Journal of Consumer Marketing

An investigation into whether complaining can cause increased consumer satisfaction

Prashanth U. Nyer
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Prashanth U. Nyer, (2000),"An investigation into whether complaining can cause increased consumer satisfaction", Journal of
Consumer Marketing, Vol. 17 Iss 1 pp. 9 - 19
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 An executive summary for
managers and executive
readers can be found at the
end of this article
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Consumer-initiated market
information
JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING, VOL. 17 NO. 1 2000, pp. 9-19, # MCB UNIVERSITY PRESS, 0736-3761
An investigation into whether
complaining can cause
increased consumer satisfaction
Prashanth U. Nyer
The George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman
University, Orange, California, USA
Keywords Consumer behaviour, Complaints, Customer satisfaction,
Consumer marketing
Abstract Marketers agree that consumer complaints are useful sources of information
that help marketers identify sources of dissatisfaction, and therefore should be
encouraged. However, does complaining have a more direct beneficial effect? Can
consumer complaining by itself cause increased satisfaction by allowing dissatisfied
consumers a chance to vent their anger and frustration? An experiment was conducted on
real consumers to test what effects complaining may have on changes in the consumers'
satisfaction and product evaluations over a one-week period. It was found that consumers
who were encouraged to complain reported greater increases in satisfaction and product
evaluation compared to consumers who were not explicitly asked to complain. The
changes in satisfaction and product evaluations were found to be related to the
complaining intensity. The effect of complaining on actual purchasing behavior was also
studied.
Consumer complaints are very useful forms of consumer-initiated market
information that can be used to make strategic and tactical decisions (Kasouf
et al., 1995). Appropriate responses to complaints can prevent customers
from switching (Fornell and Wernerfelt, 1987). Plymire (1991) observed that
``. . . the surest road to a customer-focused culture is through increased
complaints''. The indirect benefits of complaining noted above occurs when
an unhappy customer complains, which then leads the marketer to respond in
a way that makes the customer less dissatisfied in the future. However, does
complaining have any direct benefits? Can complaining by itself increase
satisfaction (or reduce dissatisfaction)?
One of the benefits of complaining is that it gives dissatisfied consumers the
chance to vent their unhappiness (Kolodinsky and Aleong, 1990; Kowalski,
1996; Richins, 1980). This assertion was empirically supported by the
findings of Alicke et al. (1992) who found that the most common reason for
complaining in social interactions was to vent negative emotions. Oliver
(1987) suggested that complaining reduces dissonance caused by
dissatisfaction. Halstead and Page (1992) argued that such complaining
induced dissonance reduction was responsible for the positive relationship
between complaining and repurchase intention in the TARP (1979) studies.
The study of complaining and its relationship to venting is in its infancy in
both psychology and marketing.
Venting
Webster's New World Dictionary defines venting as ``to relieve or unburden
by giving release or expression to feelings''. Individuals under stress tend to
experience a subjective sense of something being bottled up (Stiles, 1987).
When such individuals suppress expressing their feelings of distress, it
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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9

Emotional release
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Facilitating the venting of
dissatisfaction and anger
10
causes them to dwell on the causes of their dissatisfaction,
which could then result in increased dissatisfaction (Kowalski, 1996;
Kowalski and Erickson, 1997). Failure to confide in others about
traumatic events has been found to be associated with increased stress
and long-term health problems (Pennebaker and Beall, 1986; Pennebaker
et al., 1987). Kowalski et al. (1996) found some evidence for the beneficial
effects of complaining when they found that low propensity complainers
felt better about a source of dissatisfaction after they had expressed
their dissatisfaction. Similarly, in a study using student subjects evaluating
a computer to be purchased by their university, it was found that
subjects who complained experienced lower levels of dissatisfaction (Nyer,
1999).
While some complaining may be aimed at seeking redress or warning
potential customers (Day, 1980), other complaints, especially negative word-
of-mouth, are motivated by the desire to obtain emotional release (Alicke et
al., 1992; Stilwell and Salamon, 1990). The desire to vent frustration was the
most commonly reported reason for complaining in social interactions
(Alicke et al., 1992). Despite this, there is very little empirical evidence for
the effectiveness of venting in reducing dissatisfaction among real
consumers in real consumption situations.
However, there is evidence that suggests that venting will cause a short-term
increase in negative emotions. Nyer (1997) found that subjects who were
given a chance to express their feelings about a dissatisfying product
reported higher levels of anger than did subjects who were not explicitly
given a chance to express their feelings. Pennebaker (1990) found that
subjects who wrote about their traumatic experiences reported feeling sadder
and more upset than those who wrote about superficial topics. These
increased levels of negative emotions disappeared after an hour or two, and
in a few cases after a day or two. Presumably, complaining leads to short-
term increase in dissatisfaction and this increased dissatisfaction dissipates
after a few days.
This brings us back to our original question: Can complaining increase
satisfaction in the long term by facilitating the venting of dissatisfaction and
anger? As discussed earlier, the desire to vent negative feelings was the most
common reason for complaining in social interactions (Alicke et al., 1992).
If complaining has the effect of increasing long-term satisfaction through
venting, further questions remain to be answered. Will complaining cause
greater levels of satisfaction increase among highly dissatisfied individuals
compared to those moderately dissatisfied? Will the intensity of complaints
influence the complaining induced increases in satisfaction? The fever model
of disclosure (Stiles, 1987) suggests that the benefits of cathartic disclosure
depend on the extent and depth of the disclosure, which in turn depends on
the intensity of the underlying emotion. This suggests that highly dissatisfied
consumers are more likely to engage in intense complaints, and consumers
who complain intensely are more likely to experience reductions in
dissatisfaction.
Hypotheses
Based on the preceding review, it is hypothesized that:
H1: Compared to dissatisfied consumers who do not complain, dissatisfied
consumers who complain will experience higher increases in satisfac-
tion and product evaluation over a period of one week.
JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING, VOL. 17 NO. 1 2000
 Short-term increase in
negative emotions
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Measures of satisfaction
and evaluation
JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING, VOL. 17 NO. 1 2000
As reviewed earlier, complaining could cause a short-term increase in
negative emotions which dissipates after a few hours and in some cases a few
days (Pennebaker, 1990). If complaining has any beneficial effects on
satisfaction, these effects should be measurable after a few days from the
time of complaining. For this reason, hypothesis H1 specifies a one-week
period between the complaining episode and the second set of
measurements.
H2: The complaining induced increases in satisfaction and product
evaluation will be greater for consumers who are highly dissatisfied
initially compared with those who are moderate or low in initial
dissatisfaction.
H3: The complaining induced increases in satisfaction and product
evaluation will be mediated by the intensity of complaining.
H4: Everything else being the same, consumers who are encouraged to
complain and express their feelings and opinions will be more likely to
engage in purchasing behavior.
Methodology
Subjects were 772 trial members of a newly opened fitness center who
responded to an advertised offer for a free one-day trial membership. The
offer for the free one-day trial membership ran over a period of three months
and the 772 cases were collected over this period. The subjects were mostly
in the 24 to 48 age group. At the end of their work-out, the trial members
were asked to complete a questionnaire, which included not only measures of
satisfaction and product evaluation, but also the manipulation of
complaining. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups
(complaining and non-complaining). The last item in the questionnaire for
the former group was a request for any complaints that the trial member may
have regarding his/her experience at the fitness center. Subjects in the latter
group were provided with a filler task. Depending on their initial satisfaction
with the fitness center, subjects were assigned to three groups: low initial
satisfaction (SAT1 = 0.0 to 3.5), moderate initial satisfaction (SAT1 = 4.0 to
5.5) and high initial satisfaction (SAT1 = 6.0 to 7.0). SAT1 represents the
initial satisfaction measurement.
Of the 772 trial members, 135 signed up for regular membership within a day
of their initial trial. These subjects were eliminated from the analysis since
they had made the purchase decision before the beneficial effects of
complaining could act on them. Exactly one week from the day of the initial
data collection, subjects who had not already signed up for regular
membership were telephonically administered the follow-up questionnaire
which included measures of satisfaction and product evaluation. Subjects
who were unavailable on the seventh day were called over the next three
days until they were contacted. A total of 36 subjects who could not be
contacted by the tenth day were dropped from the study reducing the
effective sample size to 601. A month later these 601 subjects were mailed
promotional offers that led to a further 73 subjects signing up for
membership.
Measures
Satisfaction was measured using two unipolar seven-point scales anchored
on the words satisfied and contented. Oliver's (1989) conceptualization of
contentment as a satisfaction prototype led to the development of the
contentment scale. Throughout this paper, dissatisfaction and satisfaction are
11
 assumed to be part of a unidimensional construct. The phrases increase in
satisfaction and decrease in dissatisfaction are used interchangeably.
Consumers' evaluation of the product/service was measured using two
bipolar seven-point scales anchored on the words very high-very poor and
superior-inferior. The measurement of satisfaction and product evaluation
had to be limited to two indicators each because pre-tests had indicated that
the use of multiple indicators of each concept caused confusion and
annoyance among these respondents. The intensity of complaints (CompInt)
was independently coded by two associates. On a five-point scale, 0
represented no complaint and 4 represented the highest level of complaint.
Two new variables
SAT and
EV were computed to indicate the increase
in satisfaction and product evaluation over the one-week period between
measurements. For example,
SAT = SAT2 SAT1; where SAT1 and
SAT2 indicate the satisfaction measurements taken initially and after a week.
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Analysis
Test for reliability The dependent variables were tested for reliability. The Cronbach  for the
scales exceeded 0.80. Scales for the dependent constructs were formed by
averaging the scores of the multiple indicators of that construct. Tables I and
II show the means of the measures of satisfaction and product evaluation
scores for all the experimental conditions.

Hypothesis 1
The increase in satisfaction score (
SAT) and the increase in product
evaluation score (
EV) from the subjects in the low initial satisfaction group
was subject to ANOVA. The results indicated that, as hypothesized, subjects
in the complaining condition experienced greater increases in the levels of

SAT1 SAT2
SAT

Initial measurement One week later Increase in satisfaction
Non- Non- Non-
Groups Complaining complaining Complaining complaining Complaining complaining
Low initial
satisfaction 2.78 2.65 3.42 2.75 0.64 0.09
Medium
initial
satisfaction 4.73 4.75 5.01 4.64 0.28 0.11
High initial
satisfaction 6.37 6.29 6.25 6.12 0.11 0.18

Table I. Means of satisfaction scores

EV1 EV2
EV

Initial measurement One week later Increase in product
evaluation
Non- Non- Non-
Groups Complaining complaining Complaining complaining Complaining complaining
Low initial
satisfaction 3.75 3.21 4.31 3.39 0.56 0.22
Medium
initial
satisfaction 4.71 4.40 5.03 4.23 0.34 0.09
High initial
satisfaction 5.61 5.42 5.73 5.10 0.10 0.18

Table II. Means of product evaluation scores

12 JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING, VOL. 17 NO. 1 2000

 satisfaction and product evaluation increase compared to subjects in the non-
complaining condition. Table III shows the means for the
SAT and the

EV variables in the complaining and non-complaining conditions and the
corresponding F statistics from ANOVA.

Hypothesis 2
Greater complaining ANOVA was conducted on the
SAT and
EV variables for subjects in the
high, moderate and low initial satisfaction conditions. As hypothesized, the
ANOVA indicated that subjects in the low initial satisfaction condition
displayed greater complaining induced increases in satisfaction and product
evaluation than subjects in the moderate or high initial satisfaction groups
(see Figures 1 and 2). The means of the
SAT and
EV variables for the
various conditions and the results of the F tests are shown in Table IV.
Although the increases in
SAT and
EV were greatest among customers
who were least satisfied initially, even customers who were only moderately
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satisfied initially showed significant increases in satisfaction and product

evaluation as a result of complaining.

Hypothesis 3
Hypothesis 3 suggests that the beneficial effect of complaining in increasing
satisfaction and product evaluation is influenced by the intensity of
complaining. To test this hypothesis step down analysis using multivariate
analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted (see Bagozzi and Yi, 1989
for details). The first step in the step-down analysis is to show that the

SAT
EV
Increase in satisfaction Increase in product
evaluation
Non- Non-
Groups Complaining complaining Complaining complaining
Means 0.64 0.09 0.56 0.22
Main effect of
complaining
F (1, 117), p 17.15, 0.00 4.97, 0.03

Table III. H1 results

Figure 1. Complaining induced increases in satisfaction for subjects in the low,

medium and high initial satisfaction conditions

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING, VOL. 17 NO. 1 2000 13

 1

Key
Low Initial Satisfaction

Increase in Product Evaluation

Medium Initial Satisfaction
High Initial Satisfaction
0.5

0.5
Non Complaining Complaining
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Figure 2. Complaining induced increases in product evaluation for subjects in

the low, medium and high initial satisfaction conditions

SAT
EV
Increase in Increase in product
satisfaction evaluation
Non- Non-
Groups Complaining complaining Complaining complaining
Low initial
satisfaction 0.64 0.09 0.56 0.22
Medium initial
satisfaction 0.28 0.11 0.34 0.09
High initial
satisfaction 0.11 0.18 0.10 0.18
Main effect of
complaining
F (1, 595), p 20.87, 0.00 19.20, 0.00
Main effect of initial
satisfaction
F (2, 595), p 14.26, 0.00 8.77, 0.00

Table IV. H2 results

experimental manipulations have significant effects on the dependent

variable
SAT,
EV and CompInt where CompInt is the complaining
intensity score. Second, the experimental manipulations should be shown to
have no significant effects on
SAT and
EV once the effects of CompInt
have been covaried out. Finally, the experimental manipulations should be
shown to have significant effects on CompInt even after the effect of
SAT
and
EV are covaried out. This final step is used to eliminate the alternative
model where complaining intensity is caused by (rather than is the cause of)

SAT and
EV. As indicated in Table V, all the conditions specified above
were satisfied with one exception. In step 2, the main effect of the initial
satisfaction level on
SAT and
EV continued to remain significant even
after the effects of CompInt were covaried out. This could have happened
since consumers whose initial satisfaction ratings were at either extreme
would have been more likely to exaggerate their initial satisfaction level. At
the second measurement, these consumers may have reverted to more
accurate satisfaction evaluations, which in turn would lead the factor Initial

14 JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING, VOL. 17 NO. 1 2000

 Step 1 Step 2
DV:
SAT,
EV DV:
SAT and Step 3
and CompInt;
EV; DV: CompInt;
CV: none CV: CompInt CV:
SAT and
EV
Experimental effect (p values of multivariate F-test statistic)
Complaining 0.00 0.35 0.00
Initial satisfaction
level 0.00 0.00 0.00
Initial satisfaction
level  complaining 0.00 0.12 0.00
Note: DV refers to dependent variables and CV refers to covariates

Table V. Step-down analysis using MANOVA

Satisfaction Level to remain significant in step 2 of the step-down analysis.

However, the findings of the analysis are largely supportive of H3.
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Hypothesis 4
As briefly noted under methodology, 73 trial members signed up for full
membership in the fitness center after being sent a second promotional
mailer. Chi-square analysis indicated that complaining had a significant
effect on purchasing behavior. Of non-complainers, 9.13 percent (24 out of
263) overall signed up for membership compared with 14.50 percent (49 out
of 338) of complainers; 21 = 4.00, p = 0.03 (one sided).

Four major findings
Managerial implications
The four major findings of this paper are:
(1) Unhappy customers who were explicitly asked to express their feelings
and thoughts experienced greater increases in satisfaction and product
evaluation than those who were not specifically asked to express their
comments and complaints.
(2) The complaining induced increases in satisfaction and product evalua-
tion were greatest for subjects who were least satisfied initially, rather
than for subjects who were moderate or high on satisfaction initially.
However, even subjects who were only moderately satisfied initially
showed significant increases in satisfaction and product evaluation
levels.
(3) The result of the step-down analysis lends support to the hypothesis that
complaining induced increases in satisfaction and product evaluation
were influenced by the intensity of complaining. Almost all the
significant effects of the experiment on increases in satisfaction and
product evaluation disappeared once the effect of complaining intensity
was covaried out.
(4) Trial members who were encouraged to complain were 58.86 percent
more likely (14.50 percent vs 9.13 percent) to sign up for regular
membership than those who were not explicitly asked to express their
feelings and opinions.
Finding 1 suggests that encouraging dissatisfied consumers to express their
feelings and opinions may cause increased levels of satisfaction and product
evaluation. This is in line with the findings of the TARP (1979) studies,
which reported that, even when complaints were not resolved satisfactorily,
customers who complained experienced higher levels of repurchase intention
compared to those who did not complain at all. Finding 2 indicates that the

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING, VOL. 17 NO. 1 2000 15

 beneficial effects of encouraging complaints are most obvious for the
customers who are most dissatisfied and to a lesser extent for customers
who are moderately dissatisfied. Finding 3 suggests that on average the more
intensely a customer complains, the greater are the increases in satisfaction
and product evaluation likely to be. Finally, finding 4 shows
that complaining can not only increase satisfaction and product evaluation,
but also influence actual purchasing behavior. Consumers who were
encouraged to express their complaints were almost 59 percent more likely
to purchase membership than consumers who were not asked to express
themselves.
Encouraging customer The findings of this study does not suggest that marketers should merely
complaints solicit complaints without addressing the causes of the consumers'
dissatisfaction. Encouraging consumer complaints may be perceived as
fraudulent if the consumers do not receive positive responses from the
marketer (Goodwin and Ross, 1990). Further, giving consumers a chance to
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vent or even offering them an apology may not compensate for the failure to
provide them with a refund or exchange if that is what the unhappy consumer
wants. Clearly, marketers should base their responses to consumer
complaints based on the complainer's motives. The effects of complaining in
increasing satisfaction, product evaluations and purchasing likelihood should
be seen as an added incentive to encourage complaining behavior.

Limitations
Although this study has found evidence for the beneficial effects of
complaining in increasing satisfaction, product evaluation and purchase
likelihood, it is unclear what psychological process causes these effects.
Although catharsis (venting) is a likely explanation for this, other possible
mechanisms could lead to similar changes in satisfaction, product evaluation
and purchase likelihood. For example, subjects in the complaining condition
may have experienced higher levels of perceived justice or perceived control,
and these in turn could have led to the change in satisfaction. Blodgett and
Tax (1993) have suggested that giving customers an opportunity to voice
their opinions could lead to higher levels of procedural/interactional justice,
which could then lead to higher levels of satisfaction. Alternatively, the
process of complaining could have triggered heightened cognitive
processing, which in turn could have led the subject to examine counter-
attitudinal information, and that could be what led to the change in
satisfaction. Clearly, further research needs to be done to understand better
the psychological processes that resulted in the effects demonstrated in this
study.

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&

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING, VOL. 17 NO. 1 2000 17

 This summary has been
provided to allow managers
and executives a rapid
appreciation of the content
of this article. Those with a
particular interest in the
topic covered may then read
the article in toto to take
advantage of the more
comprehensive description
of the research undertaken
and its results to get the full
benefit of the material
present
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18
Executive summary and implications for managers and
executives
Complaining can be good for your customers and good for you
Why do we complain about poor product quality or lousy service? Is it
because we want some kind of reparation or redress? Or is it because we
want to vent our anger and frustration at the firm responsible? Nyer reports
that some research indicates that the most common reason for complaining
``. . . was to vent negative emotions''.
We also read that bottling up those negative emotions can cause stress and
could contribute to ``. . . long-term health problems''. We do not want bad
service nor do we expect it, so when firms let us down we are angry
complaining allows us to release those negative feelings and, we hope, get a
resolution to or apology for the cause of upset.
All this seems common sense and since mistakes and problems are endemic
in business requires the clear understanding of management. Yet many
firms simply dismiss complaints and even fail to apologise for any upset
caused. Fisher et al. (JCM, Vol. 16 No. 6) reported, in an investigation of
complaints to the Better Business Bureau branch in St Louis, that firms failed
to offer any redress, refused to accept that they had done anything wrong
and above all completely failed to say sorry. There are times when I wonder
about managers can't they see the problem they cause for their firms by
failing to deal with complaints?
Dealing with complaints is not fun!
We do not like complaints and, in many cases, customers do not like
complaining. As we have already noted, dissatisfaction is stressful and, for
many people, going to complain is stressful. This problem is made worse by
the attitude of employees receiving complaints too often such people seem
not to care about the problems faced by the customer.
So what contributes to this negative response when people raise complaints?
Here are some thoughts:
. We don't like admitting a mistake give the customer a load of excuses.
. The mistake was by somebody else why should you deal with the
problem?
. The customer does not understand how we work this kind of thing
happens all the time and other people do not whinge.
. People who complain are all the same they are just trying to rip us off
and get something for free.
. We're not responsible for the error that was a different organization.
. The customer is being unreasonable there is nothing wrong with what
we have done.
We do not enjoy it when our customers complain but, at the same time, we
often fail to appreciate that failing to sort out the problem and mollify the
customer will result in an unhappy ex-customer. And that customer will be
telling friends and relations just how lousy our firm is.
There is now so much evidence of the negative impact of failing to deal with
complaints adequately that firms not handling complaints effectively deserve
the loss of business. And, in addition to these findings, we know that dealing
JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING, VOL. 17 NO. 1 2000
 with complaints well results in satisfied even enthusiastic customers. So
why don't we do it?

Catharsis for customers the role of complaints

The dissatisfied customer is angry or at least this is a safe assumption for the
marketer. If they do not vent their anger on you they will let rip somewhere else.
If you do not want your customers to bore their friends and relations rigid with
their tale of your useless service, then you have to offer catharsis you must
encourage customers to raise complaints, problems and concerns.
Nyer demonstrates that unhappy customers, when ``asked to express their
feelings and thoughts experienced greater increases in satisfaction and
product evaluation than those who were not asked to express their comments
and complaints''. Making it easy to complain is positive even where you
deliver perfect service. The customer likes to know you welcome their
comments and feedback.
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While catharsis the opportunity to vent feelings is a good start, it does not
necessarily solve your problem. Nyer points out that ``giving customers the
chance to vent or even offering them an apology may not compensate for the
failure to provide them with a refund or exchange if that is what the unhappy
consumer wants''. Listening to the customer and saying sorry are a good start
but you may need to do more to repair your relationship with that customer.

Doing things right a strategy for handling complaints

. Start with the fact that the customer is upset. It does not matter whether
their anger is fair or justified it is sufficient that they are cross.
. Listen to what the customer has to say. Do not have a mechanistic
response to complaints or a rigid policy on redress this may not be
what the customer wants. And if all the experts in the world say you have
got the right policy, that does not make a bit of difference to your
customer. They are still upset.
. Say sorry. In so many cases an apology is all the customer wants and
preferably an apology that is not followed by a catalogue of explanations,
caveats and excuses. Just say you are sorry and leave it at that.
. Find out what you can do to repair the situation a refund, exchange,
redoing the work, free product. Remember that, if you get the response
right, that customer will be satisfied and will return to buy again. Ask the
customer what they want and, so far as is possible, give it to them.
. Record the details of the complaint and investigate why the product or
service failed. You will never eliminate errors but, by addressing
problems as they arise, you will avoid the disaster of a customer
experiencing the same mistake twice.
. Be prepared to train staff in complaint handling and insist that dealing
with customers' problems is a priority.

There is no excuse for failing to address customer complaints. And, since

complaining can increase ``. . . satisfaction, product evaluations and
purchasing likelihood'' you should make it as easy as you can for customers
to raise their concerns and have them addressed.
(A precis of the article ``An investigation into whether complaining can
cause increased consumer satisfaction''. Supplied by Marketing
Consultants for MCB University Press.)

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING, VOL. 17 NO. 1 2000 19

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