Myth and Reality in Customer Service: Good and Bad Service Sometimes Leads to Repurchase

Abstract

Consumers who are satisfied with customer service often indicate that they would repurchase the same item or service. It is more surprising that dissatisfied consumers also express, sometimes strongly, their intent to repurchase. In this study, the response to warranty repair service of 555 consumers for seven electronic product lines within one company was examined. The conditional probabilities for repurchase following a positive and negative service experience significantly differed across product lines. For example, the probability of repurchase following a negative experience ranged from 47% to 84%. While good customer service may make a difference, it is obviously only part of the story.