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Over the past decade much has been written on service quality (SQ) in the financial services industry and on the value of quality circles (QCs) in service industries in general. The SQ literature propounds the competitive importance of achieving high standards of SQ in service companies and documents the advantages and difficulties of maintaining these high standards. In a different area of management, quality circles (QCs) have been developed as a method of improving processes within companies, with a literature citing widely held beliefs about the benefits of running QC programmes. However, few, if any, previous writers have analysed how QCs and their advantages relate to SQ, despite the potential synergies between the two areas. Reviews both service quality and quality circles, identifies the relation between the two within the framework of gap analysis, and presents empirical work carried out within Midland Bank, investigating this relationship. Finally, presents a 12‐stage approach to implementing a QC programme.

This study aims to explore the experiences of living through the COVID-19 pandemic for people who faced homelessness and dealt with mental health and/or substance use challenges.

This qualitative study was comprised of 26 1:1 interviews (16 men and 10 women), conducted between February and May 2021 with people who experienced homelessness in North East England during the COVID-19 pandemic. An inductive reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken, with input from individuals with lived experience who were involved throughout the study.

Four themes were developed. The first theme, lack of support and exacerbation of mental health and substance use difficulties, highlighted how the lack of in-person support and increased isolation and loneliness led to relapses or new challenges for many people’s mental health and substance use. The second theme, uncertainty and fear during the pandemic, explored how the “surreal” experience of the pandemic led to many people feeling uncertain about the future and when things would return to normal. The third theme, isolation and impacts on social networks, discussed how isolation and changes to relationships also played a role in mental health and substance use. Finally, opportunity for reflection and self-improvement for mental health and substance use, explored how some people used the isolated time to re-evaluate their recovery journey and focus on self-improvement.

The experiences shared within this study have important implications for planning the future delivery and commissioning of health and social care services for people facing homelessness, such as sharing information accessibly through clear, consistent and simple language.

As one of the few papers to involve people with lived experience as part of the research, the findings reflect the unique narratives of this population with a focus on improving services.