Empathy and apology: the effectiveness of recovery strategies

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of empathy and apology in service recovery, and more specifically, establish how these factors promote positive service outcomes, typified by reconciliation and mitigate negative occurrences, characterised by customer retaliation and avoidance. Design/methodology/approach This study used an online panel to collect data from 213 US residents, who were asked to recall a service failure episode they experienced within the past six months, write briefly about it and answer a questionnaire measuring constructs of interest in relation to their previous experience. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the quantitative data. Findings Both service employee empathy and apology were found to have a moderating effect on the relationship between service failure severity and reconciliation, retaliation and avoidance. Originality/value The combination of empathy and apology as moderators into a single framework represents a unique contribution of this research. Furthermore, outcome variables of reconciliation, retaliation and avoidance are utlilized to measure relationship outcomes following service failure. This study highlights the need for managers to design hiring and training policies to promote empathy and the use of sincere apologies throughout customer interactions.

Responding Effectively to Customer Feedback on Twitter: A Mixed Methods Study of Webcare Styles

“…The finding that an affective style yields more positive attitudes than a detached style is in line with previous studies showing that, in complaint situations, customers react positively to displays of empathy (e.g. Min et al 2015;Radu et al 2019;Simon 2013). This is reflected in many of the free-text responses given by participants who were exposed to the affective versions of the company's message.…”

“…Several studies have found that apologies can enhance the success of complaint handling communications (e.g. Conlon and Murray 1996;Hui and Au 2001;Radu et al 2019). This is because apologies serve as a form of psychological compensation (Davidow 2000) and can thus help restore perceptions of justice (Tax et al 1998).…”

“…In turn, empathy and concern are important criteria for assessing a company's behavior during a complaint episode as they feed into people's justice perceptions (Tax et al 1998: 63). Further, empirical research has consistently shown that displays of empathy and concern can improve customers' satisfaction with complaint handling (Min et al 2015;Radu et al 2019;Simon 2013). Based on this evidence, we formulate our hypothesis about the effects of affectivity features as follows:…”

Treatment Interest of Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan Sosial (Social Security Organizing Agency) Patients in Balowerti Public Health Center Kediri City

“…These factors are assumed to be the main reason for patient dissatisfaction, which is the main obstacle for enrollment of a higher number of participants into JKN. While there the Balowerti Public Health Center is perceived as an average healthcare provider by PBI participants, it is important to promote sincere apology and empathy as the main method of restoration of relationships with clients in cases of service failure (Radu, Arli, Surachartkumtonkun, Weaven, & Wright, 2019;Menendez, Chen, Mudgal, Jupiter, & Ring, 2015). This will contribute to the more effective management of issues with communication and information processing, which are assumed to be the main contribution to the low popularity of public health centers.…”

The Effect of Service Recovery Strategies on Satisfaction with the Recovery: The Mediating Role of Distributive Justice

“…Some studies indicate that tangible strategies such as compensation and response speed have a greater impact than psychological strategies on customer satisfaction [10]. Other researchers focus on the importance of psychological strategies such as apologizing, explanation, listening, and empathy to the success of the recovery process [4]- [41].…”