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Services Marketing (July 2103 Semester)

Sample Multiple Choice Questions (Chapters 7-15 only)

NO Answers to be provided; students to research from the text and notes. The lecturer will NOT be

posting any answers so do not request – THANKS

Note: Some question numbers are missing as the lecturer has removed the questions as they may

not be relevant.

Practice these as a way of revising the topics.

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Chapter 7: Promoting Services and Educating Customers

1. Which of the following is not a role played by service marketing communications? a. Add value through communication content. b. Facilitate customer involvement in service production. c. Positioning to attract investors. d. Stimulate or dampen demand to match capacity. e. Position and differentiate the service. 2. In ____________ services, where much of the firm’s expertise is hidden, firms may need to

illustrate equipment, procedures, and employee activities that are taking place

____________.

a. high-contact; front-stage b. low-contact; backstage c. high-contact; backstage d. low-contact; front-stage e. high-contact; intangibly

3. Which of the following is NOT one of the four problems for marketers seeking to promote a

service’s benefits? a. Distribution b. Abstractness c. Generality d. Non-searchability e. Mental impalpability

4. Which of the following is NOT a common educational and promotional objective in service

settings?

a. Build awareness of and interest in an unfamiliar service or brand. b. Reposition a service relative to competing offerings. c. Familiarize customers with service processes in advance of use. d. Encourage trial of competing products. e. Recognize and reward valued customers and employees.

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5. Which of the following is NOT a communication task for which marketers use the Internet?

a. Promoting consumer awareness and interest. b. Providing information and consultation. c. Facilitating two-way communications with customers through e-mail and chat rooms. d. Enabling customers to place orders. e. Reducing service demand through electronic tracking

Chapter 8: Designing and Managing Service Processes

1. Blueprinting is a more complex form of ____________.

a. linear graphing

b. flow charting

c. Cox & Snell analysis

d. non-linear graphing

e. cluster analysis

2. The first step in developing a service blueprint is ____________.

a. to reach a consensus on which activities are more important than others

b. to identify all the key activities involved in creating and delivering the service

c. to identify the links between a set of alternative service possibilities

d. to identify the key employees who will be enacting the service blueprint

e. to identify the key customers who will be participating in the service

3. Service blueprints ____________, and how these are supported by backstage activities and systems.

a. enhance servicescape features such as furniture and lighting

b. complicate employee handling of special requests

c. clarify the interactions between customers and employees

d. enhance customer technical know-how

e. diminish customer complaining capacity

4. The line of ____________ divides front-stage activities from backstage activities.

f. service standards and scripts

g. physical evidence

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h. internal physical interaction

i. internal IT interaction

j. visibility

5. Which of the following is NOT a key component of a service blueprint?

a. Line of transference

b. Line of interaction

c. Line of visibility

d. Backstage actions by customer contact personnel

e. Front-stage actions by customer contact personnel

6. The ____________ or ____________ includes both the ____________ and ____________ of a service facility.

a. roll; retrieval; implicit aspects; explicit aspects

b. stage; servicescape; exterior; interior

c. stage; service area; customers; employees

d. roll; canopy; employees; equipment

e. roll; service area; front-stage; backstage

8. Service process redesign efforts typically focus on achieving all EXCEPT which of the following key performance measures?

a. Reduced number of service failures.

b. Reduced cycle time.

c. Enhanced productivity.

d. Increased profitability.

e. Increased customer satisfaction.

9. Service process redesign can be categorized into all EXCEPT which of the following types?

f. Getting rid of non-value adding steps.

g. Shifting to self-service.

h. Delivering direct service.

i. Separating services.

j. Redesigning the physical aspect of service processes.

10. Which of the following is NOT an advantage of self-service technologies?

f. Greater choice of products

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g. Higher perceived level of customization.

h. Convenience of location.

i. Greater control over service delivery.

j. Cost and time savings.

Chapter 9: Balancing Demand against Productive Capacity

1. Which of the following is NOT one of the conditions that fixed-capacity firms may face?

a. Excess capacity.

b. Demand exceeds desired capacity.

c. Demand and supply are well-balanced.

d. Ideal demand exceeds capacity.

e. Excess demand.

2. Which of the following is NOT one of the productive capacity forms in a service context?

a. Physical facilities designed to contain customers

b. Physical equipment used to process people, possessions, or information

c. Customers

d. Labor

e. Infrastructure

3. Which of the following is the correct action for a firm to take that wants to reduce demand and

has insufficient capacity?

a. Take no action.

b. Consider override for most desirable segments.

c. Consider priority systems for most desirable segments.

d. Increase prices or encourage use in other time slots.

e. Lower prices selectively.

4. Which of the following is NOT one of the ways to change the overall level of capacity to match

demand variations?

a. Use part-time employees.

b. Ask customers to share.

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c. Invite customers to perform self-service.

d. Cross-train employees.

e. Share facilities with the supplier.

5. All of the following are questions to ask about demand patterns and their underlying causes

EXCEPT ____________.

a. Do demand levels follow a predictable cycle?

b. What are the underlying causes of these cyclical variations?

c. How much demand are competitors receiving?

d. Do demand levels seem to change randomly?

e. Can demand for a particular service over time be disaggregated by market segment?

6. Which of the following is NOT one of the five basic approaches to managing demand?

a. Taking no action and leaving demand to find its own levels.

b. Reduce demand in peak periods.

c. Increase demand when there is excess capacity.

d. Inventory capacity until demand increases.

e. Inventory demand by creating a formalized queuing system.

7. Marketing strategies can be used to shape demand in all ways EXCEPT ____________.

a. modify mode of delivery

b. use price and other cost to manage demand

c. change product elements

d. modify time and place of delivery

e. use promotion and education

8. All of the following are ways to make waits more bearable EXCEPT ____________.

a. encourage group waits

b. keep customers occupied while waiting

c. make customers feel comfortable during waits

d. let customers know how long they are expected to wait

e. provide the customers with no explanation for the wait

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9. Which of the following is NOT one of the alternative queuing configurations discussed?

a. Single line/single servers at sequential stages

b. Multiple line to single servers (“snake”)

c. Parallel lines to multiple servers

d. Designated lines to designated servers

e. “Take a Number” (single or multiple servers)

10. Which of the following is NOT one of the benefits of having a reservations system?

a. Helps service personnel to serve more effectively.

b. Helps in pre-selling the service.

c. Helps customers to avoid queuing.

d. Helps firms to keep some time aside for emergency jobs.

e. Allows demand to be controlled.

Chapter 10: Crafting the Service Environment

1. Service environments, also called ____________ relate to the style and appearance of the

physical surroundings and other experiential elements encountered by customers at service

delivery sites.

a. service planes

b. servicescapes

c. service boxes

d. servicetomies

e. service vaults

2. The field of ____________ studies how people respond to specific environments.

a. organizational behavior

b. marketing

c. environmental psychology

d. strategic management

e. financial management

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3. In environmental psychology the typical outcome variable is ____________ or ____________

of an environment.

a. service; repurchase

b. control; reproach

c. control; avoidance

d. control; sensibility

e. approach; avoidance

4. The two dimensions of Russell’s model of affect are ____________ and ____________.

a. centrality; dominance

b. pleasure; arousal

c. centrality; permanence

d. pleasure; regret

e. fullness; looseness

5. The ____________ complex a(n) ____________ process becomes, the more powerful is its

potential impact on ____________.

a. more; affective; cognition

b. more; cognitive; affect

c. less; cognitive; services

d. less; affective; cognition

e. less; cognitive; affect

6. If a service environment is inherently ____________, one should avoid increasing

____________ levels, as this would move customers into the “distressed” region of Russell’s

model.

a. pleasant; arousal

b. pleasant; excitement

c. pleasant; relaxation

d. unpleasant; arousal

e. unpleasant; excitement

7. Which of the following is NOT one of the dimensions of the service environment?

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a. Exterior facilities

b. General infrastructure

c. Store layout

d. Interior displays

e. Location

8. Which of the following is an ambient condition?

a. Facility layout

b. Displays

c. Music

d. Location

e. Price

Chapter 11: Managing People for Service Advantage

1. From the customer’s perspective which of the following is the most important aspect of

service?

a. Management’s responsiveness to occurrences of failure.

b. Timely delivery of service.

c. Efficient handling of special requests.

d. The encounter with service staff.

e. A fair price.

2. Service employees are important to customers and competitive positioning because the front

line ____________.

a. is the most visible part of the firm

b. contains more employees than management

c. is often the first to deal with customer complaints

d. is better trained at dealing with customers than are managers

e. all of the above

3. Training is most effective at reducing ____________.

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a. person/role stress

b. organization/client conflict

c. interclient conflict

d. interorganizational conflict

e. intraorganizational conflict

4. Emotional labor is when employees ____________.

a. find it hard to be emotional because they are too overworked

b. have a gap between what they feel inside, and what management expects them to display to

their customers

c. have to keep their emotions under control at the work place

d. feel happy all the time because they enjoy their jobs

e. are emotionally stressed by all the demands of their jobs

5. Outcomes of the “Cycle of Failure” for firms include ____________ and ____________.

a. low service quality; low employee turnover

b. low service quality; high employee turnover

c. high service quality; low employee turnover

d. high service quality; high employee turnover

e. mediocre service quality; unpredictable employee turnover

6. The “Cycle of Failure” includes all of the following EXCEPT ____________.

a. emphasis on rules

b. emphasis on attracting new customers

c. adequate pay and job security

d. low skill levels

e. use of technology to control quality

7. Companies that engage in a “Cycle of Success” are more likely to have which of the following?

a. Happier employees

b. More loyal customers

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c. Higher profit margins

d. Better wages

e. All of the above

8. Employees should be trained in all these areas EXCEPT ____________.

a. organizational culture

b. organizational revenue

c. service knowledge

d. interpersonal skills

e. product knowledge

(b; Easy; p. 338)

9. A strategy of empowerment is most likely to be appropriate when which of the following

factors are present within the organization and its environment?

a. The business strategy is not too customized

b. The organization uses routine technology.

c. The business environment is stable.

d. Customer interactions are relational as opposed to transactional.

e. All of the above.

Chapter 12: Managing Relationships and Building Loyalty

1. Which of the following is NOT one of the advantages to incremental profits of a loyal

customer?

a. Profit from increased purchases.

b. Profit from decreased advertising.

c. Profit from reduced operating costs.

d. Profit from referrals to other customers.

e. Profit from price premiums.

2. In the worksheet for calculating customer lifetime value, sources of annual revenues include

all EXCEPT _____________.

a. Annual account fee

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b. sales

c. service fees

d. value of referrals

e. account management

3. Steps to building a foundation of loyalty include all EXCEPT _____________.

a. delivering customer satisfaction

b. delivery service quality

c. segmenting the market to match customer needs and firm capabilities

d. acquiring customers who fit the core value proposition

e. managing the customer base through effective tiering

4. The wheel of loyalty is composed of which of the following three main components?

a. Create loyalty bonds; deliver quality service; segment the market

b. Create loyalty bonds; build higher level bonds; deliver quality service

c. Build a foundation for loyalty; create bundling; build higher level bonds

d. Build a foundation for loyalty; create loyalty bonds; reduce churn drivers

e. Create loyalty bonds; understand customer value; understand service value

5. Firms should not assume that the “right customers” are always the ___________.

a. ones that are easily delighted

b. high spenders

c. price sensitive customers

d. average income earners

e. least costly to acquire

6. Which of the following is NOT one of the four customer tiers discussed by Zeithaml, Rust, and

Lemon?

a. Platinum

b. Gold

c. Bronze

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d. Iron

e. Lead

7. Which of the following are the three main zones of the satisfaction-loyalty relationship?

a. Direction; institution; affluence

b. Defection; indifference; affection

c. Detection; elimination; subversion

d. Detection; affluence; rejection

e. Direction; intention; rejection

8. Which of the following is NOT one of the strategies for developing loyalty bonds with

customers?

a. Deepening the relationship

b. Lag-based bonds

c. Social bonds

d. Customization bonds

e. Structural bonds

9. Which of the following is NOT one of the key strategies used to reduce customer defections?

a. Eliminate nuisance customers.

b. Address key churn drivers.

c. Implement effective complaint handling and service recovery procedures.

d. Increase switching costs.

e. Analyze customer defections and monitor declining accounts.

10. The key questions to ask when defining a firm’s customer relationship strategy include all

EXCEPT _____________.

a. What is the increase in profit from increase the share-of-wallet with our current customers?

b. How much customization or one-to-one marketing and service delivery is suitable and

profitable?

c. How will top management feel about our strategy?

d. How should our value proposition change to increase customer loyalty?

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e. How much time and resources can we provide to CRM right now?

Chapter 13: Complaint Handling and Service Recovery

1. Which of the following is NOT one of the options customers take when they are dissatisfied with

a service encounter?

a. Take legal action.

b. Vent their anger on the service equipment.

c. Do nothing.

d. Complain to the service firm.

e. Give negative word of mouth.

2. Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons why customers complain that is listed in the

book?

a. Better understand the failure

b. Vent their anger

c. Help improve the service

d. Obtain restitution or compensation

e. For altruistic reasons

4. ____________ involves the employees of the firm who provide the service recovery and their

behavior toward the customer.

a. Procedural justice

b. Legal justice

c. Interactional justice

d. Relational justice

e. Outcome justice

6. Which of the following is NOT one of the guidelines provided for the Front Line on how to handle

customer complaints?

a. Consider compensation

b. Keep the customer informed of progress

c. Explain the problem from the service firm’s point of view

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d. Acknowledge the customer’s feelings

e. Act fast

7. Effective service recovery procedures should be ____________, ____________, ____________,

and ____________.

a. proactive, engaged, universal, empowered

b. planned, engaged, universal, trained

c. proactive, planned, trained, empowered

d. trained, engaged, flexible, spontaneous

e. trained, engaged, universal, empowered

8. All EXCEPT which of the following are reasons that service guarantees are powerful tools for both

promoting and achieving service quality?

a. Guarantees reduce consumer complaining, increasing customer satisfaction and information

from customers.

b. Guarantees force firms to focus on what their customers want and expect in each element

of the service.

c. Guarantees set clear standards, telling customers and employees alike what the company

stands for.

d. Guarantees building “market muscle” by reducing the risk of the purchase decision and

developing long-term loyalty.

e. Guarantees force service organizations understand why they fail and encourage them to

identify and overcome potential fail points.

10. All of the following are jaycustomers EXCEPT ___________.

a. The Cheat

b. The Rule Breaker

c. The Belligerent

d. The Deadbeat

e. The Hooligan

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Chapter 14: Improving Service Quality and Productivity

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

a. Tangibles

b. Reliability

c. Responsiveness

d. Transcendence

e. Assurance

2. Accurate performance is an aspect of __________.

a. tangibles

b. reliability

c. responsiveness

d. transcendence

e. assurance

3. Competence and courtesy are aspects of ____________.

a. tangibles

b. reliability

c. responsiveness

d. transcendence

e. assurance

4. ____________ and ____________ typically measure satisfaction with all major customer service

processes and products.

a) Total market surveys; ordinary surveys

b) Regular surveys; ordinary surveys

c) Regular surveys; reverse surveys

d) Regular surveys; split surveys

e) Total market surveys; annual surveys

5. The ____________ is the difference between what service providers believe customers expect

and customers’ actual needs and expectations

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a. interpretation gap

b. standard gap

c. knowledge gap

d. service quality gap

e. internal communications gap

6. The ____________ is the difference between what a service provider communicates and what it

actually delivers to the customer.

a. interpretation gap

b. communications gap

c. perceptions gap

d. standards gap

e. knowledge gap

7. Which of the following is NOT one of the six service quality gaps?

a. The knowledge gap.

b. The proportion gap.

c. The policy gap.

d. The delivery gap.

e. The perceptions gap.

8. Which of the following is the prescription 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.

9. The Return on Quality approach are based on all of the following assumptions EXCEPT

a) not all quality expenditures are equally justified.

b) it is possible to spend too much on quality.

c) quality is imperative so we need to put our resources behind it.

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d) quality efforts must make sense financially.

e) quality is an investment.

10. 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.

Chapter 15: Organizing for Service Leadership

1. In the service profit chain, profitability, customer loyalty and customer satisfaction is due to

_____________.

a. complacent reactionism

b. satisfied, loyal and productive employees

c. conducive servicescape

d. crossfunctional teams

e. reduction management

2. Which of the following is one of the three functions that are tightly linked in effective service

firms?

a. The management function.

b. The outputs function.

c. The inputs function.

d. The servicescape function.

e. The human resources function.

3. Which of the following is a component of service performance discussed under the marketing

function?

a. Service quality

b. Service delivery

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c. Productivity

d. Workforce

e. Role of operations

4. Which of the following is a component of service performance discussed under the operations

function?

a. Role of marketing

b. Competitive appeal

c. Introduction of new technology

d. Customer profile

e. Workforce

5. _____________ is NOT a way to reduce interfunctional conflict.

a. Having top management’s commitment to ensure that the overarching objectives of all

departments are integrated

b. Having cross-functional project teams for new service development

c. Having cross-functional service delivery teams

d. Having a charismatic leader

e. Appointing someone to integrate specific objective, activities and proceses between

departments

6. _________ in a business context involves continual changes.

a. Transformation

b. Evolution

c. Revolution

d. Leadership

e. Performance

7. All of the following are hurdles leaders face in reorienting and formulating a strategy in

turnaround situations EXCEPT ___________.

a. resource hurdles

b. cognitive hurdles

c. political hurdles

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d. motivational hurdles

e. leadership hurdles

8. Organizational culture includes all of the following EXCEPT ____________.

a. shared perceptions or themes regarding what is important in the organization

b. shared values about what is right and wrong

c. shared understanding about what works and what doesn’t work

d. shared beliefs, and assumptions about why these things are important

e. diverse styles of working and relating to others

9. Which of the following is NOT one of the key factors that influence an organization’s working

environment?

a. Flexibility

b. Responsibility

c. Standards

d. Power

e. Clarity

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