Improving service quality has finally become a top priority of management today, yet according to service quality expert Leonard Berry only a handful of companies have managed to determine exactly what to improve and how to improve it. For the past two years, Berry studied dozens of companies of all sizes renowned for their capacity to deliver what they promise and more. From his on-site observation of the strategies and practices of such companies as Mary Kay Cosmetics, Tattered Cover Book Store, Longo Toyota & Lexus, Lakeland Regional Medical Center, and Hard Rock Cafe, Berry has...

Excellent service is the foundation for services marketing, contend Leonard Berry and A. Parasuraman in this companion volume to Delivering Quality Service. Building on eight years of research, the authors develop a model for understanding the relationship between quality and marketing in services and offer dozens of practical insights into ways to improve services marketing. They argue that superior service cannot be manufactured in a factory, packaged, and delivered intact to customers. Though an innovative service concept may give a company an initial edge, superior quality is vital...

Party plans, individual calls, customer lists - this hands-on guide to a career in direct selling introduces readers to one of the fastest-growing sectors of the American economy. Companies such as Avon, Mary Kay, Shaklee, Amway, and Discovery Toys offer careers - part- or full-time - to millions of Americans, nine out of ten of whom are women. The beauty of direct selling is the ease of entry: low cost, no educational requirements, no age, ethnic, disability, or other barrier to achieving success. This book, written by a professional with forty years' experience in different aspects of...