Deck 8: Designing Quality Services

Question 1

The outputs of service are homogeneous, which means that no two services are exactly the same.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The participation of a customer in the delivery of a service product is called ________.

A) customer interaction
B) customer coproduction
C) customer conformity
D) customer proactivity
E) customer compliance

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The heterogeneous nature of services means that ________.

A) no two services are exactly the same
B) they cannot be inventoried
C) customers cannot be involved in the production of the service
D) production and consumption of services occur simultaneously
E) they cannot be carried in stock over long periods of time

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Services that individuals do not choose to engage are referred to as ________ services.

A) internal
B) voluntary
C) intangible
D) involuntary
E) external

Question 5

________ services are those whose customers pay the bills.

A) External
B) Tangible
C) Internal
D) Discrete
E) Intangible

Question 6

Intangible service attributes cannot be inventoried or carried in stock over long periods of time.

Question 7

Customers can exert control over the service provider and achieve customization.

Question 8

In many restaurants, it is common for customers to fill their own drinks. This activity is an example of ________.

A) customer compliance
B) customer interaction
C) customer coproduction
D) customer proactivity
E) customer conformity

Question 9

Which of the following is an example of a voluntary service?

A) police department
B) hospital
C) gas station
D) the IRS
E) fire department

Question 10

________ services generally include services such as data processing, printing, and mail.

A) Tangible
B) External
C) Internal
D) Intangible
E) Discrete

Question 11

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Tangible service attributes cannot be inventoried or carried in stock over long periods of time.
B) The homogeneous nature of services means that no two services are exactly the same.
C) Production and consumption of services often occur simultaneously.
D) Customers cannot exert control over the service provider to achieve customization.
E) Customers tend to be more involved in the production of goods than in the production of services.

Question 12

Customers tend to be more involved in the production of goods than in the production of services.

Question 13

Services that we actively seek out and employ of our own accord are referred to as ________ services.

A) voluntary
B) internal
C) external
D) intangible
E) involuntary

Question 14

The production and consumption of services often occur simultaneously.

Question 15

Internal services are those whose customers pay the bills.

Question 16

Which of the following statements is true?

A) It is easy to obtain hard data relating to services because services' attributes are intangible.
B) Simultaneous production and consumption of services means that you have to do it right the first time.
C) Customer contact leads to a decrease in variability in the process.
D) Service liability issues center around safety concerns.
E) Manufacturing liability issues often relate to malpractice.

Question 17

________ refers to the professionalism of the service provider and whether reasonable measures were taken to ensure the customer's well-being.

A) Malpractice
B) Negligence
C) Indifference
D) Mismanagement
E) Empathy

Question 18

________ service attributes cannot be inventoried or carried in stock over long periods of time.

A) Continuous
B) Objective
C) Tangible
D) Discrete
E) Intangible

Question 19

The phenomenon of customers providing themselves, their belongings, and information as process inputs is known as ________.

A) the reinvention process
B) services blueprinting
C) the Unreliable Supplier Dilemma
D) the capricious labor theory
E) service transaction analysis

Question 20

Data processing, printing, and mail are examples of external services.

Question 21

Measurable dimensions, such as height and weight, are often unavailable in services.

Question 22

How are the product liability issues in services different from those in manufacturing?

Question 23

Internal and external services are similar in that competitive pressures can result in the possible loss of customers.

Question 24

Customer contact leads to a decrease in variability in the process.

Question 25

Managers who are focused on details and are highly organized with better equipped firms exemplify which of the following attributes of leader service?

A) high standards
B) a service vision
C) a laissez-faire leadership style
D) responsiveness
E) an in-the-field leadership style

Question 26

Voluntary services are services that we actively seek out and employ of our own accord.

Question 27

For both manufacturing and service firms, the customer is the core of the business.

Question 28

Differentiate between internal services and external services and explain the role of outsourcing in the provision of internal services.

Question 29

Differentiate between voluntary and involuntary services with examples.

Question 30

Managers who view service quality as a force of underlying profitability and business success possess ________.

A) high standards
B) a service vision
C) a laissez-faire leadership style
D) responsiveness
E) an in-the-field leadership style

Question 31

Which of the following is not a quality dimension relating to services?

A) empathy
B) assurance
C) durability
D) tangibles
E) responsiveness

Question 32

What are the three major realities in service that affect the approaches in quality adopted by service providers?

Question 33

Simultaneous production and consumption of services means that you have to do it right the first time.

Question 34

Capricious labor occurs because many services customers provide themselves as labor inputs into the production process.

Question 35

Define the term customer coproduction. Provide an example and describe the implications it has for service providers.

Question 36

The Unreliable Supplier Dilemma occurs because service companies receive most of their supplies from other service companies.

Question 37

A hospital is an example of a voluntary service.

Question 38

In services liability issues center around safety concerns, whereas in manufacturing liability issues relate to malpractice.

Question 39

A gas station is an example of an involuntary service.

Question 40

Service supply chains are bidirectional, which means that service customers actually provide inputs to the supply chain.

Question 41

According to Parasuraman, Zeithamel, and Berry, what are the key attributes of services leaders?

Question 42

When a retailer incorrectly feels that the majority of his customers are men shopping for tools when in fact most customers are women shopping for linens, they are experiencing gap 3.

Question 43

The greater potential for increasing customer satisfaction lies in addressing tangibles first.

Question 44

Leaders with service vision view service quality as the force underlying profitability and business success.

Question 45

The SERVQUAL instrument is useful for performing gap analysis.

Question 46

________ shows the difference between service delivery and service quality specifications.

A) Gap 1
B) Gap 2
C) Gap 3
D) Gap 4
E) Gap 5

Question 47

A university administered the SERVQUAL survey to its customers as a way to assess its current position in the market. On the basis of 80 responses, the following averages were computed for the tangibles construct. What is the difference for the tangibles dimension?

A) -1.50
B) -0.575
C) 1.50
D) 0.575
E) not enough data to determine the answer

Question 48

________ shows the difference between actual customer expectations and management's idea or perception of customer expectations.

A) Gap 1
B) Gap 2
C) Gap 3
D) Gap 4
E) Gap 5

Question 49

Managers who stop by and visit their service locations demonstrate ________.

A) high standards
B) a service vision
C) a laissez-faire leadership style
D) assurance
E) an in-the-field leadership style

Question 50

A university administered the SERVQUAL survey to its customers as a way to assess its current position in the market. On the basis of 80 responses, the following averages were computed for the reliability construct. What is the difference for the reliability dimension?

A) -0.2
B) -0.025
C) 0.025
D) 0.2
E) not enough data to determine the answer

Question 51

Gap 4 shows the difference between ________.

A) service delivery and external communications to customers
B) management perceptions of customer expectations and expected service
C) service delivery and service quality specifications
D) expected service and perceived service
E) service quality specifications and management perceptions of customer expectations

Question 52

The two parts of the SERVQUAL survey are ________.

A) customer expectations and customer perceptions
B) service quality and product quality
C) product integrity and customer service
D) services liability and manufacturing liability
E) service vision and high standards

Question 53

The SERVQUAL tool for assessing services quality was developed by ________.

A) Hammer and Champy
B) Juran, Deming, and Shewhart
C) Ishikawa and Taguchi
D) Feigenbaum, Crosby, and Peters
E) Parasuraman, Zeithamel, and Berry

Question 54

W. Edwards Deming developed the SERVQUAL survey for assessing services quality.

Question 55

The two parts of a SERVQUAL survey are services liability and manufacturing liability.

Question 56

________ shows the difference between expected service and perceived service.

A) Gap 1
B) Gap 2
C) Gap 3
D) Gap 4
E) Gap 5

Question 57

Which of the following is not one of the advantages of the SERVQUAL instrument?

A) It has been shown to be valid for a number of service situations.
B) It has been accepted as a standard.
C) It has a standardized analysis procedure.
D) It is more widely used that statistical quality control.
E) It can be filled out quickly by customers and employees.

Question 58

The SERVQUAL instrument is accepted as a standard for assessing different dimensions of services quality.

Question 59

Responsiveness, assurance, and intangibles are three of the dimensions of service quality.

Question 60

Gap 2 shows the difference between ________.

A) service delivery and external communications to customers
B) management perceptions of customer expectations and expected service
C) service delivery and service quality specifications
D) expected service and perceived service
E) service quality specifications and management perceptions of customer expectations

Question 61

What is the first step in the development of a service blueprint?

A) Identify processes.
B) Isolate fail points.
C) Establish a time frame.
D) Eliminate highest risks.
E) Analyze profits.

Question 62

The idea behind fail-safing is to ensure that ________.

A) certain errors will never occur
B) customer expectations are met
C) the highest risks are eliminated
D) forward planning takes place
E) the importance of quality is not neglected

Question 63

State the advantages of the SERVQUAL instrument.

Question 64

Which of the following best defines the front office in a service blueprint?

A) the portion of the firm's activities that the customer can see
B) the area in the firm where the majority of the work is done
C) the portion of the firm's activities that the customer cannot see but is necessary to perform
D) the area in the firm where the majority of the profitability is generated
E) the area in the firm where the employees plan quality initiatives

Question 65

Which of the following is one of the classifications of fail-safe devices?

A) emotional contact methods
B) visual contact methods
C) task awareness methods
D) intangible methods
E) error notification methods

Question 66

After a customer sits down in a restaurant, the server coming to the table to take the customer's order is an example of a ________.

A) service transaction analysis
B) moment of truth
C) poka-yoke
D) customer perception
E) gap analysis

Question 67

The first step in the development of a services blueprint is to isolate fail points.

Question 68

Explain the different gaps in communication that arise due to intangible services.

Question 69

The "three Ts" of fail-safe methods are ________.

A) transactions, task, and tangibles
B) tangibles, theories, and transactions
C) task, transactions, and treatment
D) task, treatment, and tangibles
E) task, theories, and transactions

Question 70

Services process blueprinting places the focus on front-office activities.

Question 71

A services blueprint is a flowchart that isolates potential fail points in a process.

Question 72

Which of the following best defines the back office in a service blueprint?

A) the area in the firm where the majority of the work is done
B) the portion of the firm's activities that the customer cannot see but are necessary to perform
C) the portion of the firm's activities that the customer can see
D) the area in the firm where the majority of the profitability is generated
E) the area in the firm where the employees plan quality initiatives

Question 73

In a services blueprint, the area above the line of visibility is referred to as the back office.

Question 74

Gap 4 is the difference between expected and perceived services.

Question 75

The fail points in the service blueprint are often referred to as ________.

A) defining events
B) turning points
C) poka-yokes
D) moments of truth
E) tangibles

Question 76

________ should be kept on every process in a service and available on a computer network for all to view.

A) Service blueprints
B) STA sheets
C) CBPs
D) SERVQUALs
E) Gap analyses

Question 77

Gap 3 is the difference between service delivery and service quality specifications.

Question 78

Gap 1 shows that there can be a difference between actual customer expectations and management's idea or perception of customer expectations.

Question 79

A ________ is a flowchart that isolates potential fail points in a process.

A) services statement
B) services draft
C) services plan
D) services blueprint
E) services data table

Question 80

What is services blueprinting?