BRAND EVANGELISM
Effect Of Customer
Perceived Fairness In
Service Failure Redress
On Brand Evangelism
By Dr. Catherine Ngahu
B
rand evangelism is the promotion
of a brand by a customer. It relates
to customer willingness to spread
positive ‘word of mouth’ (WOM) about
a brand or ‘preach’ about the goodness of
a brand following a delightful customer
experience. A brand evangelist is a
customer who is so delighted or charmed
with your service, that they are happy
to go around telling others about their
positive experience with your brand.
While brand evangelism can be easily
associated with a happy customer after
several positive service occurrences, it
is quite a tall order to achieve it after a
service failure. It is indeed considered
unusual for a customer who experiences a
service failure and recovery encounter to
end up as happy as to go around preaching
about the brand.
The term used in service recovery research
to explain this uncommon phenomenon
is ‘service recovery paradox’. It is indeed
a paradox, but it does happen following
superior service failure redress.
Service Failure Redress
Service failures are problems that are
experienced by customers during their
interface with a brand’s service. These
may include unavailable service, poor
delivery, inaccessibility, unapproachable or
rude employees and unreliable outcomes.
Generally any service that fails to meet
customer expectations presents a problem.
The performance of a service by a business
may be rated in three ways: within, below
or above customer expectations, with
the attendant outcomes of satisfaction,
dissatisfaction or delight respectively.
Dissatisfied customers will commonly
expect the service firm employees to
resolve the problem immediately and
conclusively. Service failure redress is the
To protect the brand’s reputation, the
service team needs to do a great recovery
that leaves the customer not just satis-
fied but delighted. The time to demon-
strate your best service skills is when a
service failure occurs. This is the time
to win back customer confidence. Ser-
vice failure redress generates a new ser-
vice opportunity which is appraised by
the customer afresh.
34 MAL33/19 ISSUE
process undertaken by the company to
resolve the problem. It is also called service
recovery because it involves rectifying a
negative service incident.
To protect the brand’s reputation,
the service team needs to do a great
recovery that leaves the customer not
just satisfied but delighted. The time to
demonstrate your best service skills is
when a service failure occurs. This is the
time to win back customer confidence.
Service failure redress generates a new
service opportunity which is appraised
by the customer afresh. In other words,
a customer who goes through a negative
service encounter followed by a repeat or
recovery service defines new expectations
and will evaluate it anew.
Customer satisfaction is vital in preserving
a mutually advantageous relationship
between customers and service provider
brands. While service organizations
do a lot to enhance service processes,
unique features of services, for instance
variability, inseparability and intangibility
make service failure inevitable.
The negative feelings that result from a
service failure lead to dissatisfaction. This
will likely cause the customer to complain,
agitate and spread negative word of
mouth about the brand or even consider
switching to another brand. This is of
great concern for service brands as they
invest heavily in promoting themselves as
quality service providers.
The Connected Customer
Successful service experience is more