Assessing the Impact of Reverse Logistics Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction: A Servqual-Based Analysis

Reverse logistics has become a critical component of modern supply chains due to increasing activities of logistics locally and globally. Hence, frequency of product returns also increase because of various reasons, including damaged or defective items, items not meeting expectations (wrong size, color, or fit), incorrect items being sent, misleading advertisements, buyer's remorse, or difficulty using the product defects. Due to these, customers expect for efficient service recovery. This study investigates the factors that influence customer satisfaction in returning defective products. Using survey-based quantitative analysis, this research examines the roles of quality of replacement product, timeline of refunds, customer service quality, clarity of return policy, and demonstration of understanding as independent variables and customer satisfaction in returning defective products as dependent variable. By applying SERVQUAL model as underpinning theory, this study found that all the hypotheses are supported except for the timeline of refunds. The findings provide theoretical contributions in growing body of literature on reverse logistics and customer satisfaction by providing empirical evidence on the factors influencing customer satisfaction in the context of returning defective products. For practical contributions, companies may enhance their return processes and improve customer loyalty.

Reverse Logistics; Determinants of Customer Satisfaction; SERVQUAL Model

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