Premium
An Empirical Analysis of Elderly Consumers' Complaining Behavior
Author(s) -
Lee Jinkook,
SoberonFerrer Horacio
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
family and consumer sciences research journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.372
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1552-3934
pISSN - 1077-727X
DOI - 10.1177/1077727x9902700304
Subject(s) - complaint , redress , set (abstract data type) , psychology , advertising , medicine , social psychology , business , political science , law , computer science , programming language
In consumer complaint literature, the elderly are often described as a quiet majority—a large number of dissatisfied consumers who are unable to or unwilling to seek redress. This generally accepted characterization of elderly consumers' complaining behavior is examined empirically in this study, using a national data set provided by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). We found that the elderly are less likely to report a dissatisfying experience, but those who do express dissatisfaction are likely to take actions just like young consumers. Age differences were found in the likelihood of having a dissatisfying experience, the demand for complaint actions, and the effects of determinants on complaint behavior.