Customer Complaint Journey Mapping: A Qualitative Approach

Koussaif, Hiba, Hart, David and Lillystone, Simon (2020) Customer Complaint Journey Mapping: A Qualitative Approach. British Food Journal, 122 (12). pp. 3711-3726. ISSN 0007-070X

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1108/bfj-11-2019-0849

Abstract

Purpose
This paper aims to extend the customer complaint behaviour (CCB) knowledge by introducing a visual technique called customer complaint journey mapping as a means of capturing and understanding multi-faceted service failures involving multiple actors.

Design/methodology/approach
Research participants were trained to record contemporaneous accounts of future dissatisfactory dining experiences. Minimising issues of memory recall whilst faithfully capturing complainants' raw emotions. These recordings formed the basis for follow up interviews, based on the critical incident technique.

Findings
The central finding of this paper was how other actors outside of the traditional service dyad played a dynamic role in co-creating a complainants' emotions and subsequent behaviours.

Practical implications
The resulting customer complaint maps give deep insights into the complex social dynamics involved in CCB, providing a powerful tool for both researchers and staff responsible for recovery strategies.

Originality/value
The mapping framework provides an innovative means of capturing the actual complaint experiences of customers and the role of other actors, utilising a multi-method approach designed to address various limitations of existing CCB research.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Customer complaint behaviour, Customer journey mapping, Service failures
Subjects: D600 Food and Beverage studies
N100 Business studies
N200 Management studies
Department: Faculties > Business and Law > Newcastle Business School
Depositing User: John Coen
Date Deposited: 19 May 2020 10:44
Last Modified: 16 Mar 2023 09:30
URI: https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/43191

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