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The Effect Of Service Quality And Expectations On Customer Complaints

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  • SILKE J. FORBES

Abstract

Customer complaints measure consumers' dissatisfaction with the quality of a product or service. If product quality is unobservable ex ante, customer complaints may be driven by expectations as well as by the actually experienced quality level. I test whether the level of quality that could be expected prior to consumption affects the number of customer complaints after controlling for–ex post observable–actual quality, using data from the U.S. airline industry. I find that there are fewer complaints when actual quality is higher. Controlling for actual quality, a higher level of expected quality leads to more complaints.

Suggested Citation

  • Silke J. Forbes, 2008. "The Effect Of Service Quality And Expectations On Customer Complaints," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(1), pages 190-213, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jindec:v:56:y:2008:i:1:p:190-213
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6451.2008.00338.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Hoe Sang Chung, 2016. "Behavior-Based Price Discrimination with Experience Goods," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 84(5), pages 675-695, September.
    2. Kamalini Ramdas & Jonathan Williams & Marc Lipson, 2013. "Can Financial Markets Inform Operational Improvement Efforts? Evidence from the Airline Industry," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 15(3), pages 405-422, July.
    3. Wittman, Michael D., 2014. "Are low-cost carrier passengers less likely to complain about service quality?," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 64-71.
    4. Nicollier, Luciana A., 2012. "Customers' Complaints and Quality Regulation," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 990, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    5. Bubalo, Branko & Gaggero, Alberto A., 2015. "Low-cost carrier competition and airline service quality in Europe," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 23-31.
    6. Joshua S. Gans & Avi Goldfarb & Mara Lederman, 2021. "Exit, Tweets, and Loyalty," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 13(2), pages 68-112, May.
    7. Jürgen Janger, 2008. "Supply-Side Triggers for Inflation in Austria," Monetary Policy & the Economy, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue 2, pages 34-69.
    8. Nicollier, Luciana A., 2012. "Customers’ Complaints and Quality Regulation," Economic Research Papers 270636, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    9. T. Randolph Beard & Jeffrey T. Macher & John W. Mayo, 2015. "'Can you Hear Me Now?' Exit, Voice and Loyalty Under Increasing Competition," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58(3).
    10. Chow, Clement Kong Wing, 2015. "On-time performance, passenger expectations and satisfaction in the Chinese airline industry," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 39-47.
    11. Abhi Bhattacharya, 2023. "Consumer, bank, and stock market reaction to CFPB’s complaint data disclosure," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(1), pages 128-145, March.
    12. Massoud Moslehpour & Wing-Keung Wong & Yi Hsin Lin & Thi Huyen Nguyen, 2018. "Top purchase intention priorities of Vietnamese low cost carrier passengers: expectations and satisfaction," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 8(4), pages 371-389, December.
    13. Greenfield, Daniel, 2014. "Competition and service quality: New evidence from the airline industry," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 3(1), pages 80-89.
    14. Willis, George & Tranos, Emmanouil, 2020. "Using ‘Big Data’ to understand the impacts of Uber on taxis in New York City," SocArXiv 25fxs, Center for Open Science.
    15. Anna Jasinska-Biliczak, 2020. "TRIBE 2.0 – The Microcommunity Needs in the Frames of the Sharing Economy Concept," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(Special 2), pages 75-84.

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