Customer Satisfaction Perpetuates Loyalty: A Case Study

Nalini Arumugam,Asha Latha Bala Subramaniam,Kuldip Kaur Maktiar Singh,Gopiganthan Mylvaganam

doi:10.6007/ijarbss/v10-i12/8282

Nalini Arumugam, Asha Latha Bala Subramaniam + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v10-i12/8282

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Abstract

Courier services have become increasingly popular with the advent of Internet shopping. However, customers may not always experience the best service. Hence, the problems related to a customer's delivery experience do not only jeopardize the courier's brand image but also its business footing or reputation. How these courier services address and handle customer complaints in substandard delivery experience determines customer satisfaction which is an integral aspect in maintaining long-standing consumer loyalty. This study (1) gauges how conflict resolution affects customer satisfaction in the complaint handling process and (2) determines to what extent customer satisfaction perpetuates customer loyalty. A local courier service was chosen for this study and analysis was carried out on data gathered from Twitter as well as semi-structured interview sessions with five participants, who were randomly selected. It was found that the approach taken to resolve a conflict significantly influences customer satisfaction in the complaint handling process. When customer complaint is handled within the constructs of procedural, interactional, and distributive justice there is a positive experience, subsequently increasing customer satisfaction with the responsiveness in the handling process. This study also revealed that there is a significant correlation between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty - the higher the level of customer satisfaction, the stronger the customer loyalty.

Highlights

Customer satisfaction, an attitude adopted by a customer, specifies the extent to which brands, products and services fulfil the customer’s requirements and expectations
How these courier services address and handle customer complaints in substandard delivery experience determines customer satisfaction which is an integral aspect in maintaining long-standing consumer loyalty
The findings from the tweets (Twitter) gathered and the data obtained from the semistructured interview found that different branches of J&T Express employed varied conflict resolution strategies

Summary

Introduction

An attitude adopted by a customer, specifies the extent to which brands, products and services fulfil the customer’s requirements and expectations. According to Tolba, Seoudi, Meshreki and Shimy (2016) customer loyalty is influenced by how consumers perceive the quality and fairness of the complaint handling process. The construct of procedural justice reflects the extent to which customers perceive the process of complaint handling to be timely, have control over the issue, are given the opportunity to express feelings about the problem and able to present information relevant to influence the results of the complaint (Goodwin & Ross, 1992; Tax et al, 1998, Min et al, 2014). This study explores how complainants who experience higher levels of distributive, procedural and interactional justice perceive customer satisfaction, which subsequently influences customer loyalty to a product or service

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