The Effect of Intensity of Dissatisfaction on Complaining Behaviour

Abstract

Previous research has found that customers take actions, such as complain or  engage  in negative word of mouth behavior, or take no action, such as never use the organization again, based upon attitude to complaining , level of importance of the product or the nature of the problem for example. This paper seeks to extend the work on responses to dissatisfying situations by investigating the type and number of responses made against the intensity of dissatisfaction felt by the customer. Existing research has speculated about this relationship though little empirical evidence has been reported.  This exploratory study is based on a convenience sample of 100 individuals who reported intensity of dissatisfaction and actions taken (rather than intentions) to dissatisfying service situations. A clear relationship is found between intensity of dissatisfaction and customer responses in terms of the types of action, the number of actions and the numbers of people told about the dissatisfying incident.