevant to customer-defined standards.

A) Attribute
B) Behavior and action
C) General concept
D) Measure
E) Value dimension

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT an example of a hard measurement?

A) Number of times a service guarantee is invoked
B) Length of time spent on service calls
C) Satisfaction with reservation process
D) Length of time it takes to resolve complaints
E) Percentage of packages delivered after the promised date

Question 27

New owners of the Atlanta Falcons football team were concerned about declining attendance figures. As a result, Falcons staff set up kiosks at arena exits and asked attendees what would make the gameday experience more fun. The management was gathering _____ measurements.

A) Tangible
B) Basic
C) Formal
D) Soft
E) Informal

Question 28

The first step in the process of developing customer-defined standards is to:

A) Develop feedback mechanisms for measurement of standards
B) Establish measures and target levels for standards
C) Identify existing or desired service encounter sequence
D) Decide whether hard or soft standards are appropriate
E) Translate customer expectations into behaviors and actions for each service

Question 29

Which of the following is an example of a behavior and action that defines the performance expected by customers?

A) Cost estimate is price customer pays
B) Fixes the product right the first time
C) Delivers the product on the promised date
D) Greets customers within 5 minutes of entering the store
E) All of the above

Question 30

When students at Fairleigh Dickinson University complete a student evaluation of faculty questionnaire at the end of a semester, one of the items they are asked to evaluate on a five-point scale is, "The instructor presented the material clearly and summarized major points". This statement evaluation is a _____ measurement.

A) Tangible
B) Basic
C) Formal
D) Soft
E) Informal

Question 31

First National Bank of Chicago tracks 650 service quality measures relating to timely, accurate and responsive service. The measures include speed of telephone answering, number of abandoned calls, turnaround time on inquiries and the speed at which the bank transfers securities. The measures used by First Bank of Chicago are _____ measurements.

A) Hard
B) Basic
C) Formal
D) Tangible
E) Informal

Question 32

American Airlines conducts ongoing in-flight surveys to assess passengers' perceptions of the ticket buying process, gate agents, flight attendants, food and beverage service, condition/comfort of airplanes and adherence to departure/arrival schedules. American Airline's research provides feedback on _____ measurements.

A) Hard
B) Basic
C) Formal
D) Soft
E) Informal

Question 33

Which of the following research methods provides feedback on soft measures?

A) Complaint solicitation
B) Lost customer research
C) Trailer calls
D) Customer panels
E) Critical incident studies

Question 34

pay less than the full amount, but more than the minimum. Customers can choose a plan to best meet their budget. The customer requirement for a flexible payment plan is an example of a(n) _____ that is relevant to customer-defined standards.

A) Attribute
B) Behavior and action
C) General concept
D) Measure
E) Value dimension

Question 35

Canadian Airline did market research to determine the expectations of business travelers-its target market. It learned business travelers don't view air travel as a simple product but as a inconsistently performed sequential process that includes making reservations, checking-in, waiting, boarding, in-flight time and baggage pick-up. Canadian Airline diagnosed that a problem existed with its:

A) Service encounter sequence
B) Internal performance requirement
C) Diagnostic capabilities
D) Overall service quality perception
E) Service dimension gap

Question 36

Parisian, a specialty department store chain in the southeastern U.S., instituted a policy change allowing sales associates to accept personal checks up to $5000 without department manager approval. Before this policy change, sales associates could not accept checks over $250 without approval. Parisian's new check approval policy is an example of a(n):

A) Compliant standard
B) Concrete substitution
C) Internal anchor
D) One-time fix
E) Quick solution

Question 37

New owners of the Atlanta Falcons wanted to increase attendance by giving customers want they wanted, such as an online site to purchase tickets, clean restrooms, more opportunities to interact with the players and family-oriented halftime shows. The first step to developing these customer-defined standards was to:

A) Translate customer requirements into hard measures
B) Create an action program that contained every possible service encounter
C) Identify the current service encounter sequence
D) Develop continual feedback mechanisms
E) Brainstorm

Question 38

A vacuum cleaner repair shop that called recent customers to ask if the people who waited on them were friendly and courteous, if the cleaner had been clean when it was returned to them and if they had any trouble finding the new store is collecting feedback on _____ measurements.

A) Hard
B) Basic
C) Formal
D) Soft
E) Informal

Question 39

When a local Taco Bell extended its operating hours on Friday and Saturday nights to 24-hour service to satisfy its college market, it was instituting a(n):

A) Compliant standard
B) Concrete substitution
C) Internal anchor
D) One-time fix
E) Quick solution

Question 40

After determining that responsiveness was a major concern of customers, American Express conducted additional research to establish the exact number of days customers defined as responsive for the various company processes (e.g., 2 days for reissuing lost cards and 15 days for deciding on an application). By conducting additional research, American Express was addressing which of the following steps in the process for developing customer-defined standards?

A) Developing feedback mechanisms for measurement of standards
B) Identifying existing or desired service encounter sequences
C) Establishing measures and target levels for standards
D) Deciding whether hard or soft standards are appropriate
E) Translating customer expectations into behaviors and actions for each service

Question 41

The final step in the process for developing customer-defined standards is to:

A) Provide feedback about performance to employees
B) Periodically update target levels and measures
C) Track measures against standards
D) Provide feedback about performance to customers
E) Establish measures and target levels

Question 42

An importance/performance matrix is used to:

A) Translate customer expectations into behaviors and actions for each service
B) Track measures against standards
C) Select behaviors and actions for standards
D) Establish measures and target levels for standards
E) Identify existing or desired service encounter sequences

Question 43

The two types of measures used to document customers' opinions about whether service performance met the standards established are benchmarking and critical incident surveys.

Question 44

Companies that have been successful in delivering consistently high service quality do not have formal standards to guide employees.

Question 45

After determining that reliability was a major concern for its customers, a pest control company translated customer expectations into behaviors and actions for its monthly sprayings of homes and businesses. Having accomplished that, the pest control company needs next to:

A) Prioritize the behaviors and actions for which customer-defined standards will be set
B) Develop feedback mechanisms for measurement of standards
C) Decide whether hard or soft standards are appropriate
D) Establish measures and target levels for standards
E) Track behaviors and actions against existing standards

Question 46

A medical clinic conducted a research study to determine the standard for patients' wait times in the reception area by having the patients note the time when they arrived on a sign-in sheet. As each patient went back to the examining room, the office manager noted the time on another sheet and then asked the patient five questions about his or her perceptions of the wait. The medical clinic conducted a _____ study to establish measures and target levels for wait time standards.

A) Critical incident benchmarking
B) Event-triggered requirements
C) Hypothetical satisfaction-performance
D) Participant observation tracking
E) Simple perception-action correlation

Question 47

Federal Express distributes a weekly Service Quality Indicator report showing performance to goals on 12 different items. Upon receipt of the report, managers and contact personnel investigate root causes of service failures. By distributing a weekly Service Quality Indicator report and investigating service failures, Federal Express is addressing which of the following steps in the process for developing customer-defined standards?

A) Translating customer expectations into behaviors and actions for each service
B) Tracking measures against standards
C) Electing behaviors and actions for standards
D) Establishing measures and target levels for standards
E) Deciding whether hard or sod measures are appropriate

Question 48

Which of the following statements is a criterion for selecting behaviors and actions for customer-defined service standards?

A) Customer-defined standards should be based on behaviors and actions that are very important to customers
B) Customer-defined standards should be challenging even if that means they are unrealistic
C) Customer-defined standards should be reactive rather than predictive
D) Customer-defined standards should be established for behaviors and actions that at the present time cannot be improved
E) All of the above are criteria for selecting behaviors and actions for customer-defined service standards

Question 49

Which of the following statements does NOT describe a criterion for selecting behaviors and actions for customer-defined service standards?

A) Customer-defined standards should be based on behaviors and actions that are very important to customers
B) Customer-defined standards should be established for behaviors and actions that need to be improved or maintained
C) Customer-defined standards should be accepted by employees
D) Customer-defined standards should be reactive rather than predictive
E) Customer-defined standards should be challenging, but realistic

Question 50

A pharmacy that installs a computer system that automatically checks to see if a new prescription is compatible with other medication a customer is currently taking has used a one-time fix.

Question 51

Seeing a service standard in broad conceptual terms is ineffective because the standard is difficult to interpret, measure and achieve.

Question 52

A customer's overall service quality evaluation is the accumulation of evaluations of multiple service experiences.

Question 53

High quality service is not the result of standardized tasks because standardization is inconsistent with employee empowerment.

Question 54

American Express's "Service Tracking Report" systematically measures both customer satisfaction and employee performance worldwide. Compiled on a monthly basis, the document uses statistics to measure the performance of business units throughout the world against more than 100 service quality factors related to their customers' three major service dimensions-responsiveness, timeliness and accuracy. American Express's "Service Tracking Report" is a(n):

A) Service performance index
B) Quality improvement measure
C) Total quality management assessment
D) Customer service indicator
E) Internal-external service control benchmark

Question 55

When customers complained employees at Safeway Stores were unfriendly, Safeway instituted its Superior Service program, which required all employees to greet and make eye contact with every customer, always smile and offer help whenever the customer appeared to need any. Employees were counseled, sent to training courses and terminated if they failed to follow these instructions. What mistake did Safeway make when it instituted this program?

A) It did not want to use audits or operating data to see how well the new program was being implemented
B) It chose a hard standard without seeing if a soft standard would be more appropriate
C) It selected behavior/actions for service standards instead of attributes
D) It did not establish a means of measuring performance against standards
E) It chose a soft standard without seeing if a hard standard was more appropriate

Question 56

"Decreasing the number of complaints" is an effective customer-defined service standard.

Question 57

Virtually all companies possess standards and measures that are company-defined.

Question 58

"Answering questions promptly" would be an example of a hard customer-defined standard.

Question 59

When customers complained employees at Safeway Stores were unfriendly, Safeway instituted its Superior Service program, which required all employees to greet and make eye contact with every customer, always smile and offer help whenever the customer appeared to need any. Mystery shoppers were used extensively to make sure the employees were adhering to the program. In terms of the process for developing service standards, the mystery shoppers were an example of:

A) Benchmarking
B) Trailer surveys
C) Relationship research
D) Feedback mechanisms
E) Experiential research

Question 60

"Having more room in your airplane seat" would be an example of a soft customer-defined standard.

Question 61

Once a service provider has translated customer expectations into behaviors and actions, it must select those behaviors and actions that will be used to create employee standards. What are the six most important criteria for the creation of those standards?

Question 62

What is the final step in the process for setting customer-defined standards?

Question 63

Two major types of formal customer-defined service standards can be distinguished. What kind of a customer-defined standard is the following: "Maintain a neat and tidy appearance"?

Question 64

One of the most important goals of a service performance index is to simply and clearly communicate business performance in operational and perceptual terms.

Question 65

One of the steps in the process for developing customer-defined standards is to provide feedback about performance to employees.

Question 66

What does it mean when a company says its standards are predictive rather than reactive?

Question 67

The Bank of Charleston uses a Performance Measurement Program that links its most important customer-defined standards to tangible and measurable aspects of service provision and uses the feedback provided by this program to locate and improve service problems. What term should be used to describe the bank's Performance Measurement Program?

Question 68

What are service performance indexes, how are they created and how do companies use these indexes?

Question 69

What are the two types of soft measurements used to measure customers' opinions about whether service performance met standards?

Question 70

Two major types of formal customer-defined service standards can be distinguished. What kind of a customer-defined standard is the following: "Leave no customer on hold for longer than five minutes"?

Question 71

When a hair salon introduced a database system for keeping up with information on clients' hair, such as hair color and timing of permanents, it is one way of addressing customer requirements. What name applies to this method of changing services to better meet customer needs?

Question 72

Research has indicated service providers need to focus on the "back end" of the service encounter sequence. What does this mean for an airline?

Question 73

What is the first step in developing customer-defined standards?

Question 74

What is the second step in the process for setting customer-defined standards?

Question 75

Customer-defined standards should be established based on customer complaints and other forms of reactive feedback.

Question 76

Imagine you are the manager of an electrical contracting company that does repair work, remodeling and new construction for homeowners. You understand that you need to set customer-defined standards in order to close the gap between customer expectations and what your company is now delivering. List and define the two major types of customer-defined standards and give three examples of each.

Question 77

The first step in the process for setting customer-defined standards is to translate customer expectations into behaviors and actions for each service encounter.

Question 78

In which of the steps in the process for setting customer-defined standards would a company use an importance/performance matrix?