The Reign of the Customer by Claes Fornell & Forrest V. Morgeson & G. Tomas M. Hult & David VanAmburg

Author:Claes Fornell & Forrest V. Morgeson & G. Tomas M. Hult & David VanAmburg
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030135621
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

So why, contrary to what we might have expected, has the national customer complaint rate declined? In the first instance, some of this decline is almost certainly due to the improvement in customer satisfaction since 1994, as we discussed in Chap. 5. In the ACSI model, customer satisfaction tends to have a strong negative effect on the customer complaint rate, with happier, more satisfied customers less likely to complain. Therefore, improved satisfaction is predicted to and does result in fewer complaints. However, while the relatively modest improvement in satisfaction over this period likely explains some of the dip in complaints, it is insufficient to explain all of it. Simply put, it is virtually impossible that a 2.5-point improvement in customer satisfaction is responsible for a nearly 10%-point drop in the complaint rate, at either the company or the national aggregate level.

Alternatively, it is possible that consumers do not view the greater ease with which they can complain, mentioned above, as a reason to do so, but quite the opposite. That is, the ease with which consumers can now complain to companies might be perceived as a disincentive rather than an incentive to do so, precisely because “anyone can do it” and can do it easily. Thus, consumers view their one additional complaint in a (perceived) giant sea of complaints as little more than meaningless noise with little chance of having an effect. Finally, perhaps the improvement in the value proposition discussed in Chap. 4 is itself depressing complaints, as consumers are so much happier with the prices that they are paying that they feel a lesser need to seek redress and recompense when displeased, an important phenomenon we discuss more fully in this chapter.

Yet whatever the reason for the declining complaint rate, and the suggested causes that likely combine in some way to explain this phenomenon, we might nevertheless proceed to view it is a good thing, a positive development for the economy. After all, many or even most companies would regard a lower complaint rate as a positive development. Fewer complaining customers mean fewer contact centers and other resources devoted to managing these displeased consumers, and it could also indicate fewer service failures and stronger satisfaction. But is this really the case? Is it a good thing for firms, and the economy as a whole, to have fewer complaining customers? After examining and explaining cross-industry differences in complaint rates, we discuss the proportion of dissatisfied customers that actually take the time to complain, and how for companies in many industries a low and declining complaint rate should be viewed as a negative phenomenon.

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