MAR 5849 Midterm Review || A+ Verified Solutions.
Customer Gap correct answers created when the customer realizes there is a difference between
what they expected from a service and what they received
this gap explains why "good service" is difficult to replicate -- "quality service" is subjective
Provider Gaps correct answers provide insight into what decisions by the firm led to the
customer gap
1 - The Listening Gap
2 - Service and Design Standards Gap
3 - Service Performance Gap
4 - The Communication Gap
Managerial implications - What drives performance? correct answers money is NOT the #1
driver
TITLE drives performance
critical incident correct answers a service encounter that sticks in your mind either because you
were inordinately satisfied or dissatisfied
Provider Gap 1 - The Listening Gap correct answers factors that contribute to Gap 1:
*§ Lack of focus on learning about the customer*
- without knowing your customer, it is basically impossible to create value
*§ Little to no upward communication*
- frontline employees are regularly undervalued as sources of information
- effective upward communication creates a healthy environment and results in a more engaged
workforce
*§ Insufficient for customer relationship management (CRM)*
- customer retention should take priority over customer acquisition (the value of maintaining a
customer)
- lack of market segmentation (not being aware that we have different customers with different
needs)
*§ Poor recovery strategies*
- failure to learn from customer complaints is one of the most regularly missed improvement
opportunities
Provider Gap 2 - Service Design and Standards Gap correct answers factors that contribute to
Gap 2:
*§ Poor service design*
- vague or undefined service designs
- misaligned service design and service positioning
- flawed new service development process
*§ absence of customer-driven standards*
, - no formal process for setting service quality goals
- failure to focus on customer requirements
*§ inappropriate physical evidence or servicescape*
-inadequate maintenance and updating of servicescape
- tangibles that are not in line with customer expectations
- servicescape that doesn't meet employee or customer needs
SMART correct answers Specific: well-defined and focused
Measurable: the "scoreboard" for your standards
Attainable: realistic or achievable
Relevant: to the mission of the organization
Timely: when will these standards begin?
-- the difference between good and bad service design and standards (SDS) can be explained
using this acronym
Provider Gap 3 - Service Performance Gap correct answers factors contributing to Gap 3:
*§ deficiencies in human resource policies*
§ inefficient recruitment
- Ex: Southwest airlines - hire for attitude, train for skill
§ inappropriate evaluation and compensation
- pay has a much higher correlation with satisfaction than with job satisfaction
§ lack of empowerment or control
- study found that leaders who did not have a good relationship with the employees added job
stress when empowering employees
*§ failure to match supply and demand*
- there are different levels of availability and different levels of demand from customers -- find
ways to adjust that as much as possible
*§ the customers*
- as much as we hate to admit it, sometimes the service failure is our fault
- co-production
Service Performance Gap correct answers •Discrepancy between the established standards and
actual service performance
•This gap represents what most customers think of when they describe bad service
•Not necessarily linked to bad service design or misunderstanding about customer needs
Provider Gap 4 - The Communication Gap correct answers this gap represents the difference
between the level of service "promised" and what is received
factors contributing to Gap 4:
*§ lack of integrated marketing communications (IMC)*
- IMC ensures that all forms of communications and messages are carefully linked together
- tendency to view external communications as independent
- absence of strong internal marketing
*§ ineffective management of customer expectations*
Customer Gap correct answers created when the customer realizes there is a difference between
what they expected from a service and what they received
this gap explains why "good service" is difficult to replicate -- "quality service" is subjective
Provider Gaps correct answers provide insight into what decisions by the firm led to the
customer gap
1 - The Listening Gap
2 - Service and Design Standards Gap
3 - Service Performance Gap
4 - The Communication Gap
Managerial implications - What drives performance? correct answers money is NOT the #1
driver
TITLE drives performance
critical incident correct answers a service encounter that sticks in your mind either because you
were inordinately satisfied or dissatisfied
Provider Gap 1 - The Listening Gap correct answers factors that contribute to Gap 1:
*§ Lack of focus on learning about the customer*
- without knowing your customer, it is basically impossible to create value
*§ Little to no upward communication*
- frontline employees are regularly undervalued as sources of information
- effective upward communication creates a healthy environment and results in a more engaged
workforce
*§ Insufficient for customer relationship management (CRM)*
- customer retention should take priority over customer acquisition (the value of maintaining a
customer)
- lack of market segmentation (not being aware that we have different customers with different
needs)
*§ Poor recovery strategies*
- failure to learn from customer complaints is one of the most regularly missed improvement
opportunities
Provider Gap 2 - Service Design and Standards Gap correct answers factors that contribute to
Gap 2:
*§ Poor service design*
- vague or undefined service designs
- misaligned service design and service positioning
- flawed new service development process
*§ absence of customer-driven standards*
, - no formal process for setting service quality goals
- failure to focus on customer requirements
*§ inappropriate physical evidence or servicescape*
-inadequate maintenance and updating of servicescape
- tangibles that are not in line with customer expectations
- servicescape that doesn't meet employee or customer needs
SMART correct answers Specific: well-defined and focused
Measurable: the "scoreboard" for your standards
Attainable: realistic or achievable
Relevant: to the mission of the organization
Timely: when will these standards begin?
-- the difference between good and bad service design and standards (SDS) can be explained
using this acronym
Provider Gap 3 - Service Performance Gap correct answers factors contributing to Gap 3:
*§ deficiencies in human resource policies*
§ inefficient recruitment
- Ex: Southwest airlines - hire for attitude, train for skill
§ inappropriate evaluation and compensation
- pay has a much higher correlation with satisfaction than with job satisfaction
§ lack of empowerment or control
- study found that leaders who did not have a good relationship with the employees added job
stress when empowering employees
*§ failure to match supply and demand*
- there are different levels of availability and different levels of demand from customers -- find
ways to adjust that as much as possible
*§ the customers*
- as much as we hate to admit it, sometimes the service failure is our fault
- co-production
Service Performance Gap correct answers •Discrepancy between the established standards and
actual service performance
•This gap represents what most customers think of when they describe bad service
•Not necessarily linked to bad service design or misunderstanding about customer needs
Provider Gap 4 - The Communication Gap correct answers this gap represents the difference
between the level of service "promised" and what is received
factors contributing to Gap 4:
*§ lack of integrated marketing communications (IMC)*
- IMC ensures that all forms of communications and messages are carefully linked together
- tendency to view external communications as independent
- absence of strong internal marketing
*§ ineffective management of customer expectations*
