What effect does ‘pre-failure recovery’ have on customer satisfaction?

When a company identifies an unavoidable service failure, they do not always inform customers or initiate activities to minimise the negative effects. Thus, customers are exposed to service failures and companies are faced with the issue of recovering. This thesis studies the effect of pre-failure service recovery on customer satisfaction. Also, the joint effect of pre-failure recovery and criticality on customer satisfaction is examined. A critical review of the literature on service failure and recovery is presented drawing upon the underlying theories of disconfirmation of expectations theory, justice theory, and prospect theory. From this, a conceptual model and hypotheses have been developed and put forward. A non-probability quota sample is employed. Using a 2x2x2 scenario based experimental design, T-Tests and 2-way between-groups analysis of variance are used. Results show pre-failure recovery can aid the service recovery process and heighten customer satisfaction in the face of inevitable unavoidable service failure. This research adds a new step in the service recovery process extending the literature on service failure, service recovery, and criticality. The implications of this research are that through using pre-failure service recovery, the damage of an inevitable unavoidable service failure can be minimised resulting in higher satisfaction. Consumers appreciate honesty and upfront service providers regardless of whether they are in a time critical situation or not. A practical implication is that before considering compensation, service providers could use pre-failure recovery as this may be enough for recovery (and if not then it will make recovery easier and the provider could offer less compensation). This could save providers money. Future studies could consider other forms of pre-failure recovery and their effect on satisfaction. The present study could be extended into other service sectors. Furthermore, researchers could examine pre-information and post-information to compare the two and their effects on satisfaction