The effects of service recovery on consumer satisfaction: a comparison between complainants and non‐complainants

Abstract

Purpose-The primary objective of this study is to investigate the effects of service recovery on customer satisfaction. Specifically, it examines the perception of "justice" in service recovery and how it affects the level of satisfaction and behavioral outcomes. In addition, the study also explores whether the "recovery paradox" exists. Design/methodology/approach-Data were collected through a survey using a structured questionnaire. The 428 respondents were analyzed according to whether they did or did not make a complaint to the service providers. Findings-The findings showed that the complainants' level of satisfaction with service recovery was significantly affected by perceived justice. The behavioral outcomes of the complainants in terms of trust, word-of-mouth (WOM) and loyalty were also found to be affected by their satisfaction with the service recovery. T-tests confirmed that the levels of trust, WOM and loyalty were significantly higher for those respondents who were satisfied with the service recovery compared with those who were dissatisfied. Further t-tests also indicated that respondents who were initially satisfied with the service expressed greater trust and positive WOM compared with the satisfied complainants. Finally, the study showed that dissatisfied complainants would exhibit a lower level of trust and were more likely to engage in negative word-of-mouth behavior compared with those who were dissatisfied initially but chose not to complain. Practical implications-The findings in this paper confirmed the importance of perceived justice in service recovery. Satisfaction with service recovery also leads to a higher level of trust, positive word-of-mouth behavior and, to a lesser extent, the level of loyalty. Finally, the lack of support of the "recovery paradox" effect suggests that successful service recovery alone would not bring customer satisfaction to pre-service failure levels. It is therefore essential to provide service right at the first time. Originality/value-This is a new study on the service provided by mobile phone service providers in an Asian environment. It also reinforces the important of perceive justice in service recovery and debunks the existence of the "recovery paradox" effect.

Service recovery in higher education: Does national culture play a role?

“…The consequence "Problem Solution" has also been linked to developing trust in the professor. This is supported by findings that show that remedying a service failure helps reinstall customer trust in the service provider (Kau & Loh, 2006;. Students also believe that a problem solution helps them in knowledge acquisition by enhancing the relationship between teachers and students, which provides motivation for students to perform better and especially to learn more, as shown by the strong linkage between "Motivation" and "Knowledge".…”

Restoran İşletmelerinde Müşteri Şikâyet Davranışlarının Analizi: Ankara İlinde Bir Araştırma (Analysis of Customer Complaints Behavior in Restaurant Establishments: A Research in Ankara Province)

“…Fakat şikayet konusu durumu başkalarına aktarmak, restoranın imajı açısından diğer potansiyel müşterilerin de söz konusu restoranı tercih etmemesine neden olabilecektir. Unutulmamalıdır ki insanlar memnuniyetsizliklerini daha fazla kişiye aktarma eğilimindedirler (Kau ve Loh, 2006;Çatı ve Koçoğlu, 2008).…”

The Relationship between Service Recovery and Patronage Intentions: The Mediating Role of Relationship Quality

“…To measure service recovery strategies, we have combined several different measures defined and validated in the literature (Boshoff, 1999;Boshoff et al, 2005, Kau andLoh, 2006;Kim, 2007;Liao, 2007; Del Rio -Lanza, Vá zquez-Casielles, and Dí az-Martí n; 2009). To measure relationship quality we depend on the measure developed by Kim et al (2012).…”