This study examines the nature of relationships between service quality, background characteristics, and satisfaction and selected behavioral outcomes by using retail banking in Germany as its setting. Study results show that service quality is at the root of customer satisfaction and is linked to such behavioral outcomes as word of mouth, complaint, recommending and switching. However, different aspects of service quality and different consumer characteristics seem to be associated with different outcomes. For instance, the results suggest that tangible elements of service quality and being a female are more closely associated with positive word of mouth and commitment. On the other hand, “timeliness” aspects of service delivery are more closely related to customer satisfaction, and complaint and switching behaviors. Implications of these results to induce greater customer satisfaction, to attain higher levels of favorable outcomes and/or to alleviate negative outcomes are discussed.

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