Hogreve and his team confronted more than 100 participants with different scenarios. In one of them, the test persons were airline passengers who did not receive their reserved seat, but another one in the same class but less favorably placed. They were informed that they would receive a compensation following a complaint at the service desk either immediately or after one or four weeks. The participants were asked for an amount which they felt was appropriate as compensation at the respective time.
Results showed that while expectations grew the longer the customers had to wait for their compensation, there was hardly any difference in the expected amounts of compensation between an immediate reimbursement and a compensation which was only provided after one week. “Customers understand that companies generally need a certain amount of time before they can offer a solution. This is why they value an appropriate solution more than a hurried one”, explains Hogreve. Further analysis has shown that companies can expand this “tolerance time frame” through targeted communication with their customers. The customers’ anger is kept within limits wherever they are presented with plausible reasons for the delay or when the company kept them updated regularly about the processing of their complaint. However, if the company provided customers both with an explanation for the waiting time and regular status updates, the scientists observed a “too-much-of-a-good-thing” effect leading to an increase in compensation expectations over time.
KU researchers also examined in what way new customers had different expectations than regular clients: While persons traveling with an airline for the first time expected a higher compensation faster, regular clients were more patient. “On the other hand, if companies overstep the mark, regular customers expect an even higher compensation – here, love turns into hatred really quickly”, says Hogreve. The longer customers had to wait for a reaction to their complaint, the more did expectations lower; however, this was rather a sign of frustration which then led to a more general dissatisfaction with the company. In such a case, customers are less inclined to recommend the company to family and friends.
“We would recommend companies to carry out surveys among their customers to find out more on how much time they have, depending on the specific service sector, to process a complaint before customers get impatient.”, says Hogreve. Continued research will be necessary to find out how customers react if the amount of compensation and the speed with which the complaint is processed actually deviate from their individual expectations – the participants in the experiment who served as imaginary customers received their requested amount “no-quibble”.