The Impact of Complaint Handling on Consumer Complaint Dispute Within the Two Largest States in the United States (California and Texas)

Complaint handling plays a vital role in shaping business success through customer satisfaction. The substantial amount of research regarding consumer complaints has focused on individual differences of customers who are making the complaints; however, a gap still remains regarding how complaint handling affects the complaint dispute and how an organization's choice of response to complaints influences the ultimate success or failure of the provided resolutions. In addition to investigating these two factors, the current research also explores how product type, the nature of complaint issues, and customers’ (assumed) political orientations affect whether or not customers dispute resolutions. The results of this research suggest that apart from individual differences, the complaint handling process by itself impacts the likelihood of complaint dispute. Specifically, findings suggest that effective complaint receiving channels (phone) along with the proper response to the complaints (responding with any relief) can reduce the likelihood of a disputed resolution and presumably, enhance customer satisfaction.