arge of quality at service companies. Therefore, an effective implementation of a quality improvement program in service companies requires high levels of employee job satisfaction, and greater discretionary authority for employees interacting with customers (Clark, 1992, pp. 24 26). High quality in services industries means, among other things, that the organizational employee interacting with a company's customer can solve the customer's problem then and there, as opposed to telling a customer that "We'll get back to you" (Armstrong and Symonds, 1991, pp. 100 103).
The effective implementation of quality management in service firms also requires quality related training for employees (Armstrong and Symonds, 1991, p. 100). Further, service companies must also remember that the well known traditional "MBA programs and accounting systems don't cut it in the service game. In a service business, knowledge and information are the raw materials, and the assets are loyal customers and employees. Accounting systems don't measure those. Career paths and compensation schemes fight against them" (Armstrong and Symonds, 1991, p. 102).
Experiences of Firms That Successfully
Implemented Quality Awareness Programs
Although Dean Witter/Discover is a financial services firm, the experiences of companies operating in other service indu
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