From dissatisfied customers to evangelists of the firm: A study of the Spanish mobile service sector

Abstract

This paper takes a closer look at factors which serve as a catalyst for transforming initially dissatisfied customers into evangelists of the firm; that is, customers who spread positive word-of-mouth about a company, its products and/or services—and recommend them to other consumers. We propose a conceptual model, rooted in relationship marketing theory, which identifies a set of factors that afford a better understanding of post-service recovery customer transformation processes. The proposed model is empirically tested in the context of mobile telecommunications services using a structural equation modeling approach. Our findings reveal that when companies are capable of designing effective service recovery processes—where customers perceive effort and justice in the outcome—initial dissatisfaction can turn to brand loyalty, long-term commitment and, above all, readiness to speak positively about the company and its products. Finally, the main implications for marketing practice are discussed.

Unpacking the Art of Customer Complaint Handling in Spanish and British Telecom Emails: A Cross-Cultural Webcare Study With a Human Touch

“…Although incorrect language is in no way CHV promoting, and as such was not included in the coding scheme, it is from a sociolinguistic perspective an aspect of informal speech (Hymes, 1962). An empirical study by Cambra Fierro et al (2014) on factors considered essential by customers of the Spanish mobile service sector in order to be willing to spread positive word-of-mouth after being served due to a complaint, shows that the element of “perceived effort,” with professional and effective communication as part of this, is very important. Moreover, it proves to have an impact on other possible factors, such as “perceived justice,” which is the subjective evaluation of the fairness of the response by the complainant.…”

“…Providing excellent customer service is increasingly becoming a key differentiator for companies in today’s competitive market (Sheth et al, 2020; Van Vaerenbergh et al, 2018), especially considering the long-term trend toward higher levels of consumer complaints (Ombudsman Services, 2020; UK European Consumer Centre, 2017). Recent academic studies and industry reports have shown that high-quality customer service, which includes complaint management, leads to higher levels of customer satisfaction, loyalty, and subsequently to increased revenue and growth (Cambra Fierro et al, 2014; Microsoft, 2019; Van Vaerenbergh et al, 2018). Therefore, it is of increasing importance for a company to respond adequately to complaints and to rectify errors through service recovery (Zhang & Vásquez, 2014).…”

Service recovery efforts' influence on consumers' desire to reciprocate and forgiveness: the mediating role of perceived justice

“…Thus, this study assumes that consumers' desire to reciprocate and forgiveness are potentially favorable outcomes of service recovery. For instance, appropriate investment in failure handling can trigger feelings of reciprocity (Fierro et al, 2014), which promotes future patronage (Dutta et al, 2019). Similarly, consumer forgiveness promotes an enhanced brand attitude, purchase intention, satisfaction (Tathagata and Amar, 2018) cognitive loyalty, affective loyalty, conative loyalty (Ghosh, 2017) and recovery satisfaction (Ma et al, 2020), etc.…”

“…Thus, this study assumes that consumers' desire to reciprocate and forgiveness are potentially favorable outcomes of service recovery. For instance, appropriate investment in failure handling can trigger feelings of reciprocity (Fierro et al. , 2014), which promotes future patronage (Dutta et al.…”

Antecedents and outcomes of service recovery satisfaction: perspectives on open and distance learning in Malaysia

“…In the end, it is expected that the outcome of this research could lead to positive recovery satisfaction after service failure by the online learners in their respective ODL universities and also to their positive behavioural outcomes. A considerable amount of empirical research has been conducted in the field of service failure, recovery customer satisfaction, justice dimensions, corporate image and customer behavioural outcomes in the setting of retail, healthcare, restaurant, hotel, airlines, telecommunication and banking sectors (Abbas et al, 2015;Barakat et al, 2015;Cambra-Fierro et al, 2014;Cheng and Loi, 2014;Ha and Jang, 2009;Kassim and Souiden, 2007;Kumar Piaralal et al, 2014;Lopes and da Silva, 2015;Ro, 2014), but not in the Malaysian private higher education sector, especially in the context of ODL. Voss et al (2010) highlighted this issue, particularly the need to study service failure and service recovery in the education sector, including ODL, in order to build and add to the existing body of knowledge in the field.…”