Consumers experience dissatisfaction when they encounter product or service performance below expectations (Oliver, 1997). A category of particular practical interest is situations where an acquired product or service contains a defect or deficiency. Because such events occur more or less randomly they are difficult to study, and consumer behavior becomes difficult to predict (and influence). The random nature of such events also means that consumers usually have no experience with seeking redress (i.e., complaining), or their experience may be from totally different situations. Because of this, most people have not formed a clear attitude about how to behave in situations like this and they may also be uncertain about social norms for proper behavior. Hence, it is likely that situation-specific factors exert a large influence on behavior. This study indeed finds that the likelihood that consumers complain over defects and deficiencies depends a lot on the situation, related to the size of the perceived loss. If companies and institutions can count on consumers complaining over serious defects and deficiencies, it is hardly a big problem if they refrain from doing so in less important cases. However, some individuals may refrain from complaining even in cases they perceive as serious. This study shows that complaining depends on the person's attitude towards complaining and on personality traits (negative affectivity). The two latter variables reinforce one another.
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