Deck 12: Defining and Measuring Service Quality

Question 1

All of the following are part of the logic for the position that satisfaction assists consumers inrevising service quality perceptions except:

A)Consumer perceptions of the service quality of a firm with which he or she has no prior experience is based on the consumer's expectations.
B)Subsequent encounters with the firm lead the consumer through the disconfirmation process and revisedperceptions of service quality are formed.
C)Once service quality perceptions are fixed,additional encounters with the firm have little bearing.
D)Revised service quality perceptions modify future consumer purchase intentions toward the firm.
E)The sum of a customer's satisfaction over time with a single firm equals the customer's service quality perception.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

A hotel may feel that its customers prefer comfortable rooms,when,in fact,the majority of the hotel's customers spend little time in their rooms and are more interested in on-site amenities such as the pool,spa,and restaurants.This hotel is suffering from a _____ gap.

A)knowledge
B)standards
C)delivery
D)communications
E)confirmation

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Employee willingness to perform and employee-job fit are directly related to which of the following service quality gaps?

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

Answer 3

C

Question 4

____ is an attitude formed by a long-term,overall evaluation of a firm's performance.

A)Customer satisfaction
B)Negative disconfirmation
C)Positive disconfirmation
D)Service quality
E)Customer retention

Question 5

Management's inability to translate what consumers want into a written business plan will increase the size of the _____ gap.

A)knowledge
B)standards
C)delivery
D)communications
E)confirmation

Question 6

Understanding the customer is a critical step toward minimizing or completely eliminating the _____ gap.

A)knowledge
B)standards
C)delivery
D)communications
E)confirmation

Question 7

The distance between a customer's expectations of a service and the perception of the service actually delivered is called the _____ gap.

A)service
B)knowledge
C)standards
D)delivery
E)communication

Question 8

As a service organization's hierarchy becomes more complex and more levels of management are added,the firm is more likely to experience a _____ gap.

A)knowledge
B)standards
C)delivery
D)communications
E)confirmation

Question 9

The difference between what management perceives consumers to expect and the quality specifications set for service delivery is called the _____ gap.

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

Question 10

The ____ gap is the difference between the service the firm promises to deliver through its external communications and the service it actually delivers to its customers.

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

Question 11

____ is a short-term,transaction-specific measure.

A)Customer satisfaction
B)Focus group interviews
C)Noncustomer research
D)Service quality
E)Customer retention

Question 12

When competing firms begin to overpromise in order to top one another,a ____ gap is likely to occur.

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

Question 13

All of the following are factors influencing the delivery gap except:

A)research orientation.
B)role ambiguity.
C)disperson of control.
D)inadequate support.
E)role conflict.

Question 14

Which of the following statements pertaining to the SERVQUAL scale is correct?

A)SERVQUAL compares perceptions to what customers would normally expect.
B)SERVQUAL is a 22-item scale.
C)SERVQUAL consists of four service quality dimensions.
D)SERVQUAL compares perceptions to what a customer should expect from a firm that delivers high-quality services.
E)SERVQUAL consists of one in-depth and two sub-sections of questions.

Question 15

The firm's overemphasis on cost reduction and short-term profits will increase the size of the _____ gap.

A)knowledge
B)standards
C)delivery
D)communications
E)confirmation

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT one the five dimensions that is measured by the SERVQUAL scale?

A)tangibles
B)employee satisfaction
C)responsiveness
D)assurance
E)empathy

Question 17

The difference between the quality standards set for service performance and the actual quality of the service performed is called the _____ gap.

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

Question 18

Minimizing the amount of role conflict and role ambiguity experienced by employees will help reduce the size of the _____ gap.

A)knowledge
B)standards
C)delivery
D)communications
E)confirmation

Question 19

The firm's increased research orientation and enhanced upward communication will assist the firm in decreasing which one of the following gaps?

A)knowledge gap
B)standards gap
C)delivery gap
D)communications gap
E)confirmation gap

Question 20

​All of the following statements pertaining to the SERVQUAL scale are correct except:

A)​when the gap score equals zero,the customer is satisfied.
B)​the first section of questions asks respondents to record their experiences with excellent firms in the specific service industry.
C)​SERVQUAL consists of five service quality dimensions.
D)​SERVQUAL compares perceptions to what a customer should expect from a firm the delivers high-quality services.
E)​SERVQUAL is a 44-item scale.

Question 21

The component of a firm's service quality information system that is used specifically to assess employee performance is:

A)solicitation of customer complaints.
B)customer focus group interviews.
C)employee surveys.
D)mystery shopping.
E)total market service quality survey.

Question 22

The ____ dimension is an assessment of the firm's consistency and dependability in service performance.

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

Question 23

Explain how providing poor service can actually increase a country's gross domestic product (GDP).

Question 24

Excellent companies will perform the service right the first time is a typical statement within the ____ dimension of the SERVQUAL scale.

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

Question 25

The SERVQUALassessment of a firm's competence,courtesy to its customers,and security of its operations is the ____ dimension.

A)tangibles
B)employee satisfaction
C)responsiveness
D)assurance
E)reliability

Question 26

In general,service quality information systems focus on two types of research: customer research and noncustomer research.List the components of the service quality information system under the appropriate research heading.

Question 27

Employees of excellent companies will be neat in appearance is a typical statement within the ____ dimension of the SERVQUAL scale.

A)tangibles
B)reliability
C)responsiveness
D)assurance
E)reliability

Question 28

____ refers to the service firm's commitment to providing its services in a timely manner.

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

Question 29

Excellent companies will have the customer's best interest at heart is a typical statement within the ____ dimension of the SERVQUAL scale.

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

Question 30

The SERVQUAL dimension that measures consumer views of the firm's personnel and communications materials is the ____ dimension.

A)tangibles
B)employee satisfaction
C)responsiveness
D)assurance
E)reliability

Question 31

Which of the following is NOT a key component that needs to be built into every service quality system?

A)​listening
B)​reliability
C)​servant leadership
D)​individual play
E)​service design

Question 32

Which of the following is a major criticism of the SERVQUAL scale?

A)The questionnaire is too short to adequately assess the dimensions.
B)The five service quality dimensions do not hold up under statistical scrutiny.
C)The results do not predict consumer purchase intention.
D)The perceptions section is of no real value.
E)More emphasis should be placed on the expectations section.

Question 33

Provide a brief description for each of the five gaps within the conceptual model of service quality.

Question 34

The component of a firm's service quality information system that assesses the firm's and competitor's service quality ratings is:

A)solicitation of customer complaints.
B)customer focus group interviews.
C)employee surveys.
D)mystery shopping.
E)total market service quality survey.

Question 35

List the five dimensions of service quality.Which dimension is typically rated by customers as the most important? Which is typically rated as the least important?

Question 36

Which of the following is NOT a component of a service quality information system?

A)mystery shopping
B)customer retention interviews
C)after-sale surveys
D)employee surveys
E)total market service quality surveys

Question 37

The SERVQUAL dimension that is typically noted as the most important by customers is the ____ dimension.

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

Question 38

The SERVQUAL dimension that is typically noted as the least important by customers is the ____ dimension.

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

Question 39

Explain why the productivity of education and government services is notoriously difficult to measure.

Question 40

_____ examine(s) the customer'sperspective of a firm's strengths and weaknesses.

A)Customer research
B)Employee survey
C)Noncustomer research
D)Customer complaints
E)Service quality survey