Mistakes and failures require the need for service recovery. According to Van Vaerenbergh, De Keyser and Lariviere (2014), a service recovery occurs as a means to patch things up after a service failure. However, patching things up is just an attempt to a normal recovery action to rectify the situation. An effective recovery is needed where customers ' expectations are met or exceeded. Ignoring and failing to recover can lead to negative outcomes such as losing customers, negative word of mouth, and decreased profits. Research studies suggest that highly effective service recovery steps can even produce a ‘‘service recovery paradox ' ' whereby customers experiencing a service failure perceive a higher level of post-recovery …show more content…
Customers nowadays have higher expectations and are more knowledgeable regarding their rights. If a failure occurs, it is the company 's responsibility to attain the customer 's satisfaction by recovering the failure. Otherwise, when the company chose to ignore the failure, then it can be said as a sure sign of pushing the customer to a direct competitor. According to Tanford, Raab and Kim (2013), the term 'defection ' is used to describe customers who transfer their loyalty to another company. The risk of defection is high, especially when there are various opposing alternatives available in the hospitality and tourism industry. One good technique for handling negative service encounters is what Ritz Carlton Hotel has implemented in all of their properties worldwide. Ritz Carlton Hotel believes how essential employee empowerment is to excellent customer service; hence, all employees are allowed to spend up to a maximum of $2,000 per incident to rectify any issues that guest had poorly experienced (Toporek, …show more content…
At times, customers just want to be given a listening ear. Hence, being sincere and honest are two important attributes that frontline service employees must also possess. If the issue or complaint is handled properly during the ‘moment of truth ', the company 's reputation will be at risk if the customer chooses to broadcast their dissatisfaction online which can damage the company 's reputation. A study has shown that reputation comes with a cost and will impact the company 's long-term profitability and sustainability (Ferris et al.