Researchers from several UK and international universities – including Nottingham Business School and the University of Edinburgh – have found that people cope with complaints in different ways and their coping styles can impact the provider’s reputation. 

The study showed people can respond ‘actively’ to issues – putting the blame on the provider – while ‘expressive’ complainers want to show their anger and ‘denial-based’ responders completely disengage with the provider. 

“People inevitably react emotionally to poor customer service and, when they dwell on this, they often cope by sharing their complaints online, damaging the reputation of the provider,” said Babak Taheri, marketing professor at Nottingham Business School. 

“However, this is not the default reaction of all customers, and our research suggests that responding in a one-size-fits-all manner is not effective.”

According to Taheri, service recovery strategies should change based on each consumer category. 

Examples of this include using free-phone numbers and online complaint portals for expressive customers, acting proactively with those with a denial approach or having quick response times and offering financial compensation for active customers. 

The study has also highlighted how social media can be strategically used to address grievances and rebuild customer trust after issues.

“Customer service teams should be trained and supported to act quickly and empathetically," said the professor. "They need to be able to employ bespoke solutions to stop consumers’ initial complaints from developing into more damaging action, such as negative online reviews."