CUSTOMER COMPLAIN HANDLING STRATEGIES AND CUSTOMER RETENTION: EVIDENCE FROM BAKERY SUB-SECTOR OF FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined compliant handling strategies and customer retention in Nigeria Bakery sub-Sector of food processing industry. The specific objectives were to: examine the effect of compensation on customer retention in the bakery sector, find out the effect of service quality on customer retention in the bakery sector and verify the effect of timely response on customer retention in the bakery sector. In the methodology; the researcher employed descriptive survey research design and questionnaire served as the instrument of data collection from sampled respondents. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 23.0, with the help of Pearson correlation at 0.05 level of significance. To provide answers to research questions and the stated objectives, information gathered on all relevant variables were analyzed using descriptive statistics (minimum, maximum, mean, and standard deviation). The results revealed that there was significant relationship between the complaints handling techniques used by the selected bakery firms and customer retention. This study concludes that the achievement of customer retention in the bakery sector depends on the extent customer complain are well managed which the outcome of this research has demonstrated. The study recommended that, the food processing sector should make provision for compensation of customers based on poor services, so as to achieve higher customer retention; and that on regular basis, there is need for quick and timeliness response to customer needs and wants to achieve higher customer retention rate among others. Keywords: Compensation, Customer Retention, Service Quality, Complain Handling, Customer Complain and Timely Response.