Managing Service Quality: An International Journal: Volume 6 Issue 3

Does the rhetoric of customer service match the reality?

Julia Nicolson, John Kemp, Paul Linnell

Reports on research by the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals and TARP Europe Ltd into the effectiveness of customer service as a marketing tool and whether companies are…

Quality is bringing back a key service element ‐ ownership

Jon Choppin

Recent history has broken down traditional working relationships, robbing individuals of the ownership of their work. Charts how total quality management is reinstating this sense…

Asset and maintenance management ‐ becoming a boardroom issue

Carl Spires

Looks at why operations and maintenance managers are now enjoying the full attention of their board of directors, and at the golden opportunities to improve asset and maintenance…

Jonathan Dandy interviews Terry Wells, director of Customer Service, J. Sainsbury plc

Jonathan Dandy

Reports an interview with Terry Wells, director of Customer Service at J. Sainsbury plc, where the importance of customer service is discussed. States that the provision of good…

Indaba on quality ‐ a South African challenge overcome

Malcolm Hughes

Explains how US‐based consulting firm, Philip Crosby Associates, encouraged workers at its South Africa operations to become more involved in the smooth running of the company…

Service as strategy at KHS Maschinen‐und Anlagenbau

Peter Baumgartner, Ralf Kalmbach, Matthias Mahnel, Hans‐Jörg Lütjens

Describes how KHS Maschinen‐und Anlagenbau is transforming its service operation to strengthen customer relationships and accelerate growth.

Managing service quality in HE: is SERVQUAL the answer? Part 2

Peter F. Cuthbert

Explains the need for a valid and reliable instrument for course managers to evaluate their product through customer feedback as part of the system of quality assurance. Examines…

Customer care ‐ making it work

Graham Bailey

Briefly reviews some results of a survey on training requirements, the most important of which appeared to be customer care. States that organizations need long‐term strategy, not…

How to establish rapport with others

Jennifer S. Ellerman, Brian H. Kleiner

Indicates the importance of strong and stable work relationships, and how to establish and maintain these by means of three “representational systems”: auditory, visual, and…

Deming’s system of profound knowledge and the World Cup

Samuel K. Ho

In Deming’s system of profound knowledge, he found out that a problem is largely the result of “common causes” (at around 94 per cent) rather than “special causes”. Analysis of…

Managing pollution efforts: how to turn pollution into profits ‐ part 2

D. Keith Denton

Examines how the environment can be used as a competitive weapon in business in relation to customer loyalty. Indicates how managers deal with this issue by means of the results…