Researchers believe that a shift of focus in the interaction between service provider and consumer from emphasising the service provider’s fault and accountability to spotlighting the consumer’s merit and contributions can increase consumer self-esteem and in the long run enhance post recovery satisfaction.
The study suggests that saying “thank you” is more effective at restoring consumer satisfaction than saying “sorry”.
The research carried out by researchers from New Mexico State University, University of South Carolina, Zhejiang University (china), and the Ohio State University examines strategies for restoring consumer satisfaction.
According to the study, in the United States, consumers are dissatisfied with various aspects of their dining experiences, with 60.8 percent complaining about slow services, 29.4 percent about inadequate food and beverage quality, and 21.6 percent about inefficient staff.
“In general, service failure consequences to business include considerable financial loss and negative word of mouth. For example, U.S. companies lost 1.6 trillion dollars in 2016 from customer switching caused by poor service with 44 percent of unsatisfied customers venting their frustrations on social media,” the study noted.
The researchers suggest that appreciation is often a more effective strategy than apology at restoring consumer satisfaction. That is, in the case of service failures, when service providers redress such failures with the appreciation recovery communication strategy, consumers are more satisfied with the way service providers redress the failure, report higher overall satisfaction, form higher re patronage intentions, more are likely to recommend the service provider to other consumers, and are less likely to complain.
The research pointed out that the superior effect of appreciation disappears if service providers redress potential failures in advance.
The study advised that service providers should use appreciation in their service recovery for consumers with a higher narcissistic tendency, but should be aware that appreciation is not necessary better than apology for those low in narcissism.
The study observed that hundreds of billions of dollars can be saved if service providers take note of the result of the study.
