Deck 13: Designing and Managing Services

Question 1

Manufacturers,distributors,and retailers can provide ________ services,or simply excellent customer service,to differentiate themselves.

A)financial
B)value-added
C)sales
D)marketing
E)distribution

Answer 1

B

Question 2

There are three steps service firms can take to increase quality control.Which of the following is NOT one of these steps?

A)Reduce customer contact points
B)Monitor customer satisfaction
C)Standardize the service-performance process
D)Invest in good training procedures
E)Invest in good hiring procedures

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Services high in ________qualities are those services that have characteristics the buyer normally finds hard to evaluate even after consumption.

A)equipment
B)search
C)experience
D)personal attention
E)credence

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Better-trained personnel exhibit several characteristics such as ________,which means they respond quickly to customers' requests and problems.

A)reliability
B)courtesy
C)credibility
D)competence
E)responsiveness

Question 5

Services vary as to whether they are equipment based or ________.

A)service based
B)people based
C)process based
D)historical based
E)none of the above

Question 6

Services differ as to whether they meet a personal need or a ________.

A)quality need
B)production need
C)business need
D)functional need
E)customer need

Question 7

One of the special features of services marketing is the provider-client interaction.This is defined as when the client is also ________ as the service is produced.

A)prominent
B)productive
C)producing
D)present
E)paying

Question 8

Unlike physical goods,services are produced and ________ simultaneously.

A)launched
B)consumed
C)created
D)maximized
E)none of the above

Question 9

Service companies can try to demonstrate their service quality through physical evidence and ________.

A)predatory pricing
B)people
C)pricing
D)profits
E)presentation

Question 10

Services depend on who provides them and when and where they are provided.They are highly ________.

A)suspect
B)variable
C)consistent
D)substandard
E)none of the above

Question 11

Which of the following would be an example of a hybrid service?

A)University
B)Professor
C)Restaurant
D)Soap manufacturer
E)Airline

Question 12

There are five categories of offerings for a service.It can be either a minor or a major component of the company's offerings.Which of the following is NOT one of these five categories?

A)Pure tangible good
B)Tangible good with accompanying services
C)Hybrid
D)Major service with accompanying minor goods and services
E)Major service with accompanying major goods

Question 13

Some services require that the client be present to conduct the service.An example of such a service is a ________.

A)vending machine
B)fast-food meal
C)medical operation
D)car repair
E)tax service

Question 14

Services cannot be seen,tasted,felt,or heard before they are bought.To reduce uncertainty,buyers will look for evidence of quality.They will draw inference about quality from place,people,and price they see.Therefore,the service provider's task is to "________."

A)communicate value
B)manage the evidence
C)go full speed ahead
D)provide high touch,high price
E)none of the above

Question 15

Services have four distinctive characteristics that greatly affect the design of marketing programs.Which of the following is NOT one of these characteristics?

A)Intangibility
B)Communicability
C)Variability
D)Perishability
E)None of the above

Question 16

A ________ is a tool that allows service providers to simultaneously map out the service process,the points of customer contact,and the evidence of service from the customer's point of view.

A)service guarantee
B)service blueprint
C)communication material
D)credence quality
E)tangible good

Question 17

Services cannot be stored.This concept is unique to service marketers and is called ________.

A)standardization
B)heterogeneity
C)perishability
D)intangibility
E)none of the above

Question 18

Which of the following would be an example of a pure service?

A)Insurance
B)Airlines
C)Car dealer
D)Copier company
E)None of the above

Question 19

Service industries are everywhere.They include the government sector,private nonprofit sector,business sector,manufacturing sector,and the ________.

A)insurance salespeople
B)seasonal workers
C)temporary workers
D)retail sector
E)none of the above

Question 20

Better-trained personnel exhibit several characteristics such as ________,which means they perform the service consistently and accurately.

A)reliability
B)courtesy
C)credibility
D)competence
E)responsiveness

Question 21

A service company can differentiate itself on three levels.The first is reliability,the second is resilience,and the third is ________.

A)assuredness
B)employees
C)innovativeness
D)teamwork
E)none of the above

Question 22

According to the service-quality model,the first "gap" is the one between ________.

A)perceived service and expected service
B)service delivery and external communications
C)service-quality specifications and service delivery
D)management perception and service-quality specification
E)consumer expectation and management perception

Question 23

________ describes the employees' skill in serving the client.

A)Interactive marketing
B)Internal marketing
C)Client marketing
D)Fixed marketing
E)Technical marketing

Question 24

To match supply and demand on the supply side,marketers can employ a number of strategies.Which of the following is NOT one of these strategies?

A)Maximize peak-time efficiency
B)Employ a reservation system
C)Increase consumer participation
D)Utilize part-time employees
E)Share services

Question 25

Factors that lead to customer switching behavior include all of the following EXCEPT ________.

A)problem solving
B)pricing
C)inconvenience
D)ethical problems
E)none of the above

Question 26

According to the service-quality model,the second "gap" is the one between ________.

A)perceived service and expected service
B)service delivery and external communications
C)service-quality specifications and service delivery
D)management perception and service-quality specification
E)consumer expectation and management perception

Question 27

According to the service-quality model,the fourth "gap" is the one between ________.

A)perceived service and expected service
B)service delivery and external communications
C)service-quality specifications and service delivery
D)management perception and service-quality specification
E)consumer expectation and management perception

Question 28

Not all SSTs improve service quality,but they have the potential of making service transactions more accurate,________,and faster.

A)convenient
B)discounted
C)inconvenient
D)popular
E)none of the above

Question 29

In the context of holistic marketing,________ describes the normal work of preparing,pricing,distributing,and promoting the service to customers.

A)internal marketing
B)correlated marketing
C)external marketing
D)integrated marketing
E)universal marketing

Question 30

According to Berry,Parasuraman,and Zeithaml,________ is the single most important dimension of service quality.

A)listening
B)fair play
C)reliability
D)service design
E)recovery

Question 31

According to the service-quality model,the fifth "gap" is the one between ________.

A)perceived service and expected service
B)service delivery and external communications
C)service-quality specifications and service delivery
D)management perception and service-quality specification
E)consumer expectation and management perception

Question 32

Top service companies are "customer obsessed." They have a clear sense of their target customers and their needs.Their management looks not only at financial performance on a monthly basis,but also at ________.

A)service performance
B)tangible rewards
C)consumer complaints
D)marketing activities
E)none of the above

Question 33

Firms have decided to raise fees and lower service to those customers who barely pay their way and to coddle big spenders to retain their patronage as long as possible,an example of organizing customers by ________.

A)purchase frequency
B)profit tiers
C)psychographic characteristics
D)social influence
E)none of the above

Question 34

There are shifts that favor the customer in the client relationship.Customers are now becoming more sophisticated about buying product-support services and are pressing for ________.

A)selective pricing
B)institutional pricing/services
C)substitute services
D)promotional pricing
E)services unbundling

Question 35

To match demand and supply,service marketers can utilize a number of strategies on the demand side.Which of the following is NOT one of these strategies?

A)Provide complementary services to waiting customers
B)Cultivate nonpeak demand
C)Differential pricing
D)Share services
E)Manage demand levels through a reservation system

Question 36

According to the service-quality model,the third "gap" in their service-quality model is the gap between ________.

A)perceived service and expected service
B)service delivery and external communications
C)service-quality specifications and service delivery
D)management perception and service-quality specification
E)consumer expectation and management perception

Question 37

Clients judge the service outcome not only by its ________ but also by its functional quality.

A)length of time
B)price
C)attributes
D)completeness
E)technical quality

Question 38

Holistic marketing for services requires external,________,and internal marketing.

A)exceptional
B)incremental
C)consistent
D)interactive
E)influential

Question 39

The five determinants of service quality include all of the following EXCEPT ? ________.

A)empathy
B)assurance
C)responsiveness
D)reliability
E)reputation

Question 40

There is a(n)________ where consumer perceptions on a service dimension would be deemed satisfactory,anchored by the minimum level consumers would be willing to accept and the level that customers believe can and should be delivered.

A)empathy
B)zone of tolerance
C)zone of forgiveness
D)perceived forgiveness
E)value definition

Question 41

Classes of services can be branded vertically on the basis of ________.

A)popularity and price
B)cost of providing the service
C)price and quality
D)price and frequency
E)target return on investment

Question 42

Service offerings can be differentiated in many ways.The offering can include innovative features.What the customer expects is called the ________.

A)brand package
B)complete service package
C)primary service package
D)bundled package
E)none of the above

Question 43

Services can be judged on customer importance and company performance.________ is used to rate the various elements of the service bundle and identify what actions are required.

A)SERVQAL
B)Consumer-quality analysis
C)Importance-performance analysis
D)Key-service indices analysis
E)Reliability-service indices analysis

Question 44

Getting front-line employees to adopt ________ and to advocate the interests and image of the firm to consumers as well as take initiative and engage in conscientious behavior in dealing with customers can be a critical asset.

A)company policies and procedures
B)win-win philosophy
C)conflict-management courses
D)training lessons
E)extra-role behaviors

Question 45

Top firms audit both their own and their competitors' service performance on a regular basis by collecting ________ measurements to probe customer satisfaction.

A)chat room
B)voice of the customer
C)e-mail solicitation
D)consumer activist group
E)none of the above

Question 46

Excellent service companies know that ________ employee attitudes will promote stronger customer loyalty.

A)accommodating
B)nonthreatening
C)neutral
D)negative
E)positive

Question 47

To provide the best support,a manufacturer must identify the services customers value most and their ________ importance.

A)competitive
B)popular
C)absolute
D)relative
E)none of the above

Question 48

Services must consider developing a brand hierarchy and brand portfolio that permits ________ and targeting of different market segments.

A)differentiation
B)product placement
C)positioning
D)image
E)none of the above

Question 49

To differentiate its service,a provider can add ________ to the package of services already provided.

A)secondary service features
B)primary service features
C)value bundling
D)branding
E)price bands of like services

Question 50

Sometimes companies achieve differentiation through the sheer range of its service offerings and the success of its ________ efforts.

A)pricing
B)cross-selling
C)advertising
D)sales representatives'
E)none of the above

Question 51

Companies that ________ disappointed customers to complain-and also empower employees to remedy the situation on the spot-achieve higher revenues and greater profits than companies that lack a systematic approach for addressing service failures.

A)ignore
B)frustrate
C)discourage
D)encourage
E)none of the above

Question 52

Because service decisions and arrangements are often made away from the actual service location,brand ________ becomes critical.

A)design
B)slogans
C)image
D)recall
E)remind

Question 53

Developing brand strategies for a service requires special attention to choosing brand elements,establishing image dimensions,and ________.

A)developing a marketing niche
B)developing an advertising campaign
C)devising a branding strategy
D)developing differentiation
E)none of the above

Question 54

Because a physical product does not exist,the ________ of the service provider are especially important.

A)characteristics
B)logos
C)physical facilities
D)brand images
E)colors

Question 55

Research has shown that customers evaluate complaint incidents in terms of the________.

A)anger of the customer
B)personality of the manager
C)outcomes they receive
D)monetary rewards
E)none of the above

Question 56

Service marketers frequently complain about the difficulty of ________ their services.

A)marketing
B)diffusing
C)differentiating
D)developing
E)designing

Question 57

When initiating self-service technologies,some companies have found that the biggest obstacle is not the technology itself,but ________ customers to use it.

A)enticing
B)becoming familiar with
C)adapting
D)utilizing
E)convincing

Question 58

Manufacturers of equipment all must provide product-support services.Companies in these industries must define customer needs carefully in designing their service support program.Customers have three specific worries when discussing product-support services.These three worries include all of the following EXCEPT ________.

A)out-of-pocket costs
B)reputation of manufacturer
C)service dependability
D)downtime
E)failure frequency

Question 59

A buyer may try to estimate the life-cycle cost of purchasing a product.Life-cycle cost is defined as the ________.

A)product's purchase cost plus the total cost of maintenance and repair less any salvage value
B)product's purchase cost plus discounted cost of maintenance and repair less any salvage value
C)product's purchase cost plus discounted cost of maintenance and repair plus any salvage value.
D)product's purchase cost plus any salvage value.
E)product's purchase cost plus discounted cost of maintenance and repair

Question 60

Service firms can design ________ and information programs so that consumers learn more about the brand than the information they get from the service encounter alone.

A)advertising campaigns
B)marketing measures
C)ad agencies
D)marketing communications
E)marketing strategy

Question 61

Because service encounters are complex interactions affected by multiple elements,adopting a holistic marketing approach might not work effectively.

Question 62

Inseparability in the context of a service means that the service provider and the service customer/consumer cannot be separated because one effects another.

Question 63

Service consumers can always judge the quality that they receive from the service provider.

Question 64

Services include government,private nonprofit,business,retail,and the manufacturing sector.

Question 65

Service providers typically develop very similar marketing programs for personal and business markets.

Question 66

The quality of services is independent of who provides them.

Question 67

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the service-producing sector will continue to lose jobs over the next five years.

Question 68

A service is defined as any act or performance that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything.

Question 69

Services have five distinctive characteristics,one of these five being "pure service."

Question 70

Service companies try to demonstrate their service qualities through physical evidence and presentation.

Question 71

Intangibility with regards to a service means that the service cannot be duplicated across providers.

Question 72

Customers generally acknowledge when they are at fault for a service failure and do not hold the service provider responsible.

Question 73

An example of a pure service provider might be a car repair facility.

Question 74

A pure tangible good consists of unequal parts of goods and services,with services being in the majority.

Question 75

Clients judge service not only by its technical quality but also by its functional quality.

Question 76

Customers are becoming more sophisticated about buying product-support services and are pressing for services unbundling.

Question 77

Services cannot be stored,so their perishability can become a problem when demand fluctuates.

Question 78

One of the strategies to equalize supply and demand for service providers is to price their services high when demand is low and low when demand is at its highest.

Question 79

Because services are generally high in experience and credence qualities,there is more risk in purchase.

Question 80

Interactive marketing describes the employees' skill in serving the client.