Australian Retail Banking Customers' Perceptions of Time in A Service Recovery Process

Abstract

Results of past studies related to the role of time in service recovery processes have not been conclusive. The present study seeks to address this gap in the literature. In particular, the investigation is aimed at understanding how much time customers expect banks to take in solving their complaints, as well as how much personal time and effort customers are willing to invest during the process of addressing a complaint. To address these objectives, 25 in-depth interviews were conducted with Australian retail banking customers. Results demonstrated that a majority of customers expected banks to resolve their complaints within 24 hours, and that the amount of personal time and effort they were willing to invest in the process of complaining was dependent on the magnitude of the service failure. The investigation also identified four distinct groups of customers in relation to the personal time and effort they were willing to invest in the complaint process: non-complainers, convenience-oriented solution seekers, control seekers and desperate solution seekers.