Service Operations Management Worksheet (Questions 14-18)

Which tool is best suited to map customer steps, frontstage/backstage actions, and support processes in a service?

• Fishbone diagram

• Service blueprint

• BCG matrix

• ERP dashboard

A SMART service standard should be:

• Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound

• Simple, Marketable, Attractive, Reliable, Trendy

• Standardized, Monetary, Accurate, Robust, Tactful

• Strategic, Motivational, Aggressive, Realistic, Temporal

A hospitality chain mandates “check-in under 3 minutes.” This is a:

• Output standard

• Process standard (time)

• Flex standard

• Informal norm

Which demand–capacity strategy smooths demand without altering capacity?

• Cross-training staff

• Differential pricing by time/day

• Hiring part-time workers

• Using overflow facilities

In NSD, a Minimum Viable Service (MVS) aims to:

• Maximize features before launch

• Test essential service value with minimal resources

• Replace service standards with flexibility

• Eliminate customer feedback loops

A bank uses appointment systems and virtual queues to:

• Increase variable costs only

• Shift demand to available capacity and reduce perceived wait

• Eliminate frontline employees

• Remove standards compliance

Customer participation is most beneficial when the task is:

• Complex, specialized, high-risk

• Standardized, low-risk, easily scripted

Employee role clarity influences service quality mainly through:

• Price elasticity

• Reduced role ambiguity and improved performance

• Branding synergy

• Channel power

A firm uses “moments of truth” training to help frontline staff:

• Sell warranties

• Manage critical touchpoints that shape perceived quality

• Reduce back-office costs

• Avoid customer co-production

Which service quality dimension from SERVQUAL relates to “keeping promises and performing dependably”?

• Tangibles

• Empathy

• Reliability

• Responsiveness