Management Practice Insights
DOI: 10.59571/mpi.v1i2.5
Year: 2023, Volume: 1, Issue: 2, Pages: 46-51
Original Article
R. Raghuram & Janakiraman Moorthy
Assistant Professor of Marketing at SPJIMR
Professor of Marketing and Department Chair at SPJIMR
Correspondence
Received Date:10 August 2023, Accepted Date:22 September 2023, Published Date:12 October 2023
Problem of practice: The customer rage survey 2023 reports 74% of customers experienced problems with products or services last year, more than double of the figure in 1976.1 Even more alarming is the statistic that 63% of customers who experienced a product failure reported feeling rage, which leads to an increase in aggressive behavior during problem resolution. Dissatisfied customers are not silent sufferers – 79% make an effort to voice their complaints. The impact of vocal customer dissatisfaction has only multiplied, thanks to the deep penetration of smartphones and social media platforms. In our essay, we highlight a possible solution – derived from an innovative study by Dennis Herhausen and team.2 The insight suggests that a prompt, empathetic response that reflects the client’s emotional state can go a long way in placating the irate customer.
1 W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, “Historic National Customer Rage Survey: Record Level of Product and Service Problems Incite Surly Customers to Yell More and Seek Revenge for Their Hassles,” March 7, 2023, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ historic-national-customer-rage-survey-record-level-of-product-and-service-problems-incite-surly-customers-to-yell-more-and-seek-revenge-fortheir-hassles-301765053.html.
2 Dennis Herhausen, Lauren Grewal, Krista Hill Cummings, Anne L. Roggeveen, Francisco Villarroel Ordenes, and Dhruv Grewal, Complaint De-Escalation Strategies on Social Media (August 1, 2022).
3 Chris Isidore, “Delta: 5-Hour Computer Outage Cost Us $150 Million,” September 7, 2016, https://money.cnn.com/2016/09/07/technology/delta-computer-outage-cost.
4 Phil Helsel and Jay Blackman, “Delta Computer Outage Results in Nationwide Ground Stop,” September 26, 2018, https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/airplane-mode/delta-computer-outage-results-nationwide-ground-stop-n913151.
5 Ranganath Guptha Ragavendra Singri, “Oyo - Unhygienic and Filthy Room,” 2018, https://voxya.com/view-complaint/unhygienic-and-filthy-room/27548/.
6 Shubham Bhatia, “Poor Customer Service, Cancelled Bookings: What Ails OYO Rooms in India?,” Newslaundry, October 28, 2019, https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/10/28/from-poor-customer-service-to-cancelledbookings-what-ails-oyo-rooms-in-india.
7 Tanzila Shaikh, “Bournvita Gets Bitter over Sugar Controversy: What Should Have Been the Right Response? - Exchange4media,” April 20, 2023, https://www.exchange4media.com/marketing-news/bournvita-gets-bitterover- sugar-controversy-what-was-the-right-approach-126808.html#:~:text= As%20expected%2C%20the%20brand%20responded,legal%20notice%20 from%20the%20brand.
8 Manoj, “How Cadbury Pulled Itself Out of Its Downfall,” Blogs - Vedak (blog), March 27, 2020, https://vedak.com/blogs/cadbury-pulled-itself-outof-its-downfall/.
9 Pranali Lotlikar Chindarkar, “Fine of Rs 25K Levied on Airtel for Threatening, Mentally Harassing Consumer,” March 22, 2018, https://www.dnaindia.com/business/report-fine-of-rs-25k-levied-on-airtel-for-threatening-mentally-harassing-consumer-2258683.
10 Abhijit Ahaskar, “Companies Use NLP-Based Sentiment Analysis to Source Intelligence,” Mint, August 2, 2022, sec. Technology, https://www.livemint.com/technology/tech-news/companies-use-nlp-based-sentiment-analysis-to-source-intelligence-11659419241250.html.
11 Steve Rose, “Comcastic: The Excruciating Customer Services Call That Went Viral,” The Guardian, July 17, 2014, sec. Technology, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2014/jul/17/comcast-customer-services-call-ryan-block.
12 Uma Kannan, “Embracing Regional Language Tech for Wider Reach- The New Indian Express,” July 7, 2023, https://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/tech/2023/jul/07/embracing-regional-language-tech-for-wider-reach-2592236.html.
© 2023 Published by SPJIMR. This is an open-access article under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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