Abstract:
Service failures and the subsequent service recovery eff orts of an
organisation can have a profound eff ect on customers’ satisfaction
with an organisation as well as on the quality of the relationship with
the organisation, despite other eff orts by the organisation to build
long-term relationships with its customers. Airlines in particular are
faced with several challenges aff ecting their survival, and one such
challenge is the fact that they are particularly susceptible to service
failures. This study investigates the eff ect of service failures and an
airline’s service recovery eff orts on their customer relationships and
future patronage of the airline. Data were collected from passengers
fl ying with South African domestic passenger airlines departing from
OR Tambo International Airport. The fi ndings indicate that customer
satisfaction with an airline’s service recovery eff orts signifi cantly
infl uences their relationship with the airline as well as their future
patronage of the airline. Dissatisfi ed respondents indicated that their
relationship with the airline was weakened or broken and that they
would fl y less frequently or never again with the airline following the
service failure. Satisfi ed respondents’ relationships with the airline
were unchanged or strengthened, and they fl ew with the airline all
the time or as frequently as before the service failure.
