Complaints and perceptions of failure recovery in buffet restaurants : A link to family communication for adolescent customers

Purpose – Complaint handling has the great influence on customer retention and provides a chance for businesses to improve service quality. This study intended to reveal the complaint actions of adolescent customers and perceptions of failure recovery in buffet restaurants with a linkage of family communication patterns. Design/methodology/approach – A consumer survey was administered in the metropolitan area of Taipei. Quota sampling procedure was applied following the age and gender distribution of the population between the ages of 13 and 19. Consent from parents was obtained prior to the survey. Findings – Based on the results of the study, adolescent customers with high concept‐ and high socio‐orientation were prone to complain for dissatisfaction. Private actions were preferred by adolescent customers to express dissatisfaction, followed by using the internet or through actions of parents. For service recovery, adolescents preferred to have discounts, followed by free desserts. The results indicated that adolescents were more straightforward and they wanted to have compensations immediately. Furthermore, service recovery satisfaction showed a positive relationship with repeat purchases. Adolescent customers who were satisfied with service or food compensations would be likely to have repeat purchases. Nevertheless, adolescents who were unsatisfied with the service or food recovery did not totally cease purchasing. Practical implications – Buffet managers should give inducements to encourage adolescents to complain spontaneously. Buffet managers may offer discounts for the current consumption rather than coupons for next patronage. Adolescent customers with concept‐ and socio‐orientation will provide useful information for buffet managers to improve their service quality. Originality/value – This study provides new insights into the area that has not been studied exclusively, complaint behavior of adolescent customers in buffet restaurants.