Deck 8: Involving the Guest: the Co-Creation of Value

Question 1

Co-production leads to a decrease in training costs for an organization.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Guests have less contact with service personnel than the organization's own supervisors do.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Quick-serve restaurants tend to permit more co-production of the guest experience than fine-dining restaurants.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

An organization changing from full-service to co-production would probably have to make changes in its delivery system.

Question 5

One example of co-production is when a guest provides feedback on a review site such as Yelp or TripAdvisor.

Question 6

Most guests are willing to give feedback to servers about the quality of the service being provided.

Question 7

Some guests resent having to co-produce any part of the experience for which they are paying.

Question 8

Allowing hotel guests to make restaurant reservations by touch-screen television is an example of co-production.

Question 9

Tipping is an example of how guests can motivate employee behavior.

Question 10

When guests serve themselves, they are usually helping the organization save on its labor costs.

Question 11

Guests can be allowed or encouraged to co-produce their own experiences if they have the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Question 12

Hospitality organizations can rely on highly paid, experienced, and well-trained sales representatives to represent the company.

Question 13

If guests co-produce their own experiences, they take more ownership of service failures.

Question 14

An important step in managing guests as quasi-employees is to carefully and completely define the roles you want guests to play.

Question 15

Quick-serve restaurants benefit from allowing co-production both in front of the counter and behind the counter.

Question 16

Guests who serve as "consultants" to hospitality organizations usually receive a modest consulting fee.

Question 17

Co-production usually increases the time required for service.

Question 18

Other guests are a part of the service environment.

Question 19

George Tilyou's idea of co-production at Steeplechase Park was never to embarrass any guests in front of other guests.

Question 20

To cut costs all organizations should always use full guest participation.

Question 21

A guest who is more engaged creates a better quality product than if the organization created it for them.

Question 22

The feeling of how long something takes is as important to the guest as how long it actually takes.

Question 23

The benefit of having guests participate in the service experience always outweighs the costs.

Question 24

Letting guests participate can build guest commitment and repeat business.

Question 25

Guests can learn to co-produce the experience from hospitality employees and from other guests.

Question 26

The amount of control over the quality, value, risk, or efficiency of the experience that guests think they acquire by participating is more important than the actual degree of control in determining the value of guest participation.

Question 27

One strategy to invite guests to participate is to let the organization's market segment know that everyone entering the service setting must provide some of the service themselves.

Question 28

Which of the following is a disadvantage of co-production for the organization?

A) possibility of alienating customers who dislike change
B) additional cost to train customer contact employees
C) decrease in labor costs
D) decrease opportunity for service failure

Question 29

The constant monitoring by guests of the service being provided is a positive influence on service quality.

Question 30

Co-production is in the organization's interest when it can save money, increase production efficiency, or differentiate its services from those of competitors.

Question 31

Guest participation can help waits feel shorter.

Question 32

Involving guests in service delivery usually has little if any impact on

A) training costs
B) the layout of the service setting
C) front-of-house cleanliness
D) back-of-house cleanliness

Question 33

If a guest is incapable of co-production, it is best to quietly help them so they can keep their dignity.

Question 34

A group couponing site such as Groupon rewards customers who invite their friends to purchase coupons. This is an example of

A) Guests as part of each other's experience
B) Guests as marketers
C) Guests as unpaid consultants
D) Guests as supervisors

Question 35

A child being left unsupervised and pulling all the levers of the frozen yogurt on purpose spilling it all over the floor is probably a need for an abrupt firing.

Question 36

Segmenting the service process so that guests entering the service setting can choose the extent to which they can or will participate is inadvisable because it creates many inefficiencies.

Question 37

Co-producing guests do not typically serve as

A) capacity planners
B) trainers of other guests
C) supervisors
D) unpaid consultants

Question 38

Guests typically do not like to go to empty restaurants or poorly attended festivals because the idea of being with others or people watching is part of the expected service experience.

Question 39

If firing a guest becomes necessary, a subtle firing is always better than an abrupt firing.

Question 40

A good service organization would never fire a guest.

Question 41

Which of the following is a group coupon site used by guests to save money, but also serves as a guest-generated marketing tool for organizations?

A) Travelocity
B) LivingSocial
C) E-Bates
D) Google

Question 42

An unhappy guest telling an employee that the employee is not providing the service properly is performing a(n)

A) formal complaint
B) improper escalation
C) supervisory function
D) service evaluation

Question 43

Guests are NOT motivated to participate in co-producing their own experience when

A) They must participate to have the experience.
B) The experience is not worth more than the cost.
C) Their personalities fit in with co-production.
D) They can see financial benefits in the participation.

Question 44

One guest always stays at the same hotel when she is in town because the employees greet her by name, and they always set up her room according to her indicated preferences in her loyalty club profile. This is an example of how co-production

A) builds commitment
B) decreases the guest's perceived value
C) serves as a differentiation strategy
D) cuts costs for the hotel

Question 45

Thinking of guests as quasi-employees means that the hospitality organization must

A) be clear about their requirements
B) carefully define the KSAs required of them
C) establish a compensation program
D) allow them to pay what they feel is fair

Question 46

Co-production requires the service delivery system and the service environment to be

A) minimalist
B) sophisticated
C) user-friendly
D) enhanced

Question 47

Although hospitality organizations are reluctant to do so, firing guests may become necessary when

A) They demand too much personalized service.
B) The guest experience is beyond their information-processing capabilities.
C) They endanger employees.
D) They complain about the selection of items.

Question 48

Guests are co-producers in which of the following examples?

A) choosing which hotel to stay at
B) using the self-check-in kiosk at a hotel
C) writing a review of a hotel on TripAdvisor
D) researching hotels that have breakfast and a pool

Question 49

Theme parks allow guests to choose which rides to go on for the day. In determining the selection of rides, theme parks ensure each ride is up to safety standards so as not to put the guest at risk. This type of co-production enhances _____ for the guest.

A) perceived safety
B) actual safety
C) perceived control
D) actual control

Question 50

How can co-production reduce a customer's perceived or actual wait time?

A) Giving the guest something to do while waiting makes the wait feel shorter.
B) Removing the middleman (e.g., customers bagging their own groceries) speeds up the process.
C) Supplementing employees with self-service kiosks decreases service capacity.
D) It increases the user friendliness of the experience.

Question 51

Which example below is the most appropriate use of co-production?

A) children choosing a toy for their Happy Meal
B) office workers brewing their own lattes at a coffee shop
C) a self-serve salad bar at a five-star hotel
D) a client picking menu items off a catering menu

Question 52

One example of the high cost of failure is

A) the occasional comped meal
B) trusting parents to supervise children in trampoline parks
C) having guests create their own salad
D) expecting guests to know how to work basic machinery

Question 53

The more ______ guests are with the organization, the more qualified they are to provide technical feedback.

A) unfamiliar
B) familiar
C) loyal
D) dissatisfied

Question 54

Guest co-production ______ the role of the guest-contact employee.

A) eliminates
B) duplicates
C) simplifies
D) expands

Question 55

A restaurant decides to offer a lunch buffet instead of a la carte ordering. Which of the following is not a co-production benefit of the restaurant's decision?

A) Increase in cost efficiency from being able to serve more customers without needing more waitstaff
B) Increase in guests' perceived control since they can choose their favorite foods in their preferred quantities from the buffet
C) Increase in production efficiency from utilizing a kitchen that might otherwise be more idle
D) Increase in inventory efficiency from minimizing food waste

Question 56

Which of the following is the most serious disadvantage of guest co-production for the organization?

A) It increases legal risk.
B) It increases training costs.
C) It requires changes in the service environment.
D) It requires changes in the delivery system.

Question 57

Guests act as unpaid consultants in the following examples, except for

A) Uber or Lyft riders who rate and review their driver.
B) Customers voting for a new flavor at a juice bar.
C) A mystery shopper giving feedback on a hotel's service quality.
D) Customers who will out comment cards or utilize tableside kiosks to rate service.

Question 58

Organizations can also use guest participation as part of a ______ strategy.

A) product differentiation
B) loss leader
C) market share
D) service flow

Question 59

If "firing" a guest becomes necessary, the organization should

A) give the guest's money back
B) try to preserve the guest's dignity
C) let the guest decide when to leave
D) call security to ensure the guest leaves

Question 60

How can co-production improve the guest's perception of the service quality?

A) Guests experience a sense of pride in having created something.
B) Guests are less likely to blame the company for something they co-produced.
C) Guests can tailor the service to their personal tastes and preferences.
D) Guests can rate service on comment cards.

Question 61

Which of the following best describes when co-production is used as a differentiation strategy?

A) restaurants that offer salad bars
B) cook it yourself restaurants
C) buffet style restaurants
D) counter style restaurants