Consumer Satisfaction with the Complaint Resolution Efforts of a U.S. Federal Agency

Abstract

A sample of consumers who complained about bank services to the Federal Reserve System is supplemented with census-tract data to explore consumer satisfaction with third-party complaint handling in the financial services sector, where the third party is a federal agency. Response races varied by: region, the financial product that was the focus of the complaint, and whether or not the complaint was resolved in the consumer's favor. Among respondents, two-fifths were satisfied with the final outcome of the complaint resolution, and another one-fifth were partially satisfied. Income and the time it takes to resolve the complaint are associated with consumer satisfaction levels; partial support exists in the findings that more objective complaints are more likely to be resolved to the consumer’s satisfaction than complaints that are more judgmental in nature .