Consumer Response to Unsatisfactory Purchases: A Survey of Perceiving Defects, Voicing Complaints, and Obtaining Redress

TLDR

Consumers report problems with many products, voicing complaints for about one-third of them, yet third‑party processors play a minor role and resolution rates exceed 50% when complaints are voiced. The study proposes buyer‑seller procedural reforms and community small‑claims court improvements to enhance complaint voicing and resolution. The authors surveyed consumer reactions to common purchases in 1975.

Abstract

A survey of consumer reactions to common purchases was conducted in 1975. Consumers perceive problems with many products and services, and voice complaints concerning about one-third of those problems. Third-party complaint processors play a very small role in buyer-seller disputes. Household status and type of problem influence perception of problems and choice of action or inaction. Satisfactory resolutions occur in somewhat more than half of voiced complaint cases. To increase voicing and fair handling of complaints, procedural changes at the buyer-seller level are suggested; to improve treatment of complaints that are not resolved at the buyer-seller level, improvements in community small claims courts are suggested.