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This chapter introduces two empirical studies to analyse the adequacy of complaint channels. In detail, five communication channels (mail, e-mail, phone, face-to-face and social networks) as complaint channels are examined from a customer perspective with regard to five dimensions: procedural justice, interactional justice, distributive justice, personal attitudes and social interaction. First, to test the adequacy of the complaint channels, a one-way analysis of variance is conducted for each dimension identified. Differences among the adequacy of complaint channels towards customer perceptions are revealed. Second, a cluster analysis provides detailed insights into customers' preferences regarding complaint channel choice.

This chapter analyses the impact of customer complaint behaviour and classifies potential types of behaviour after a dissatisfying incident. Besides the opportunity of contacting a company directly, three alternative options are discussed which can be utilised by customers to vent their frustration. Thereafter, four different traditional complaint channels are introduced. This part is followed by a definition of social networks as a potentially emerging complaint channel. The remaining part of this chapter emphasizes the importance of complaint channels and describes three scientific theories which are important for customer satisfaction analysis: justice theory, behaviour theory and attribution theory. Each theory is described in detail and linked to the context of the study.Keywords Attribution theory Á Behaviour theory Á Communication channels Á Customer complaint behaviour Á Customer dissatisfaction Á Customer satisfaction Á Justice theory Á Online social networks This chapter begins with a system of customer complaint behaviour and highlights potential customer choices once a product or service failure has occurred (Sect. 2.1). A typology of existing communication channels for contacting companies is provided (Sect. 2.2) and extended by incorporating social networks into existing models (Sect. 2.3). After this, fundamental aspects of the underlying scientific theories are discussed (Sect. 2.4). Impact of Customer Complaint BehaviourCustomer Complaint Behaviour (CCB) has several antecedents, characteristics, and implications. To provide a consistent basis for this study, the term customer complaint behaviour can be defined as "a customer's protest to a firm with the goal of obtaining an exchange, a refund or an apology" (Larivet and Brouard 2010). However, researchers have shown that a certain dissatisfaction threshold needs to be crossed in order for customers to take action (Rust and Chung 2006). Thus, not

In this chapter the main question "which communication channels are adequate options to voice a complaint from a customer perspective" is answered. Four main managerial implications are drawn from the results of the empirical studies. First, traditional communication channels like mail, e-mail, phone and faceto-face are evaluated regarding their adequacy in the context of customer complaints. Second, social networks as a potential new complaint channel are examined. Third, traditional complaint channels and social networks are compared regarding their adequacy to voice a complaint. Fourth, social interaction is identified as a mediator for customers' perception of complaint channel adequacy. To conclude this chapter, managerial implications are suggested. Besides, the contributions to existing literature as well as the limitations of the studies are revealed.This chapter summarises the main findings of this study and derives managerial recommendations from these findings (Sect. 5.1). The contribution to existing literature is highlighted (Sect. 5.2) and, finally, the limitations are demonstrated and suggestions for topics for further research are made (Sect. 5.3). Managerial ImplicationsGuided by the most important issue four management questions have been formulated at the beginning of this study. Detailed answers for each of these are given in the following.The first management question focuses on the customers' perception of each of the traditional communication channels' adequacy for voicing complaints to companies. It can be concluded that basically all traditional communication channels can be used for complaints. The respondents of both surveys indicate that they perceive mail, e-mail, phone, and face-to-face as being adequate, though customers

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