Dissatisfied consumers who complain to the Better Business Bureau

Very little prior research has analyzed the behavior of dissatisfied consumers who complain to the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Therefore, interviews were conducted with dissatisfied consumers who filed complaints with the BBB against companies in three industries – auto dealers, dry cleaners, and home construction. The results reveal significant gaps between dissatisfied consumers’ resolution preferences and companies’ resolution offers. Further, the results highlight the highly negative word‐of‐mouth communication activity and repeat purchase intentions of dissatisfied consumers who complain to the BBB. Based on these data, complaint resolution recommendations are provided to improve customer service managers’ handling of dissatisfied consumers.