10.4225/03/5a2dc36e66b2e SEYED SHAHIN SHARIFI SEYED SHAHIN SHARIFI Service Failure and Recovery in a Public Setting: A Comparative Study of Target and Observing Customers Monash University 2017 Service failure service recovery observing customers compensation apology Marketing not elsewhere classified 2017-12-10 23:29:45 Thesis https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/thesis/Service_Failure_and_Recovery_in_a_Public_Setting_A_Comparative_Study_of_Target_and_Observing_Customers/5686507 Previous research has examined the effect of service failure and recovery on target and the observing customers separately, with an emphasis on evaluations by target customers. It has been assumed that the reactions of those customers observing the recovery efforts would mirror those of target customers, or perhaps be even more favourable, given that they are not directly affected by the service failure. This research challenges this pre-conception. Through a series of experimental studies, this research shows that while target customers react positively to any recovery efforts, high resources should be expended to enhance the observers’ evaluations.