Customer Complaining Behaviors after Restaurant Service Failure: Redress Seeking Complaint, Friendly Complaint, Loyalty and Neglect

This exploratory research investigates dissatisfied customers’ complaining behaviors after a service failure in the restaurant context. Based on the customers’ actual behaviors, complaints are categorized into two types, redress seeking complaint and friendly complaint, and no-complaints are also categorized via two types, loyalty and neglect. These four immediate complaining behaviors are distinguished by related antecedents, attitude toward complaining, criticality of service failure, and emotional bonding. Subsequent complaining behaviors (third-party actions, negative word-of-mouth, switch) following the immediate complaining behavior are also explored. This study provides a better understanding of complainers and non-complainers, and their subsequent complaining behaviors, thus furthering our knowledge of customer reactions to service failures.