This thesis provides an extensive overview of the recent literature on illegitimate customer complaints, offering relevant insights and recommendations for managers. In recent times, illegitimate customer complaints have become an increasing problem for companies in various industries. In these cases, customers voice complaints, although no actual problem has occurred. Nevertheless, best practice guidelines for dealing with this type of complaint that are based on scientifically substantiated evidence are still hard to find.
Specifically, this thesis identifies an increasing customer orientation, generous return policies, and changes in the technological environment as the main drivers facilitating illegitimate complaints. The influence of other factors on illegitimate complaining behavior, such as the “domino effect” as a situational factor, is also highlighted. With additional consideration of the motives of complainers (where a distinction can be made between fraudulent returners, freeloaders, fault transferors, peer-induced esteem seekers, solitary ego gainers, and disruptors), countermeasures are derived. The empowerment of employees, inter alia, through an increase of their responsibility, the implementation of complaint databases and complaint management systems, and the revision of the existing service culture and return policy, were identified as the most effective counter-measures to the negative impacts of illegitimate complaints.
Table of Contents
1. Relevance of Illegitimate Customer Complaint Handling for Companies
2. Theoretical Foundations of Customer Complaints
2.1 Definition of Legitimate Complaints
2.2 Definition of Illegitimate Complaints
3. Literature Review on Illegitimate Customer Complaints
3.1 Factors Facilitating Illegitimate Complaining
3.2 Impact of Situational, Habitual, and Personal Factors
3.3 Motives for Illegitimate Complaints
3.3.1 Fraudulent Returners
3.3.2 Fault Transferors
3.3.3 Freeloaders
3.3.4 Peer-induced Esteem Seekers
3.3.5 Solitary Ego Gainers
3.3.6 Disruptors
3.4 Impact and Effects of Illegitimate Complaints on Companies
3.4.1 Consequences for Employees in Customer Contact
3.4.2 Financial Costs of Illegitimate Complaints
3.5 Potential Countermeasures
3.5.1 Employee Training and Empowerment
3.5.2 Implementation of Databases and Customer Complaint Management Systems
3.5.3 Revision of Existing Return Policies
4. Discussion
4.1 Critical Evaluation
4.2 Contribution to Customer Complaint Management and Practice
4.3 Limitations and Future Research
Objectives and Topics
This thesis examines the increasing phenomenon of illegitimate customer complaints, where customers complain despite the absence of a genuine product or service failure. The central research objective is to provide a comprehensive literature review that helps managers understand the underlying motives for this behavior and implement effective countermeasures to mitigate its negative impacts on company performance and employee well-being.
- Drivers of illegitimate complaining, including customer orientation and return policies.
- Taxonomy of complainer motives (e.g., fraudulent returners, freeloaders, disruptors).
- Impact of unjustified complaints on operational costs and employee job satisfaction.
- Proactive and reactive countermeasures such as complaint management systems and policy revisions.
Excerpts from the Book
3.3.1 Fraudulent Returners
Reynolds and Harris (2005, p. 328) define fraudulent returners as “customers who conventionally purchase and use goods, and subsequently attempt to return them, fraudulently, for reimbursement at a later date.” To return a faultless product in accordance with the company’s return policy, customers make the product defective (Reynolds and Harris 2005). A synonym used in literature for this behavior is “deshopping” (Schmidt et al. 1999, p. 290). As illustrated in Figure 3, it is important to distinguish between two types of fraudulent returns (Reynolds and Harris 2005).
On the one hand, a customer may decide to return the product only after purchase; this behavior could be caused by the fact that the customer “may become concerned regarding the future performance of the product” because of external influences, such as negative word of mouth (Jacoby and Jaccard 1981, p. 19). In this instance, to be able to return the product, the customer fabricates a product defect. On the other hand, a customer may purchase a product with the intention of returning it later and thereby exploiting a company’s return policy (Ro and Wong 2012; Schmidt et al. 1999).
These pre-planned fraudulent returns can also be divided into two subgroups: First, customers may purchase a discounted product or a product from a low-priced store to return it in a premium-priced store, thereby receiving a higher refund and making a profit (Reynolds and Harris 2005). The second subgroup can be identified as engaging in “retail borrowing” (Berry and Seiders 2008, p. 34). Situational retail borrowers might buy a product they need for a specific occasion and create a product failure to return it once they no longer need it. Chronic retail borrowers might buy a product for day-to-day use, creating a product failure to return it once they would like a replacement (Berry and Seiders 2008).
Summary of Chapters
1. Relevance of Illegitimate Customer Complaint Handling for Companies: Highlights the increasing frequency and financial impact of illegitimate complaints and the scarcity of substantiated best-practice approaches for managers.
2. Theoretical Foundations of Customer Complaints: Defines and differentiates between legitimate and illegitimate complaints, introducing the post-usage evaluation process and the different functions complaints serve.
3. Literature Review on Illegitimate Customer Complaints: Provides an extensive analysis of the factors, motives, impacts, and potential countermeasures related to illegitimate customer behavior.
4. Discussion: Offers a critical reflection on the findings, contributions to professional practice, and identifies limitations alongside suggestions for future research.
Keywords
Illegitimate complaints, customer complaining behavior, CCB, service failure, fraudulent returners, retail borrowing, customer complaint management, CCMS, service recovery, return policy, employee empowerment, deshopping, customer satisfaction, financial impact, complaint management systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The thesis focuses on the issue of illegitimate customer complaints—situations where customers lodge complaints without experiencing an actual service or product failure—and how companies can effectively manage this behavior.
Which specific themes are addressed in this paper?
The paper addresses the factors facilitating such behavior, the different motives behind why customers complain illegitimately, the negative consequences for both employees and companies, and potential reactive and proactive countermeasures.
What is the primary objective of this work?
The objective is to synthesize existing literature to give managers a better understanding of illegitimate complaining and to provide evidence-based recommendations to mitigate the financial and organizational damage caused by these complaints.
What scientific methods are utilized?
The work employs a comprehensive literature review, aggregating findings from diverse fields such as marketing, psychology, and information systems to analyze and structure the phenomenon.
What topics are discussed in the main body?
The main body covers definitions, situational and personal factors influencing behavior, a detailed taxonomy of six complainer motives, the impact on employee morale and financial performance, and specific mitigation strategies.
Which keywords best describe this study?
Key terms include illegitimate complaints, CCB, service recovery, fraudulent returns, retail borrowing, and customer complaint management systems (CCMS).
How do "fraudulent returners" differ from "fault transferors"?
Fraudulent returners act with the intent to obtain monetary gain or "retail borrow" goods, whereas fault transferors aim to avoid personal responsibility for their own mistakes by blaming the firm.
What role does technology play in managing illegitimate complaints?
Technology, specifically Customer Complaint Management Systems (CCMS) and Decision Support Systems (DSS), allows for partial automation and better detection of potential illegitimate complaints through data mining and AI.
Why should companies be cautious when implementing stricter return policies?
Stricter policies may penalize honest customers and reduce the positive marketing effects of a generous return policy, such as loyalty and positive word-of-mouth, necessitating a balanced, company-specific approach.
- Citar trabajo
- Anonym (Autor), 2020, When Customers Complain Illegitimately, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1002094
