Customer complaint behaviour (CCB) in the retail sector: why do customers voice their complaints on Facebook?

Abstract

With the increasing usage of platforms such as Facebook, understanding customer complaint behaviour (CCB) in the context of the social media is imperative for any businesses. Of the two billion users on Facebook, more than half of its users have shared their product-related experiences with others on the platform (Logan, 2014). This paper aims to explore CCB in the context of social media in regards to customers' unfavourable buying experiences in the retail sector. A qualitative research approach and 12 in-depth interviews were conducted. The findings indicate that the respondents' initial contact with the retailer directly resulted in service recovery failures and undesirable outcomes. Such double deviation then leads to frustration and uncertainty of the situation, which furthermore led to the respondents' need to voice their complaint by sharing their unfavourable experiences on Facebook. The main reasons for the respondents to voice their complaints on the platform is to vent frustration, to share their unfavourable experiences, a need to be seen, understood and respected, to seek revenge by damaging the retailer's reputation as well as offering the retailer a chance to improve. A proper way to manage complaints, in which frontline employees can solve the problem before the customers feel the needs to turn to the social media, is crucial. However, once the complaints is voiced on Facebook, it is imperative to respond to the complaints and acknowledge the problem rather than ignoring the situation.Since the study requires reflections and opinions of the respondents, a qualitative methodology approach and semi-structured interviews were applied. While customers may voice both favourable and unfavourable experiences on the social media as part of electronic word-ofmouth (e-WOM), this paper focuses on the latter such as customer complaints. In addition, the study concentrates on the respondents' perceptions and their point-of-view of the given situation that they have experienced.

Unethical sales practices in retail banking

“…Not all dissatisfied consumers complain, but customers who voice their complaints can choose many ways to share their dissatisfaction with the companies and other people. In this highly connected digital era, consumers are not only receivers but also cocreators of service, and they are active communicators who share their consumption experiences via the internet (Mei et al, 2019). Social media is an appropriate environment to understand consumers since negative opinions and feelings are easily expressed online relative to the conventional surveying method (Dickinger and Lalicic, 2016).…”

What users say about public libraries: an analysis of Google Maps reviews

“…Currently, libraries need to devote more resources for maintaining social media profiles and use these to respond to patrons' suggestions and, especially, their complaints, given the damaging effect on corporate reputation of not responding to negative reviews (Esmark Jones et al , 2018; Mei et al , 2019). Negative reviews influence consumer behaviour more than positive ones (Craciun and Moore, 2019).…”

“…Beyond the library context, research in the business sector has aimed to understand customer complaint behaviour through social media. Mei et al (2019) identified the main causes for customer complaints expressed on Facebook and concluded that having a proper procedure for managing complaints is crucial. According to their results, it is imperative to acknowledge the complaint and respond to the customer.…”

Factors that promote social media marketing in retail companies

“…The use of social media platforms has become an opportunity for companies to capture relevant information about consumers and shopping experiences, reducing access costs. However, companies should design mechanisms to process published information that does not reflect the reality of the shopping experience, which can occur because anonymous users can post comments too (Mei, Bagaas, & Relling, 2018). Nevertheless, these platforms enable companies to segment and target their consumers in more personalized and effective ways, understand their behavior and the environment they live in, and motivate changes in marketing strategies focused on the opinions of these consumers, who sometimes reach a level of precision above expert marketing specialists (Nash, 2018).…”