Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
Despite the increased attention being paid to service delivery, lengthy waits for service are still common. This paper provides a conceptual and empirical examination of the effects of perceived employee action and customer prior experience, on reactions to service delays. The results of a field study of customers experiencing actual delays in a major retail bank are then discussed. The findings indicate that events and actions taking place prior to, during, and after the delay, affect consumer response. First, customers’ prior experience with that service provider is critical. Contrary to much of the literature on expectations, customers who had frequently experienced delays in the past were even more angered by the current service failure. Second, perceived employee effort during the delay had a tremendous impact on customers’ reactions. Irrespective of the length of the delay, when employees are perceived as not making a real effort, customer anger is high. Third, the impact of an apology is more complex. An apology is not a substitute for genuine employee effort. An insincere apology may even backfire, especially when customers experience frequent delays and believe employees are not making a concerted effort to help. Managerial implications for addressing this problem, before, during and after the delay, are discussed.
Journal of Services Marketing – Emerald Publishing
Published: Jun 1, 1998
Keywords: Banking; Customer satisfaction; Employee attitudes; Services marketing; Service quality
Read and print from thousands of top scholarly journals.
Already have an account? Log in
Bookmark this article. You can see your Bookmarks on your DeepDyve Library.
To save an article, log in first, or sign up for a DeepDyve account if you don’t already have one.
Copy and paste the desired citation format or use the link below to download a file formatted for EndNote
Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
All DeepDyve websites use cookies to improve your online experience. They were placed on your computer when you launched this website. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.