1. Consumer perceptions of quality significantly differ due to the perceived attributes of products.

In the category of healthy snack food bars discussed in class, discuss and explain how each of the following affect perceived consumer quality:

the search qualities or attributes of these products,

the experience attributes of the products,

the credence qualities or attributes of the products.

Give examples as to how these affect consumer perceptions, and how perceptions of quality may vary for each consumer target segment.

2. Understanding customer perceptions of quality is particularly important for managers in the operation of service businesses. Service quality varies considerably due to various factors that are hard to control.

Using the Starbucks case as an example, discuss and explain how the following marketing concepts are used to explain variations in consumer perceptions of service quality: intangibility, perishable, inseparability, and inconsistency