A service revolution is sweeping America. Nearly three-quarters of the people in the U.S. labor force work in services, almost half of family income is spent on services, and providing good service is widely believed to be the key to an organization's success, whether in the for-profit, nonprofit, or government sector.

The Dynamics of Service is the first book to examine the service transaction in depth from social, psychological, and management perspectives. Barbara A. Gutek details the gradual encroachment of fast-food-type delivery approaches (service "encounters") into all forms of services, even those - such as medical care, financial services, and child care - that have traditionally been provided in ways that offer more continuity (service "relationships").

Gutek examines the cumulative impact of this quiet revolution on customers, providers, and the enterprises that provide service - and shows how it is changing the quality of our jobs and our lives.

With powerful implications for health care, psychotherapy, higher education, law, and all areas where work is rapidly being restructured in large organizations, The Dynamics of Service provides professionals in many disciplines with a common framework for understanding how customers will be served in the future.