Having to Wait for Service: Customer Reactions to Delays in Service Delivery

Deux experiences ont evalue les consequences d’informations portant sur la duree d’attente et d’explications concernant les raisons du delai sur les reactions de clients confrontes a un service remis a plus tard. Dans la premiere etude, 111 participants ont lu un scenario decrivant une attente dans un cabinet medical. Dans l’autre etude, 87 sujets ont vecu un reel retard dans un laboratoire. Dans les deux cas, les participants ont ensuite fait part de leurs reactions suite au retard et evalue le service. Les resultats montrent que la presentation d’une information innocentant celui qui fournit le service provoque les reactions les plus favorables de la part de la clientele, tandis que l’absence d’explications entraine des reactions plus positives qu’une explication mettant en cause le responsable. Donner une estimation de la duree d’attente n’a que des effets limites sur les reactions. Les resultats sont analyses a partir des theories du temps d’attente. Two experiments tested the effects of providing wait duration information and explanations for the reason for a delay on customer reactions to a delayed service delivery. In Study 1, 111 participants read a paper-and-pencil scenario about a wait for service at a doctor's office. In Study 2, 87 participants experienced an actual delay at a research facility. In both studies, participants were subsequently surveyed about their service evaluation and reactions to the delay. Results indicate that providing a provider-not-at-fault explanation led to the most positive customer reactions, whereas providing no explanation led to more positive reactions than a provider-at-fault explanation. Providing waiting duration estimates had only limited effects on customers’ reactions. Results are discussed from the perspective of wait time theories.

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