Communication in Complaint Handling

Abstract: Due to the importance of understanding what circumstances make customer complaint handling successful and how to achieve an effective result; this thesis aims to study the communication failure in the responses given by Swedish telecom companies’ customer service to consumer complaints, and post-complaint consumers’ reactions to those complaint responses through emotions and behavioural intentions. Since previous research about complaint management did not put much focus on communication role as well as on post-complaint consumers’ responses to organizational complaint handling, this study, based on the analysis of authentic customers’ complaint experience with Swedish telecom, incorporates the interactional dimension into the existing models of cognitive and affective antecedents of satisfaction with complaint handling. Regarding methodology, a telecom service provider (TSP) was selected as case study for this thesis. The sample used in this study consisted of 108 consumers’ complaint reports collected from the Swedish Consumer Agency, involving complaint experiences which consumers perceived as unfair. The content analysis of customers’ narratives was applied in this study. Complementary use of quantitative and qualitative approach in the pursuit of a holistic view was chosen for reporting the results. Nvivo, Word and Excel programs were used to process and organize the data. The findings of the study confirmed that the failure by frontline employees’ to display proper interpersonal communication and behaviour in responding to customer complaints was the main reason for complaint handling dissatisfaction. In addition, troublesome organizational procedures and improper redress escalated complaint situations and had negative impact on post-complaint satisfaction. Consumers’ negative emotions and behavioural intentions (e.g., seeking legal action, word of mouth, defection, and mistrust) experienced as a result of post-complaint consumer dissatisfaction. The contribution of this thesis is that identifying communication failures in organizational responses through consumers’ justice perceptions enables Swedish telecom sector to know what customers think is important in complaint handling. Hence, communication training programs are needed for frontline employees to prevent catastrophic complaint responses and enhance customer retention. However, this study examines only one service context; consequently, caution is needed when generalizing the results.