Complaint Handling and Service Recovery

2021 ◽  
pp. 442-475
Author(s):  
Jochen Wirtz ◽  
Christopher Lovelock
Keyword(s):  
Service Recovery ◽  
Complaint Handling

The impact of switching costs on customer complaint behavior and service recovery evaluation

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 458-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxi Bergel ◽  
Christian Brock
Keyword(s):  
Switching Costs ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Service Recovery ◽  
Control Variable ◽  
Response Styles ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Complaint Handling ◽  
Customer Dissatisfaction ◽  
Complaint Behavior ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of three different dimensions of switching costs on customer dissatisfaction response styles as well as on the evaluation of service recovery.Design/methodology/approachStudy 1 is a scenario-based experiment and Study 2 uses a critical incident technique combined with survey-based measures of switching costs, dissatisfaction responses and perceived complaint handling.FindingsThe results of these studies highlight the need to consider the different effects of switching costs. Not only do different switching costs lead to varying customer dissatisfaction responses, they also have differential moderator effects on the interrelationships between customer-perceived recovery justice and service recovery satisfaction.Research limitations/implicationsService failure severity was an influential control variable. Future studies should investigate how the type, context and severity of service failure influence customers’ complaint behavior. Furthermore, participants had trouble differentiating between their relations toward their service provider in general and one particular employee. Hence, further research should explore the relationship between customers and frontline employees.Practical implicationsThe authors encourage managers to take a closer look at the switching cost dimensions of their service industry. This may lead practitioners to promote differentiated strategies for complaint stimulation and complaint handling.Originality/valueThis is the first study to simultaneously explore all three dimensions of switching costs when examining their impact on customers’ dissatisfaction response styles as well as the moderating effects in the recovery process. In doing so, this study reveals some hitherto uncovered effects.

Complaint Handling and Service Recovery

2016 ◽  
pp. 504-543
Author(s):  
Jochen Wirtz ◽  
Christopher Lovelock
Keyword(s):  
Service Recovery ◽  
Complaint Handling

Effects of complaint behaviour and service recovery satisfaction on consumer intentions to repurchase on the internet

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 608-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tammo H.A. Bijmolt ◽  
Eelko K.R.E. Huizingh ◽  
Adriana Krawczyk
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Service Recovery ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Negative Experiences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Repurchase Intentions ◽  
Complaint Handling ◽  
Recovery Satisfaction ◽  
Consumer Intentions ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of complaint behaviour and service recovery satisfaction on consumer intentions to repurchase through internet channels. Design/methodology/approach – Using survey data from large consumer samples from 15 European countries, the authors classify consumers according to: whether they had negative experiences with online purchases, whether they complained, and whether they were satisfied with the complaint handling. A logistic regression analysis assesses the effects of these experiences on repurchase intentions. Findings – Remarkable differences arise among the consumers with respect to intentions to repurchase on the internet. Consumers with negative experiences who complained expressed higher repurchase intentions than consumers with no reason to complain and also than consumers who had negative experiences but did not complain. Yet the highest repurchase intentions arose among consumers who complained and expressed satisfaction with the complaint handling, in support of the service recovery paradox in an online setting. Originality/value – This project is one of the first empirical studies of the consequences of dissatisfaction and complaints related to online purchase behaviour.

Complaint behavior intentions and expectation of service recovery in individualistic and collectivistic cultures

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seul Gi Park ◽  
Kyungmi Kim ◽  
Martin O’Neill
Keyword(s):  
Hospitality Industry ◽  
Service Recovery ◽  
Justice Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Complaint Handling ◽  
Behavior Intentions ◽  
Complaint Behavior ◽  
Effective Service ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate whether complaint behavior intentions and expectations of service recovery based on the justice theory are different among customers from collectivistic versus individualistic cultures. A secondary purpose is to find which service recovery strategies are appropriate for different culture-based complaint behavior intentions. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted at universities, and the survey population consisted of college students, who are known to be frequent users of fast-food restaurants. A total of 304 usable questionnaires were collected. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to verify the validity of the items, Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were used to examine the internal consistency of the factors, and an independent sample t-test was used to analyze differences in complaint behavior intentions and expectations of service recovery efforts in terms of cultural difference. Findings – The results of this study indicated that South Koreans revealed more voice complaint behavior intentions than Americans did. However, there were no significant differences in expectations of service recovery efforts between them. Second, American customers who indicated voice and private complaint behavior intentions expected distributive, procedural and interpersonal justice in complaint-handling procedures. South Korean customers who indicated voice complaint behavior intentions expected distributive and procedural justice, and South Korean customers who indicated private complaint behavior intentions anticipated interactional justice in complaint-handling procedures. Research limitations/implications – Understanding customers’ complaint behavior intentions and expectations of service recovery based on the justice theory and cultural differences will suggest practical implications to hospitality industry managers for effective service quality management. Originality/value – Understanding customers’ complaint behavior intentions and expectations of service recovery based on the justice theory and cultural differences will suggest practical implications to hospitality industry managers for effective service quality management.

Firms Reap what they Sow: The Effects of Shared Values and Perceived Organizational Justice on Customers’ Evaluations of Complaint Handling

2003 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
James G. Maxham ◽  
Richard G. Netemeyer
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Justice ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Service Recovery ◽  
Shared Values ◽  
Purchase Intent ◽  
Customer Perceptions ◽  
Complaint Handling ◽  
Justice Perceptions ◽  
Customer Outcomes ◽  
Role Behaviors

Employing elements of organizational theory and service recovery research, the authors examine how employees’ perceptions of shared values and organizational justice can stimulate customer-directed extra-role behaviors when handling complaints. They also investigate how these extra-role behaviors affect customers’ perceptions of justice, satisfaction, word of mouth, and purchase intent. The authors capture and match employee and customer perceptions regarding the relevant constructs following a complaint and recovery experience. The results indicate that employees’ perceptions of shared values and organizational justice affect customer-directed extra-role behaviors. Furthermore, the authors find that extra-role behaviors have significant effects on customers’ perceptions of justice and that these behaviors mediate the effects of shared values and organizational justice on customer justice perceptions. Their study reveals that customer ratings of justice affect the customer outcomes of satisfaction with recovery, overall firm satisfaction, purchase intent, and word of mouth. Finally, the authors show that customers’ perceptions of justice mediate the effects that extra-role behaviors have on customer outcomes.

scholarly journals Service Recovery on Stage: Effects of Social Media Recovery on Virtually Present Others

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Hogreve ◽  
Nicola Bilstein ◽  
Kathrin Hoerner
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Brand Equity ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Service Recovery ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Purchase Intentions ◽  
Trust Repair ◽  
Complaint Handling ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Repair Mechanisms

Increasingly, customers use social media to voice complaints, making those comments visible to a wide range of uninvolved, virtually present others (VPOs). Many companies seek to shift their complaint-handling efforts away from public online platforms and toward private interactions. However, this approach might not be optimal due to the importance of transparency in social media recovery and its impact on VPOs. Using multiple experiments and building on signaling theory, vicarious learning, and trust repair mechanisms, this study reveals that service recovery transparency acts as an important signal of quality, eliciting trust, and improving VPOs’ word-of-mouth (WOM) and purchase intentions. However, service recovery transparency forms a signal of poor quality when the service recovery is unsuccessful, resulting in negative implications for VPOs’ WOM and purchase intentions. Conditional transparency provides transparency about selected aspects of the service recovery (i.e., the process or result), enabling companies to exploit the positive aspects of transparency and evoke more favorable VPO intentions than would arise with complete opaqueness. Such efforts are necessary because even high brand equity firms suffer when failing to provide recovery transparency.

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