Here, in The Conversation, by Professor of Marketing, University of Southern California and Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Minnesota. Excerpt:
Many complaint processes are actually designed to help companies retain profits by limiting the number of customers who can successfully resolve their complaints.
Only by insisting to talk to a manager or threatening to leave the company do consumers come closer to obtaining a refund.
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[N]avigating an online complaint process is generally harder for older people.
Additionally, African American and Latino customers are less inclined to complain than college-educated whites.
In addition, women get more annoyed than men when dealing with bad customer service.
This all suggests that the tiered process may hit vulnerable groups in our society harder.
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[O]ur research suggests that in markets without much competition, companies are more likely to implement a tiered complaint process and profit from the reduced payouts to customers.
Congress should really look into this.
