Question 1

Employees play a critical role in the success of services because of their inseparability and variability.

Accepted Answer

Employees are an integral part of services because they are responsible for delivering the service to customers. Services cannot be separated from the person delivering them, and the quality of service can vary depending on the employee's skills, attitude, and training. Therefore, employees play a critical role in the success of services.

Question 2

A service is a product in the sense that it represents a bundle of benefits that can satisfy customer wants and needs with physical form.

Accepted Answer

A service is not a product with physical form. A service is an intangible offering that provides benefits to customers.

Question 3

Services possess several distinct characteristics that are different from those of physical goods, including intangibility, inseparability, variability, and perishability.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Services cannot be touched or seen, they are produced and consumed in the same moment, they vary depending on who provides them and when, and they cannot be stored or saved for later use. These characteristics make services unique and require specific strategies for marketing and delivery.

Question 4

In today's workplace, everyone is involved in service in some way, and everyone has customers either outside or inside the firm, or both.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. In today's workplace, everyone is involved in service in some way, and everyone has customers either external to the firm or within the organization. Customers can include clients, colleagues, supervisors, vendors, and the general public. Service can involve providing a product, delivering a service, or providing support for other people's work.

Question 5

As noted in the text, Caesars Entertainment has found that its ROI for customers in the "Zone of Defection" is considerably higher than in the other zones.

Accepted Answer

Caesars Entertainment found that customers in the "Zone of Defection" are at risk of leaving for competitors, indicating a lower ROI for these customers compared to those in more loyal segments.

Question 6

Customer trial is one way to overcome the problem of marketing an intangible service.

Accepted Answer

Customer trial allows the potential customers to experience the intangible service firsthand, overcoming the hurdle of marketing an intangible service.

Question 7

Services tend to exhibit high experience and credence attributes.

Accepted Answer

Services are intangible and involve human interactions, making it difficult for customers to fully assess the quality of service or outcomes. Therefore, services tend to have high experience and credence attributes, which means customers rely heavily on their own personal experiences and beliefs, as well as the expertise and reputation of the service provider.

Question 8

When Dominoes promises delivery within 30 minutes, but it actually takes 45 minutes, Dominoes is demonstrating gap 1: management's perceptions of customer service expectations versus actual customer expectations of service.

Accepted Answer

This situation describes Gap 5: the difference between customer expectations and their perceptions of the service received, not Gap 1, which is about the difference between customer expectations and management's perception of those expectations.

Question 9

Exceeding customer expectations is often referred to as customer delight.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Exceeding customer expectations can be considered as going beyond what is expected, and it can lead to customer delight.

Question 10

The ability to provide prompt service and to respond quickly to customer requests is called reliability.

Accepted Answer

The ability to provide prompt service and to respond quickly to customer requests is actually referred to as responsiveness, not reliability. Reliability is the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately.

Question 11

Providers of professional services such as doctors, lawyers, and accountants use their degrees and designations to convey a level of trust to a purchaser.

Accepted Answer

Providers of professional services have obtained specialized education and training to earn their degrees and designations, which are recognized by the industry and signal to potential clients that they possess a certain level of expertise and competence. This helps establish trust between the provider and purchaser.

Question 12

Research indicates that investing in indifferent customers to improve their satisfaction truly maximizes their profitability to a brand.

Accepted Answer

Research typically shows that it is more cost-effective and profitable to focus on retaining and satisfying already loyal customers, as acquiring new customers or converting indifferent customers can cost significantly more and yield lower returns on investment.

Question 13

A service-centered perspective is very consistent with a customer-centric approach in which people, processes, systems, and other resources are to be aligned to best serve customers.

Accepted Answer

A service-centered perspective focuses on designing processes and systems that prioritize and revolve around meeting the needs and wants of customers. This aligns with a customer-centric approach, which places the customer at the center of everything a company does. Therefore, the statement is true.

Question 14

The ultimate Caesars customer is the "apostle"; they are highly satisfied, fiercely loyal, frequent Caesars guests who serve as strong advocates for the Caesars experience to friends and acquaintances.

Accepted Answer

This is stated in the text as the ultimate Caesars customer.

Question 15

One of the causes of switching behavior is unfair pricing.

Accepted Answer

Unfair pricing, such as charging higher prices than competitors without providing additional value, can cause customers to switch to other options that offer better value for their money.

Question 16

A fundamental rule in marketing is to set high customer expectations.

Accepted Answer

Setting overly high customer expectations can lead to disappointment and dissatisfaction if the product or service cannot consistently meet those expectations. It's important to set realistic and achievable expectations to ensure customer satisfaction and trust.

Question 17

It is widely accepted that today we operate in an economy that is increasingly focused on tangible offerings-goods-instead of just services.

Accepted Answer

This statement is false. In fact, the economy is becoming more focused on services instead of just physical goods. This has been dubbed the "service economy".

Question 18

Service failure, when properly handled through service recovery, does not necessarily impact customer satisfaction.

Accepted Answer

When service failure is properly handled through service recovery, it can actually have a positive impact on customer satisfaction. Effective service recovery can help to resolve the issue, show that the company values the customer's business, and even create a stronger relationship between the customer and the company. However, if service failure is not handled properly or the service recovery is inadequate, it can lead to further dissatisfaction and potentially even loss of the customer's business.

Question 19

The fifth and final service gap involves customers' perceived service versus actual customer expectations of service.

Accepted Answer

The statement is true. The fifth service gap is the gap between customers' perceived service and their expected service.

Question 20

There is a debate about whether students in business education are "customers" or products that need to be branded.

Accepted Answer

The debate about whether students in business education are "customers" or products that need to be branded is a real one. Some argue that students are paying customers who deserve a certain level of service and satisfaction, while others believe that students are products to be molded and branded by the university or business school.

Quiz 10: Service as the Core Offering