Service Recovery Situations Research Articles

The importance of social comparison in perceived justice during the service recovery process

PurposeThis study aims to analyse how consumers' perceptions of justice in a service recovery scenario vary, not only due to the company's actions but also due to the comparisons they make with the experiences of other consumers.Design/methodology/approachBased on justice theory, social comparison theory and referent cognitions theory, this study describes an eight-scenario experiment with better or worse interactional, procedural and distributive justice (better/worse interactional justice given to other consumers) × 2 (better/worse procedural justice given to other consumers) × 2 (better/worse distributive justice given to other consumers).FindingsFirst, consumers' perceptions of interactional, procedural and distributive justice vary based on the comparisons they draw with other consumers' experiences. Second, the results confirmed that interactional justice has a moderating effect on procedural justice, whereas procedural justice does not significantly moderate distributive justice.Originality/valueFirst, based on justice theory, social comparison theory and referent cognitions theory, we focus on the influence of the treatment received by other consumers on the consumer's perceived justice in the same service recovery situation. Second, it is proposed that the three justice dimensions follow a defined sequence through the service recovery phases. Third, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to propose a multistage model in which some justice dimensions influence other justice dimensions.

The demand-what-you-want strategy to service recovery: achieving high customer satisfaction with low service failure compensation using anchoring and precision effects

PurposePrevious research suggests that the compensation offered to customers after a service failure has to be substantial to make customer satisfaction surpass that of an error-free service. However, with the right service recovery strategy, it might be possible to reduce compensation size while maintaining happy customers. The aim of the current study is to test whether an anchoring technique can be used to achieve this goal.Design/methodology/approachAfter experiencing a service failure, participants were told that there is a standard size of the compensation for service failures. The size of this standard was different depending on condition. Thereafter, participants were asked how much they would demand to be satisfied with their customer experience.FindingsThe compensation demand was relatively high on average (1,000–1,400 SEK, ≈ $120). However, telling the participants that customers typically receive 200 SEK as compensation reduced their demand to about 800 SEK (Experiment 1)—an anchoring effect. Moreover, a precise anchoring point (a typical compensation of 247 SEK) generated a lower demand than rounded anchoring points, even when the rounded anchoring point was lower (200 SEK) than the precise counterpart (Experiment 2)—a precision effect.Implications/valueSetting a low compensation standard—yet allowing customers to actually receive compensations above the standard—can make customers more satisfied while also saving resources in demand-what-you-want service recovery situations, in particular when the compensation standard is a precise value.

Consumer discrimination in service recovery situations

PurposeDiscrimination in the marketplace has recently received increasing attention in marketing discussions, especially related to service encounters. This research explores the effect of receiving lower (vs higher) financial compensation than someone perceived to be from an upper social class (vs lower) on consumer reactions after a service recovery situation.Design/methodology/approachTwo experimental studies with two different populations.FindingsIndividuals who receive less compensation than someone from a higher socioeconomic status tend to attribute differential treatment to discrimination. Both individuals who received less and who received higher compensation are willing to engage in negative word of mouth, however, only consumers who were discriminated against want to take revenge on the company.Originality/valuePrevious literature indicates that consumers' reactions after service problems are mediated by justice perceptions. This research offers a new perspective of social comparison in service recovery situations by considering the role of discrimination perceptions.

The effects of brand relationships on justice perceptions in service recovery

PurposeThis paper aims to explore how brand relationship quality (BRQ) influences consumers’ perceived sense of justice in the context of service recovery situations.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a survey of 368 Brazilian consumers who experienced real-life automotive service recovery situations. The authors tested their model and underlying hypotheses using structural equation modeling.FindingsStronger BRQ led to higher levels of perceived justice (distributive, procedural and interactional), which in turn led to higher customer satisfaction of complaint handling. Ultimately, higher customer satisfaction led to lower complaining, lower retaliation and higher purchase intention. The authors' alternative model tested the effects of BRQ sub-dimensions on justice perception. Interestingly, trust produced a “love-is-blind” effect, while intimacy revealed a “love-becomes-hate” effect.Originality/valueThis study assessed BRQ and its sub-dimensions (self-connection, satisfaction, commitment, trust and intimacy) on sense of justice (distributive, procedural and interactional) within service recovery. Also, this study demonstrated the opposing effects of the brand relationship sub-dimensions trust and intimacy on perceptions of justice.

Money or funny: Effective connectivity during service recovery with a DCM-PEB approach

While monetary compensation is considered the most effective service recovery strategy, relief theory claims that humor may also be useful in service recovery situations. This study investigated the effects of humor in service recovery using dynamic causal modeling and parametric empirical Bayes analysis to identify effective connectivity (EC) patterns in the dopaminergic reward system across four conditions representing different service recovery strategies: monetary compensation and humor (MH), monetary compensation and an apology (MA), non-monetary compensation using humor (H), and non-monetary compensation using an apology (CON, the control condition). The findings support the importance of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in the monetary compensation (MH and MA) conditions and the amygdala in the non-monetary compensation (H and CON) conditions. Monetary compensation (MH and MA) resulted in right substantia nigra (rSN) to NAc EC, suggesting the processing of recovery satisfaction associated with perceived outcome fairness. Conversely, non-monetary compensation strategies (H and CON) resulted in left substantia nigra (lSN) to amygdala EC, suggesting the processing of satisfaction related to perceived interactional fairness. The use of humor for service recovery resulted in VTA-to-lSN-to-amygdala EC during humor appreciation, while the use of apologies (CON and MA) resulted in lSN-to-amygdala and lSN-to-VTA connectivity. Surprisingly, processing satisfaction in the MH condition did not activate the amygdala during humor appreciation. Coping humor could be norm-violating for service recovery, and its effectiveness depends on multiple factors. The results suggest that monetary compensation, humorous responses, and apologies play key roles in neurological responses to service recovery strategies.

Research on the influence of compensation methods and customer sentiment on service recovery effect

With the development of Internet technology, online retailing has become a part of people's life, but there is still a lack of research on the service recovery of online retail. This study adopts the scenario experiment method to conduct an empirical study. The service recovery scenario is designed as 2 × 2, the subjects are required to choose a most similar scene and fill in the questionnaire according to their own service recovery experience of online shopping service. This study discusses the influence mechanism of compensation methods and customer sentiment on service recovery effect in online retail service recovery situation. The results show as follows: compared with utilitarian compensation, spiritual compensation has a greater positive impact on customer positive emotions, and spiritual compensation is more effective in reducing negative emotions; positive and negative emotions of customers have positive and negative effects on customer satisfaction after service recovery, and customer satisfaction after service recovery is the preparation and prelude to the formation of customer loyalty. The research results can provide a reference for online retailers to formulate feasible and effective service recovery strategies, improve the effect of service recovery, and promote the healthy development of online retail business model.

Digital customer service and customer-to-customer interactions: investigating the effect of online incivility on customer perceived service climate

PurposeThe domain of digital service not only includes digital service products made available for purchase but also the provision of digital customer service, such as customers seeking support on brands' social media channels. This type of digital customer service introduces new challenges not found in offline service recovery situations. This research highlights one such occurrence by investigating customer-to-customer (C2C) interactions during digital service recovery. In particular, dysfunctional dialog, such as online incivility (e.g. rude and insulting comments), directed at a complainant by a fellow customer is investigated.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data from an online panel are utilized to test the hypothesized relationships between dysfunctional customer behavior (i.e. online incivility), C2C interactional justice, customer perceived service climate and three forms of experiential value using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe results show that customer perceptions of the firm's service climate are negatively affected by online incivility but only when such incivility produces C2C injustice. This outcome is notable due to the strong relationship found between customer perceived service climate and the following three forms of online experiential value: sociability, hedonic and pragmatic value. Thus, a weakened service climate subsequently leads to weakened experiential value for complainants.Research limitations/implicationsThe theoretical implications of two nascent constructs, C2C interactional justice and customer perceived service climate, are further developed with reference to digital customer service situations. In particular, given that prior research has focused on customer perceptions of service climate in core consumption situations of enjoyable face-to-face service experiences, it has only considered optimal or extremely positive service climate assessments in non-digital contexts. This study expands the understanding of the customer perceived service climate construct by examining the implications of a sub-optimal service climate in a digital customer service situation of an unenjoyable service experience. The limitations include a small sample size, the use of hypothetical scenarios and a failure situation limited to a single industry.Practical implicationsManagers who oversee social media channels or online communities must be prepared to act upon C2C online incivility. Deeming such communications as innocent online chatter not worthy of company intervention is a mistake, as the results of this study show that such inaction may lead to negative customer perceptions of the digital service environment and harm the customer experience.Originality/valueThis work develops a greater understanding of the importance of C2C interactional justice and customer perceived service climate in online customer service situations that prior research has yet to establish. In particular, previous studies have not investigated the negative effects of a situation that produces sub-optimal customer perceptions of a service climate.

서비스회복 상황에서 가치공동창출이 행동의도에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구

서비스회복 상황에서 가치공동창출이 행동의도에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구

The Impact of Service Recovery on Repurchase Intentions: A Moderated Mediation Model

The purpose of this paper is to fill an important gap in literature by exploring the moderating role of customer emotions and the mediation of perceived fairness on service recovery effecting repurchase intentions. Based on the data of 200 valid questionnaires collected from oversees Pakistani in China, this paper used SPSS v.21.0 for data processing and analysis in which the reliability test was conducted and the hypothesis testing of direct and indirect effect was done on SPSS extension called Process v.2.3 developed by Hayes (2013). Results reveal that all variables of the study significantly correlate with each other, the service recovery has a significant impact on repurchase intentions. Results also disclose that perceived fairness mediates the effect of service recovery on repurchase intentions while moderation of customer emotions supporting the existence of moderated mediation. The findings of this study are particularly valuable for managers, it allows them to enhance the understanding on the aspect of service recovery that leads to repurchase and will help management to make an effective retention/repurchase strategies in service recovery situations.

The impact of customer controllability and service recovery type on customer satisfaction and consequent behavior intentions

ABSTRACTCustomer participation in service failure recovery has gained increasing attention as today’s customers are actively engaged in the service process. However, limited research examines customer participation and their satisfaction with the service recovery effort. The current study examines the customer controllability regarding service failure to determine customer satisfaction and behavior intention toward service recovery approaches. The study results show it is unwise to assume that every service recovery situation will need the same type of service recovery strategies without considering the service failure or problem from the customer’s side. Also, the findings demonstrate that once a service failure happens, customers’ perceived controllability has the capacity to influence their level of participation and evaluation outcomes in the service recovery process. Theoretically, this study indicates that the interaction effects occurring between customers’ perceived controllability and their participation in resolving service failures are dependent upon each other. Managerial implications are also discussed.

An assessment of consumers’ subconscious responses to frontline employees’ attractiveness in a service failure and recovery situation

Background: Initial analyses of the impact of physical attractiveness in a business context have supported the ‘what is beautiful is good’ contention. However, in circumstances characterised by negative emotions, duress and stress, very little is known about how human beings respond at the subconscious level to the attractiveness of frontline service providers.Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess whether consumers who complain to a frontline service provider about a service failure respond differently at the subconscious level when the service provider involved in the service encounter is attractive compared with one who is less attractive.Method: Forty respondents were exposed to a video clip of a service failure and service recovery situation. While viewing the hypothetical scenario, two neuro-physiological measurements were used to collect data at the subconscious level, namely galvanic skin response (GSR) and electroencephalography (EEG).Results: The results suggest that, at the subconscious level, customers respond differently to the service recovery efforts depending on the attractiveness of the frontline service provider who attempts to rectify the service failure.Conclusion: The results seem to suggest that the physical attractiveness of a frontline service provider moderates (or softens) the negative emotions that a complaining customer might experience during a service failure and complaint situation – consistent with the ‘what is beautiful is good’ contention.

A case study on service recovery: Frontline employees’ perspectives and the role of empowerment

Abstract The aim of this study was to improve our understanding of how frontline employees cope with service recovery situations and recover from them. It also takes a closer look at employee empowerment. This work represents a qualitative case study, and investigates the topic from the perspective of frontline employees. Data collection is implemented by interviewing the case hotel’s frontline personnel. A content analysis method was utilised to analyse the collected data. The findings suggest that the support of colleagues is more crucial in coping with service recovery situations and recovering from them than the support of managers. Personality traits also play a role. A theoretical scheme of the service recovery process from the perspective of frontline employees is developed from the analysis of the interviews. The findings indicate that written instructions would assist employees in service recovery situations.

Customer and Employee Incivility and Its Causal Effects in the Hospitality Industry

ABSTRACTThe present research sought to understand customer and employee incivility in the hospitality industry. The study identified customer actions that are perceived as uncivil by employees and coping strategies used by employees after experiencing uncivil behavior. Finally, service-recovery situations are differentiated from security-related incidents and guidance is offered to hospitality managers regarding the minimization of customer incivility. An empirical survey was distributed to 297 hotel employees. Regression analysis indicated that the effects of customer incivility were an increase in: customer aggression, employee negative emotions, employee-to-customer incivility, employee-to-employee incivility, and employee sensitivity to uncivil acts. The effects of employee-to-employee incivility were increased customer aggression and negative emotions, but decreased sensitivity to uncivil acts. Uncivil behaviors by customers included insulting comments, anger, frustration, verbal attacks, and condescending behavior. The identification of uncivil behaviors and their effects can assist in training staff in identifying and managing such actions and in devising mitigation strategies.

Service Justice and Mediating Effect of Service Authenticity in Service Recovery Situation

Service Justice and Mediating Effect of Service Authenticity in Service Recovery Situation

Satisfaction with service recovery: moderating effect of age in word-of-mouth

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is, first, to analyze the direct effects of the relationship chain “causal attributions and recovery efforts → satisfaction with service recovery → conventional and online word-of-mouth intentions” and, second, to study the moderating role of age in the relationship between satisfaction and subsequent word-of-mouth. Consumer assessment and behavior associated with service recovery is a topic of considerable interest for both academics and practitioners. Design/methodology/approach – From an empirical perspective, this paper uses a sample of 336 individuals who experienced service failure at a retail store to estimate a structural equation model. Additionally, a multigroup analysis allows testing the existence of a moderating effect of age on the hypothesized relations. Findings – Results allow to confirm the direct effects of causal attributions and recovery efforts on satisfaction with service recovery, and the impact of the latter, in turn, on conventional and online word-of-mouth intentions. Furthermore, the multigroup analysis reveals that age moderates the relationship between satisfaction and online word-of-mouth. Practical implications – In service recovery situations, retailers should concentrate their efforts at providing evidence of the failure as temporary and inevitable as well as offering material or economic compensation. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the identification of the most relevant variables influencing customer satisfaction with service recovery in a retail context. In addition to this, these results provide support to the importance of age on online word-of-mouth behavior.

RETHINKING SERVICE RECOVERY: A CUSTOMER EMPOWERMENT (CE) PERSPECTIVE

Generally, complainants have been given little power to effect how their service recovery encounter unfolds. Meanwhile, the satisfactory resolution of customer complaints has been a challenging task for many service organizations. Empowering customers in service recovery provides a solution for this challenge. However, the studies on customer empowerment (CE) have taken very narrow perspectives of CE and therefore, none of them individually can explain the nature of CE in service recovery situations among various services that represent the services industry. Based upon the review of the previous research, this article proposes a more integrative theoretical framework in an attempt to better describe and explain the customers’ view of CE in the management of service recovery encounters. According to the proposed model, the degree of complainant-perceived empowerment during service recovery determines both the level of complainant's affective/cognitive responses and the level of subsequent complaint satisfaction. Implications are provided and discussed from both practical and theoretical perspectives.

Moderating role of a priori customer–firm relationship in service recovery situations

This study attempts to verify the moderating roles of the customer–firm relationship with regard to customers' responses to service failure and recovery. The hypotheses were tested based on the responses from 480 full-service restaurant customers, using t-tests and moderated regression analyzes. The findings indicate that in general, high relational customers tend to have high recovery expectations but, at the same time, respond more favorably to recovery efforts than do low relational customers in both low and high recovery situations. These results appear to stem from the wider zones of tolerance of high relational customers than those of low relational customers. This study demonstrates the importance of adopting the concept of zone of tolerance for accurate understandings of customers' responses to service failure and recovery.

SERICSAT

ABSTRACT In the first part of the present paper, a preliminary instrument is developed to measure the satisfaction customers experience as an outcome of the perceived fairness of the service recovery process. Towards this end, the concept of justice with its three dimensions, that is, procedural justice, interaction justice, and distributive justice, is modeled after the expectation-performance paradigm of customer satisfaction, resulting in the service recovery satisfaction scale, SERICSAT. The validity and reliability of the scale has been established for tourism and allied services. Later, the scale is employed to examine a proposition related to the effect of tourist satisfaction with particular service recovery situations upon future complaint behavior. It is posited that satisfactory complaint redressal associated with a tourist service has the effect of reinforcing the propensity not only to repurchase that service but also to complain about it in the future.

Service recovery in the airline industry: a cross‐cultural comparison of the attitudes and behaviours of British and Italian front‐line personnel

This study investigates the attitudes and behaviour of airline front‐line personnel in Britain and Italy, in situations of service failure and recovery. Attitudes towards service recovery are explored through hypothetical scenarios in a questionnaire, and actual behaviours are recorded by using the critical incident technique. The results show that respondents’ attitudes toward service recovery differ by nationality with regard to their affectivity, their group orientation, and to whom they confer authority. With respect to behaviour, satisfactory outcomes from service recovery situations seem to be attributed to different factors by the two nationalities.

How emotions mediate the effects of perceived justice on loyalty in service recovery situations: an empirical study

The present study focuses on the following question: How positive and negative emotions mediate the effects of justice on loyalty in an actual service recovery situation related to retail banking? The specific effects of the three dimensions of justice (distributive, interactional and procedural) on the actual loyalty–exit of customers were shown to be quite different from each other. Interactional justice (e.g., courtesy) plays a predominant role, since it impacts both positive and negative emotions and the exit–loyalty behavior. Distributive justice (e.g., compensation offered to the complaining customers) affects the behavior through the symmetrical mediating effects of negative and positive emotions. Procedural justice (i.e., timeliness), which has asymmetric effects on emotions and behavior, plays the role of a “basic requirement”. These results are interpreted in terms of Justice Theory and Affect Control Theory (ACT) and in terms of managerial implications for services organizations, such as employees' training and complaints' handling.