Deck 14: Improving Service Quality and Productivity

Question 1

Objectives of a customer feedback system does NOT include ____________.

A)Conducting total market survey
B)Creating a customer-oriented service culture
C)Customer-driven learning improvements
D)Benchmarking of service quality and performance

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Higher productivity should lead to higher profitability through reduced customer turnover.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Service quality gap is the difference between what customers expect and their perception of the service actually delivered.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The Gaps Model is used to ____________.

A)improve customer satisfaction
B)reduce productivity problems
C)diagnose and address service quality problems
D)enhance a firm's profitability

Question 5

Service quality is a high standard of performance that consistently meets ____________.

A)profit goals
B)productivity goals
C)customer expectations
D)All of the above

Question 6

Hard measures are used to measure service quality by talking to the customers.

Question 7

Which following reasons add more complexity to the Service Quality-Productivity-Profit Triangle?

A)Productivity improvements can make customer satisfaction droa.
B)Some improvements in customer satisfaction strategies can be costly.
C)Some quality improvements may not have any implication for productivity.
D)All of the above
E)None of the above

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT a category in extended Fishbone Diagram?

A)Equipment
B)Personnel
C)Information
D)Accounting

Question 9

Pareto Analysis underlies the 80/20 rule, because 80% of problems are caused by 20% of variables.

Question 10

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.
D)quality efforts must make sense financially.
E)quality is an investment.

Question 11

Some marketing strategies for customer satisfaction can prove to be costly and disruptive.

Question 12

Which factors in service redesign can lead to productivity-customer satisfaction alignment?

A)Leaner design
B)Faster design
C)Convenient design
D)All of the above

Question 13

SERVQUAL is an example of a ____________ measure of service quality.

A)hard
B)soft
C)sophisticated
D)None of the above

Question 14

TQM comprises of requirements, definitions, guidelines, and related standards to provide independent quality assessment.

Question 15

The ____________ is the difference between what service providers believe customers expect and customers' actual needs and expectations

A)interpretation gap
B)standard gap
C)knowledge gap
D)service quality gap
E)internal communications gap

Question 16

The GAPS model is used to capture all possible sources of gaps in customer service quality perceptions.

Question 17

One weakness of mystery shopping for customer feedback collection is that it is expensive.

Question 18

Efficiency is a measure of the degree to which an organization meets its goals and desired outcomes.

Question 19

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 20

Cutbacks in front-stage staffing means that there are insufficient personnel to serve customers promptly.

Question 21

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

Question 22

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 23

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

Question 24

List the four ways to improve service productivity.

Question 25

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

Question 26

Explain the Service Quality-Productivity-Profit Triangle.

Question 27

Describe one of the primary components of the prescription for the policy gap.

Question 28

What is the difference between fishbone diagrams and blueprinting?

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

Give an example of biometric test usage in a service environment.

Question 31

FedEx's Service Quality Indicator is a 10-item measure of satisfaction and service quality from the customers' viewpoint.

Question 32

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

Question 33

What is service quality?

Question 34

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 35

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

Question 36

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 37

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 38

What is the collection of customer feedback tools that a firm can use?

Question 39

FedEx was one of the first companies 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 40

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 41

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

Question 42

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

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

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