Customer Complaint Behaviors in Turkish Airline Industry

Yıl 2013, Cilt: 17 Sayı: 2, 129 - 148, 01.12.2013

Nuriye Güreş Seda Arslan Zeynep Kocagöz Bakar

Öz

Of late years in Turkey, the number of passengers who prefers air transportation has been increasing expeditiously. In that case, understanding the wants, satisfaction levels and complaining behaviors of passengers has been obligatory for airline companies. Therefore in this study, Turkish passengers’ complaining behaviors and Turkish-oriented airlines’ service recovery efforts toward those complaints have been searched. The study results indicated that most of the passengers have experienced a service failure and complain. Turkish passengers mostly complain about physical evidence, employee behaviour, airline’s attitudes and make their complaints face to face to the airline employees. If they satisfy with the airlines’ service recovery efforts, they are willing to recommend the airline and fly again with the same airline. In addition, the education level of passengers has been found as an important variable effecting their complaint behavior and satisfaction level with the airlines’ service recovery efforts.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Customer Complaints, Passenger, Airline Company

Türk Havacılık Sektöründe Müşteri Şikayet Davranışları

Öz

Son yıllarda Türkiye’de, havayolu taşımacılığını tercih eden yolcuların sayısı hızlı bir şekilde artmaktadır. Bu durumda, yolcuların isteklerini, memnuniyet düzeylerini ve şikayet davranışlarını anlamak, havayolu işletmeleri için zorunlu olmaktadır. Bu nedenle bu çalışmada, Türk yolcuların şikayet davranışları ve Türk menşeli havayolu işletmelerinin bu şikayetlerin çözümüne yönelik çabaları araştırılmıştır. Çalışma sonuçları göstermiştir ki, yolcuların çoğunluğu bir hizmet hatasıyla karşılaşmış ve şikayette bulunmuştur. Türk yolcular çoğunlukla fiziksel unsurlar, çalışanların davranışları ve havayollarının şikayetlere yönelik tutumları konusunda şikayet etmekte ve havayolu çalışanlarına yüz yüze şikayette bulunmaktadır. Yolcular, eğer havayolu işletmesinin sorunun çözümüne yönelik çabalarından memnun kalırlarsa, aynı havayolu ile tekrar uçma ve bu havayolunu diğerlerine tavsiye etme konusunda istekli olmaktadır. Ayrıca, yolcuların eğitim düzeyi, yolcuların şikayet davranışını ve havayolu işletmesinin sorunun çözümüne yönelik çabalarından memnuniyetini etkileyen önemli bir değişken olarak bulunmuştur.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Müşteri Şikayetleri, Yolcu, Havayolu İşletmesi

Kaynakça

• Alper, B. (2010). Managing complaints in customer relationship management: A case study on hotel management. MSC Thesis, Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, Balıkesir University, Balıkesir, Turkey.
• Astuti, P.H. and Dharmmesta, B. S. (2011). The evaluation of customer complaint handling with justice dimensions: Effect on trust and commitment with prior experiences as moderating effect. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Busıness, 2 (11), March, 228 – 237.
• Atalık, Ö. (2007). Customer complaints about airline service: A preliminary study of Turkish frequent flyers. Management Research News, 30(6), 409-419.
• Bamford, D. and Xystouri, T. (2005). A case study of service failure and recovery within an international airline. Managing Service Quality, 15(3), 306–322.
• Behn, B. K. and Riley, R. A. (1999). Using nonfinancial information to predict financial performance: The case of the U.S. airline industry. Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance, 14(1), Winter, 29-56.
• Bell, S.J. and Luddington, J.A. (2006). Coping with customer complaints. Journal of Service Research, 8, 221–233.
• Bhadra, D. (2009). You (expect to) get what you pay for: A system approach to delay, fare, and complaints. Transportation Research Part A, 43 (2009), 829–843.
• Blodgett, J. G. and Anderson, R. D. (2000). A bayesian network model of the consumer complaint process. Journal of Service Research, 2(4), May, 321-338.
• Booz: Allen&Hamilton, 2001. Punctuality: How airlines can improve on-time performance. 23.04.2012). (Accessed:
• Britto, R., Dresner, M. and Voltes, A. (2012). The impact of flight delays on passenger demand and societal welfare. Transportation Research Part E, 48(2012), 460– 469.
• Chang, J., Khan, M. A. and Tsai, C-T. (2012). Dining occasions, service failures and customer complaint behaviours: An empirical assessment. International Journal of Tourism Research, 14, 601–615.
• Chen, R. R., Gerstner, E. and Yang, Y. C. (2012). Customer bill of rights under no-fault service failure: Confinement and compensation. Marketing Science, 31(1), January–February, 157–171.
• Cho, Y., Im, I., Hiltz, R. and Fjermestad, J. (2002). An analysis of online customer complaints: Implications for web complaint management. System Sciences, HICSS, Proceedings of the 35th Annual Hawaii International Conference, 2308 – 2317.
• Dresner, M. and Xu, K. (1995). Customer service, customer satisfaction, and corporate performance in the service sector. Journal of Business Logistics, 16(1), 23–40.
• Dunn, L. and Dahl, D.W. (2012). Self-threat arid product failure: How internal attributions of blame affect consumer complaining behavior. Journal of Marketing Research, 49, October, 670-681.
• Estelami, H. (1999). The profit impact of consumer complaint solicitation across market conditions. Journal of Professional Services Marketing, 20(1), 165 – 195.
• Forbes, S. J. (2008a). The effect of air traffic delays on airline prices. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 26(5), 1218-1232.
• Forbes, S.J. (2008b). The effect of service quality and expectations on customer complaints. The Journal of Industrial Economics, 56(1), March, 190 – 213.
• Fornell, C. and Westbrook, R. A. (1979). An exploratory study of assertiveness, aggressiveness, and consumer complaining behavior. Advances in Consumer Research, 6, 105-110.
• Goodman, J. (1999). Basic facts on customer complaint behavior and the impact of service on the bottom line. Competitive Advantage, 9(1), 1-5.
• Gökdeniz, İ., Bozacı, İ. and Karakaya, E. (2011). An emprical research on factors affecting satisfaction after complaint management process. Selçuk University Journal of Graduate School of Social Sciences, 26, 173-185.
• Gruber, T., Szmigin, I. and Voss, R. (2006). The desired qualities of customer contact employees in complaint handling encounters. Journal of Marketing Management, 22, 619-642.
• Hamidizadeh, M.R., Jazani, N., Hajikarimi, A. and Ebrahimi, A. (2011). A model for explanation of customer satisfaction consequences in banking industry: Evidence from Iran. International Business and Management, 3(1), 141-147.
• Haverila, M. and Naumann, E. (2010). Customer complaint behavior and satisfaction in a B2B context: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Services Research, 10(2), October, 45-62.
• Januszewski, S. I. (2004). The role of service quality and expectations in explaining customer complaints. Working Paper, University of California at San Diego. http://weber.ucsd.edu/~sjanusze/www/complaintpaper_wtables.pdf (Accessed. 22.10.2012).
• Karatepe, O. M. (2006). Customer complaints and organisational responses: The effects of complainants’ perceptions of justice on satisfaction and loyalty. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 25(1), 69 – 90.
• Keng, A.K., Richamond, D. and Han, S. (1995). Determinants of consumer complaint behavior: A study of Singapore consumers. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 8(2), 59-76.
• Kılıç, B. and Ok, S. (2012). Customer complaints and evaluation of complaints in hotel. Journal of Yasar University, 25(7), 4189-4202.
• Kim, J. and Boo, S. (2011). Influencing factors on customers’ intention to complain in a franchise restaurant. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 20, 217–237.
• Kim, Y-K. and Lee, H-R. (2009). Passenger complaints under irregular airline conditions: Cross-cultural study. Journal of Air Transport Management, 15(2009), 350–353.
• La, S. and Choi, B. (2012). The role of customer affection and trust in loyalty rebuilding after service failure and recovery. The Service Industries Journal, 32(1), January, 105–125.
• Lam, T. and Tang, V. (2003). Recognizing customer complaint behavior: The case of Hong Kong hotel restaurants. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 14(1), 69 – 85.
• Larivet, S. and Brouard, F. (2010). Complaints are a firm's best friend. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 18(7), 537-551.
• Lee, C.C. and Hu, C. (2004). Analyzing hotel customers' e-complaints from an internet complaint forum. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 17(2-3), 167-181.
• Mazzeo, M. J. (2003). Competition and service quality in the U.S. airline industry. Review of Industrial Organization, 22, 275–296.
• Miller, S. A. (2011). April 2010 UK airspace closure: Experience and impact on the UK’s air-travelling public and implications for future travel. Journal of Air Transport Management, 17 (2011), 296 – 301.
• Mostert, P.G., De Meyer, C.F. and Van Rensburg, L.R.J. (2009). The influence of service failure and service recovery on airline passengers’ relationships with domestic airlines: An exploratory study. Southern African Business Review, 13(2), 118-140.
• Odabaşı, Y. (2010). Satışta ve pazarlamada müşteri ilişkileri yönetimi. Sistem Yayıncılık: Istanbul.
• Potluri, R. M. and Mangnale, V.S. (2011). Critical factors of customer satisfaction in Ethiopian service sector. Asian Journal of Business Management, 3(1), 1-7.
• Pranic, L. and Roehl, W. S. (2012). Rethinking service recovery: A customer empowerment (CE) perspective. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 13(2), 242–260.
• Richins, M.L. (1983). Negative word-of-mouth by dissatisfied consumers: A pilot study. Journal of Marketing, 47(1), 68-78.
• Rogers, J.C., Ross, S.C. and Williams, T.G. (1992). Personal values and purchase dissatisfaction response. Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behaviour, 5, 81–92.
• Rothenberger, S., Grewal, D. and Iyer, G. R. (2008). Understanding the role of complaint handling on consumer loyalty in service relationships. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 7(4), 359-376.
• Sarıdaldı, E. and Sevim, Ş. (2009). Evaluation of customer complaint management performance: An application in 3rd Regional Directorate of TCDD. Balıkesir University Journal of Graduate School of Social Sciences, 12(22), December, 110-126.
• Schoefer, K. and Ennew, C. (2004). Customer evaluations of tour operators’ responses to their complaints. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 17(1), 83-92.
• Sherry, L. and Wang, D. (2007). Air travel consumer protection: A metric for passenger ontime performance. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation http://catsr.ite.gmu.edu/pubs/SherryWangTRB2007.pdf 02.05.2012). Research Board, 22-27. (Accessed.
• Singh, J. (1988). Consumer complaint intentions and behavior: Definitional and taxonomical issues. Journal of Marketing, January, 93 – 107.
• Singh, J. (1990). A typology of consumer dissatisfaction response styles. Journal of Retailing, 66(1), Spring 90, 57 – 99.
• Slama, M.E. and Williams, T.G. (1991). Consumer interaction styles and purchase complaint intention. Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 4, 167-174.
• Srinivasan, D., Sayrak, A. and Nagarajan, N. J. (2002). Executive compensation and non-financial performance measures: A study of the incentive and value relevance of mandated non-financial disclosures in the U.S. airline industry. SSRN http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=301899 02.05.2013). Working Paper. (Accessed.
• Steven, A.B., Dong, Y. and Dresner, M. (2012). Linkages between customer service, customer satisfaction and performance in the airline industry: Investigation of non-linearities and moderating effects. Transportation Research Part E, 48 (2012), 743–754.
• Steyn, T. F. J., Mostert, P. G., De Meyer, C. F. and Van Rensburg, L. R. J. (2011). The effect of service failure and recovery on airline-passenger relationships: A comparison between South African and United States airline passengers. Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 12(5), 105-116.
• Suzuki, Y. (1998). The relationship between on-time performance and profit: An analysis of US airline data. Journal of the Transportation Research Forum, 37(2), 30–43.
• Taleghani, M., Largani, M. S., Gilaninia, S. and Mousavian, S. J. (2011). The role of customer complaints management in consumers satisfaction for new industrial enterprises of Iran. International Journal of Business Administration, 2(3), August, 140 – 147.
• Technical Assistance Research Programs Institute (TARP) (1986). Consumer complaint handling in America: An update study. Part II. Washington, DC: United States Office of Consumer Affairs.
• The International Air Transport Association (IATA) (2013). Air passenger market analysis July 2013. http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/Documents/economics/ Passenger-Analysis-Jul-2013.pdf (Accessed. 28.08.2013).
• The U.S. Department of Transportation (2013). Air travel consumer report July 2013. http://www.dot.gov/sites/dot.dev/files/docs/2013JulyATCR_0.pdf (Accessed. 15.08.2013).
• Tolon, M. and Zengin, A.Y. (2011). Demographic characteristics and complaint Behavior: An empirical study concerning Turkish customers. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(9), Special Issue, May, 42-48.
• Tse, D. K. and Wilton, P.C. (1988). Models of consumer satisfaction formation: An extension. Journal of Marketing Research, 25(2), May, 204-212.
• Turkish General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMI) (2013). Air transportation statistics July 2013. http://www.dhmi.gov.tr/istatistik.aspx (Accessed. 10.09.2013).
• Türkyılmaz, A. and Özkan, C. (2005). National index of customer satisfaction. KalDer Forum, 5(16), 73–77.http://www.fatih.edu.tr/~aturkyilmaz/documents/ UMMI_KALDER.pdf (Accessed. 15.07.2013).
• Unur, K., Çakıcı, C. and Taştan, H. (2010). Customer complaints on package tours and a research on the frequency of the complaınts faced by the travel agents. Çukurova University Journal of Graduate School of Social Sciences, 19(3), 391-408.
• Winch, G. (2011). The squeaky wheel: How complaining via twitter is changing consumer http://www.psychologytoday. wheel/201105/howcomplaining-twitter-is-changing-consumer-psychology (Accessed. 15.07.2013). Psychology Today, May 3.
• com/blog/the-squeaky
• Wattanacharoensil, W. and Yoopetch, C. (2012). Thailand’s human resource competencies in airline service quality: Voices from the airline industry. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 11, 280–302.
• Yuksel, A., Kilinc, U. K. and Yuksel, F. (2006). Cross-national analysis of hotel customers’ attitudes toward complaining and their complaining behaviours. Tourism Management, 27, 11–24.