Quality in the Service Industry

According to John Naisbitt, author of Megatrends, the United States is moving from an industrial to an information society. This is evident in the rapidly growing service industry. From 1969 to 1976, ninety percent of the newly created jobs were white collar or service oriented positions. In 1981, almost seventy percent of all jobs were in the service industry. This percentage is expected to increase to near ninety percent by 1990. The Coalition of Service Industries, Inc. estimates that service industries generate two‐thirds of the United States Gross National Product, and service industries employ three out of four working Americans. Another reason for the increase in concern for service quality is the rise of the “get my money's worth” consumer, a value‐seeking shopper who thinks in terms of total use cost rather than just initial acquisition cost.