Deck 14: Improving Service Quality and Productivity

Question 1

The communications gap is the difference between what the company communicates and what it actually delivers to its customers.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The ____________ is the difference between what is delivered and what customers perceive they have received.

A) interpretation gap
B) communications gap
C) perceptions gap
D) policy gap
E) knowledge gap

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Because customers are often involved in service production, a distinction needs to be drawn between the process of service delivery and the actual output of the service.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT a broad dimension of service quality?

A) Tangibles
B) Reliability
C) Responsiveness
D) Transcendence
E) Assurance

Question 5

In broad terms, ____________ focuses on benefits created for the customer's side of the equation, and _____________ addresses the financial costs incurred by the firm.

A) productivity; quality
B) reliability, value
C) security; responsiveness
D) value; reliability
E) quality; productivity

Question 6

Which of the following is one of the customer-driven approaches to improving productivity?

A) Ask customers not to use third parties.
B) Limiting customer involvement in production.
C) Changing the timing of customer demand.
D) Reducing backstage elements of production.
E) Reducing front-stage elements of production.

Question 7

The service quality gap is the difference between what customers expect to receive and their perceptions of the service that is actually delivered.

Question 8

The proposed solution for the communication gap is to be specific with promises and manage customers' understanding of communication content.

Question 9

Which of the following is not a critical dimension for successful implementation of TQM in a service context?

A) information and analysis system
B) customer focus
C) human resource management
D) employee satisfaction
E) decision centralization

Question 10

The ____________ is supply based, and is concerned primarily with engineering and manufacturing practices.

A) transcendent view
B) user-based definition
C) manufacturing-based approach
D) product-based approach
E) value-based definition

Question 11

Organizations that are known for excellent service make use of hard measures rather than soft measures.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT one of the seven service quality gaps?

A) The knowledge gap.
B) The policy gap.
C) The perceptions gap.
D) The delivery gap.
E) The standards gap.

Question 13

Which of the following is the proposed solution for the perception gap?

A) Ensure the right service processes and specify standards.
B) Ensure that performance meets standards.
C) Learn what customers expect.
D) Tangibilize and communicate the service quality delivered.
E) Ensure that communications promises are realistic.

Question 14

The ____________ is the difference between what senior management believes customers expect and customers' actual needs and expectations

A) delivery gap
B) standards gap
C) knowledge gap
D) service quality gap
E) communications gap

Question 15

The ____________ starts with the premise that quality lies in the eye of the beholder.

A) transcendent view
B) user-based definition
C) manufacturing-based approach
D) product-based approach
E) value-based definition

Question 16

The policy gap is the difference between specified delivery standards and the service provider's actual performance on these standards.

Question 17

Typically the cost of an unhappy customer is lower than the cost of service recovery.

Question 18

Making service processes more efficient results in a better quality experience for customers and ensures improved benefits for them.

Question 19

Control charts offer a simple method of displaying performance on hard measures over time against specific quality standards.

Question 20

Hard measures are those that cannot be easily observed and must be collected by talking to customers, employees, and others.

Question 21

To ensure continuing focus in a few key components of SQI, FedEx established six Quality Action Teams.

Question 22

Self-service pumps with credit card readers increase gas station productivity, but lead to higher costs because of additional fees.

Question 23

A study by Holiday Inn actually showed that as the number of defects per hotel increase, the amount of revenue per room increases.

Question 24

Which of the following is the best example of the source of a delayed flight caused by front-stage personnel?

A) Air traffic
B) Late food service
C) Late fuel
D) Gate agents cannot process passengers quickly enough
E) Poor announcement of departures

Question 25

Which of the following is the best example of the source of a delayed flight caused by procedures?

A) Cutoff too close to departure time
B) Late cabin crews
C) Late cabin cleaners
D) Weather
E) Oversize baggage

Question 26

Discuss what could be involved in the proposed solutions for "The Delivery Gap."

Question 27

FedEx was one of the first company's to understand the need for a firm-wide index of service quality that embraced all the key activities that had an impact on customers.

Question 28

Describe one of the primary components of the proposed solutions for the communication gap.

Question 29

____________ is the authentication or identification of individuals based on physical characteristics or traits.

A) Service amping
B) Decryption
C) Biometrics
D) Encryption
E) Electronic access

Question 30

Describe what is meant by the 80/20 rule in the context of an airline.

Question 31

The Return on Quality perspective from Holiday Inn suggests that the focus of preventative maintenance should be on the hotel exterior, the guest rooms, and guest bathrooms.

Question 32

Explain what SERVQUAL is and how it is used in services.

Question 33

List the three external gaps between the customer and the organization.

Question 34

Explain what is meant by the "user-based definition" of service quality.

Question 35

Which of the following is one of Holiday Inn's hotel areas that show a particularly strong impact on revenue per available room?

A) Dining facilities
B) The lobby
C) The exterior
D) Public restrooms
E) Kitchen facilities

Question 36

What service imperative was described as receiving only secondary consideration at Sealink British Ferries?

Question 37

FedEx approaches quality management from which of the following perspectives?

A) Percent of packages on time
B) Percent of flights arriving safely
C) Baseline of zero failures
D) Low turnover
E) High Turnover

Question 38

List the four reasons why improving productivity is important to marketers.

Question 39

Explain the transcendent view of quality.

Question 40

Give an example of an application of biometrics to services?

Question 41

List a major service firm from the chapter that has received the Malcolm-Baldrige National Quality Award.

Question 42

Discuss the advantages of using a customer's physical characteristics to increase productivity in the delivery of service quality.

Question 43

Discuss what the six-sigma approach is and how it can be applied to service quality and productivity.

Question 44

What is ISO 9000?

Question 45

Describe what is involved when an auditor conducts a quality analysis at Holiday Inn hotels.