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. 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 need to turn to the social media, is crucial. However, once the complaints are voiced on Facebook, it is imperative to respond to the complaints and acknowledge the problem rather than ignoring the situation.

KEYWORDS:

• Customer complaint behaviour (CCB)
• electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM)
• double deviation
• social media
• Facebook
• retail-sector

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Xiang Ying Mei

Dr. Xiang Ying Mei graduated with Bachelor of International Hotel & Tourism Management with Honours at the University of Queensland (UQ) in 2005. After working a few years within the hotel industry in Norway, Dr. Mei returned to UQ to pursue her PhD focusing on tourism innovation, which was completed in 2012. Dr. Mei's research interests include government policies, consumer behaviour, innovation, regional development, marketing and co-creation. She is currently an Associate Professor in Marketing at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences.

Ingrid K. Bagaas

Ms. Ingrid K. Bagaas graduated with a Master of Science in Business, Marketing and Financial Management at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences. Her research interests include social media, service management, marketing and business management. She is currently a business owner in one of the largest grocery chains in Norway.

Erling K. L. Relling

Mr. Erling K. L. Relling graduated with a Master of Science in Business, Marketing and Financial Management at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences. His research interests include social media, service management, marketing and business management. He is currently working as Senior Executive Officer at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences.