This book investigates customer perceptions and expectations of complaint channels. In addition to the conventional channels, the adequacy of online social networks as new complaint channel is analysed. The managerial recommendations to improve customer satisfaction are based on a survey and reveal critical determinants of customer channel choice and their expectation and perception of each complaint channel.

Across the global economy, customers' expectations are continually rising - but many companies fail to deliver against those expectations. With the rise in social media, customers are becoming more vocal in expressing any dissatisfaction, which can both lose existing customers and alienate potential new ones. Complaint Management Excellence provides practical advice, tools and techniques for managers to adopt when managing any complaints that come into their organisation. In order to arrive at a culture where complaints are welcomed, the underlying values, processes, structure, strategy and people within an organization all need to be aligned with, and respect, customer needs. Not only does this improve the long-terms prospects for the company itself, but can have a tremendous knock-on effect in terms of boosting employee morale and engagement. With case studies from companies as diverse as John Lewis, Waitrose, DHL, Hilton Hotels, the Starwood group (including Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton hotels) and BT, Complaint Management Excellence explains what customers are really looking for when they make a complaint, how to avoid conflict and how managers can lead culture change to ensure the best experience for all customers and clients.

This practice- and research-based book caters to the needs of executive managers who see customer satisfaction as their primary goal. The authors identify the need for an effective complaint management strategy that prevents the loss of dissatisfied customers. Dissatisfied customers are at risk of migrating; accordingly, neglecting professional complaint management poses a considerable threat to customer relationships, sales and profits. The book offers a comprehensive management concept, which emphasizes direct contact with the complainant by employing complaint stimulation, acceptance, processing and reaction. Further, it discusses the relevant ‘backstage’ tasks involved in using complaint information to achieve quality improvements and cost reductions through complaint analysis, controlling and reporting.

A modern, comprehensive treatment of latent class and latent transition analysis for categorical data On a daily basis, researchers in the social, behavioral, and health sciences collect information and fit statistical models to the gathered empirical data with the goal of making significant advances in these fields. In many cases, it can be useful to identify latent, or unobserved, subgroups in a population, where individuals' subgroup membership is inferred from their responses on a set of observed variables. Latent Class and Latent Transition Analysis provides a comprehensive and unified introduction to this topic through one-of-a-kind, step-by-step presentations and coverage of theoretical, technical, and practical issues in categorical latent variable modeling for both cross-sectional and longitudinal data. The book begins with an introduction to latent class and latent transition analysis for categorical data. Subsequent chapters delve into more in-depth material, featuring: A complete treatment of longitudinal latent class models Focused coverage of the conceptual underpinnings of interpretation and evaluationof a latent class solution Use of parameter restrictions and detection of identification problems Advanced topics such as multi-group analysis and the modeling and interpretation of interactions between covariates The authors present the topic in a style that is accessible yet rigorous. Each method is presented with both a theoretical background and the practical information that is useful for any data analyst. Empirical examples showcase the real-world applications of the discussed concepts and models, and each chapter concludes with a "Points to Remember" section that contains a brief summary of key ideas. All of the analyses in the book are performed using Proc LCA and Proc LTA, the authors' own software packages that can be run within the SAS® environment. A related Web site houses information on these freely available programs and the book's data sets, encouraging readers to reproduce the analyses and also try their own variations. Latent Class and Latent Transition Analysis is an excellent book for courses on categorical data analysis and latent variable models at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It is also a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners in the social, behavioral, and health sciences who conduct latent class and latent transition analysis in their everyday work.

“Great retailers are great at service. No exceptions. This book offers a wealth of insight into delivering excellent retail service.” ---Leonard L. Berry, Distinguished Professor of Marketing, N.B Zale Chair in Retailing and Market Leadership, Mays Business School, Texas A&M University "With a growing understanding of service as a phenomenon and perspective of business and marketing, retailers are increasingly seeing the need to transform from distribution of products to service providers. This book includes considerable insight regarding the importance of the service perspective and how it can be implemented in retailing." --Christian Grönroos, Professor of Service and Relationship Marketing, CERS Centre for Relationship Marketing and Service Management, Hanken School of Economics, Finland "Consisting of chapters written by leading scholars in service management and retailing from around the world, this comprehensive book offers rich insights for how retailers can excel and achieve sustainable competitive advantage by invoking and implementing service management principles. This enlightening book is a valuable resource for students, researchers and practitioners with an interest in retailing." --A. "Parsu" Parasuraman, Professor of Marketing & The James W. McLamore Chair, School of Business Administration, University of Miami Coral Gables, Florida "Service excellence and service innovation are critical for success in today’s competitive retail marketplace. Service Management: The New Paradigm in Retailing provides a contemporary and transformative lens for accomplishing these essential goals." --Mary Jo Bitner, Professor, Director Center for Services Leadership, W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University