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Papers by Wyckliffe Kabue

The International Journal of Business & Management, Jul 31, 2019

Complaint Management Processes and Customer Satisfaction among Clients of Commercial Banks in Ken... more Complaint Management Processes and Customer Satisfaction among Clients of Commercial Banks in Kenya 1. Introduction Even when the customer management motto of 'do it right the first time' enjoys a privileged place in service provision, the complete satisfaction of all customer wishes is not always assured, and possible mistakes in the rendering of services may not be excluded; therefore, customer complaints become almost inevitable (Raab, Asami & Gargeya, 2009; Filip, 2013). Customers complain when they experience one of two conditions; their expectations are underperformed to a degree that falls outside their zone of tolerance and when they sense they have been treated unfairly. The range of tolerable performance will depend upon the importance of the product or the attribute that is giving the complaint (Ang & Buttel, 2006; Raab et al., 2009; Buttel 2010).Though it may not be possible to satisfy every complaint studies such as Hoovers et al., (2006); Massawe (2011); Shammoul and Haddad (2014) have indicated that there is a positive relationship between good complaint management and customer satisfaction. To satisfy and retain customers, complaints must be acknowledged, resolved on time and customers provided with feedback on the progress of the resolution Ndulilo (2014). At the same time, it is observed that firms receive little or no credit for recovery attempts unless they are satisfactory (Chuang et al. 2012). On the other hand, studies such as Ajasalo (2001) and Massewe (2013) have argued that customer sometimes have expectations of services which cannot not be met by any service provider. Worse still, these expectations may not even be clear to the customer himself (fuzzy expectation). As such, the customer will always have something to complain about no matter how good the service provision is. However, it's noted that if these unrealistic expectations can be made realistic, then it is possible to provide a service with reduced customer complaints. Other customers will complain even when they are satisfied with the product or the service (Heung & Lam 2003). Consumer complaint behaviour is linked to negative disconfirmation whereby the perceived performance falls short of expectation, causing the consumer to become dissatisfied (Atalik, 2007). However, some dissatisfied customers will not complain and may even remain committed to the bank. Some will fail to complain to avoid confrontation while others may be uncertain about their right to complain or the benefits accrued (Komunda et al., 2015). Effective Complaint Management is still not adequately addressed in the existing empirical literature; the existing research has mainly focused on the determinants of customer complaint behavior where customer complaint is considered as the dependent variable. Research has shown that many companies have great difficulty calculating the profitability of their complaint management systems (Komunda et al.2013; Johnson, 2001). This study therefore, aims to contribute to the growing body of knowledge in complaint management by providing empirical evidence on the relationship between effective complaint management and customer satisfaction in which case complaint management will be featured as the input. The underlying hypothesis is that effective complaint management positively affects customer satisfaction and thus increasing the effectiveness of marketing efforts.

The International Journal of Business & Management, Jul 31, 2019

Complaint Management Processes and Customer Satisfaction among Clients of Commercial Banks in Ken... more Complaint Management Processes and Customer Satisfaction among Clients of Commercial Banks in Kenya 1. Introduction Even when the customer management motto of 'do it right the first time' enjoys a privileged place in service provision, the complete satisfaction of all customer wishes is not always assured, and possible mistakes in the rendering of services may not be excluded; therefore, customer complaints become almost inevitable (Raab, Asami & Gargeya, 2009; Filip, 2013). Customers complain when they experience one of two conditions; their expectations are underperformed to a degree that falls outside their zone of tolerance and when they sense they have been treated unfairly. The range of tolerable performance will depend upon the importance of the product or the attribute that is giving the complaint (Ang & Buttel, 2006; Raab et al., 2009; Buttel 2010).Though it may not be possible to satisfy every complaint studies such as Hoovers et al., (2006); Massawe (2011); Shammoul and Haddad (2014) have indicated that there is a positive relationship between good complaint management and customer satisfaction. To satisfy and retain customers, complaints must be acknowledged, resolved on time and customers provided with feedback on the progress of the resolution Ndulilo (2014). At the same time, it is observed that firms receive little or no credit for recovery attempts unless they are satisfactory (Chuang et al. 2012). On the other hand, studies such as Ajasalo (2001) and Massewe (2013) have argued that customer sometimes have expectations of services which cannot not be met by any service provider. Worse still, these expectations may not even be clear to the customer himself (fuzzy expectation). As such, the customer will always have something to complain about no matter how good the service provision is. However, it's noted that if these unrealistic expectations can be made realistic, then it is possible to provide a service with reduced customer complaints. Other customers will complain even when they are satisfied with the product or the service (Heung & Lam 2003). Consumer complaint behaviour is linked to negative disconfirmation whereby the perceived performance falls short of expectation, causing the consumer to become dissatisfied (Atalik, 2007). However, some dissatisfied customers will not complain and may even remain committed to the bank. Some will fail to complain to avoid confrontation while others may be uncertain about their right to complain or the benefits accrued (Komunda et al., 2015). Effective Complaint Management is still not adequately addressed in the existing empirical literature; the existing research has mainly focused on the determinants of customer complaint behavior where customer complaint is considered as the dependent variable. Research has shown that many companies have great difficulty calculating the profitability of their complaint management systems (Komunda et al.2013; Johnson, 2001). This study therefore, aims to contribute to the growing body of knowledge in complaint management by providing empirical evidence on the relationship between effective complaint management and customer satisfaction in which case complaint management will be featured as the input. The underlying hypothesis is that effective complaint management positively affects customer satisfaction and thus increasing the effectiveness of marketing efforts.