Unpacking Customer Satisfaction: The Role of Customer Complaints Across Industries and Agencies

Friday, December 4, 2009
Fisher Colloquium, Rafik B. Hariri Building
Georgetown University, Washington, DC

What are the types of complaints that industries and government agencies face?

  • How active are government agencies in the complaint process?
  • Are government agencies effective in addressing/rectifying customer complaints?
  • Do firms and agencies have customer complaint processes in place?

Read a Conference Summary

Agenda

Continental Breakfast & Registration

Welcome: John Mayo, Executive Director, Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy – slides,  video

Opening Keynote: Philip K. Howard, Founder and Chair, Common Good – video

Panel 1: Complaint-Driven Issues Within Workplace Regulation

  • Complaint Policy at OSHA and WHD

Dr. David Weil, Distinguished Faculty Scholar, Boston University David Weil, Professor of Economics and Everett W. Lord Distinguished Faculty Scholar, School of Management, Boston University – slides, video

Libby Hendrix, Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor – video

Richard Fairfax, Directorate of Enforcement, OSHA – slides, video

Panel 2: Complaint-Driven Issues Within Telecommunications

  • Exit, voice and loyalty in the Telecommunications Industry
  • The effect of industry structure on customer complaints

John Mayo, Professor of Economics, Business and Public Policy, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University, and Executive Director, Georgetown CBPP – slides, academic paper, video

Jon Minkoff, Legal Advisor to the Chief, Enforcement Bureau, FCC

Jon Minkoff, Enforcement Bureau, FCC

Robert Roche, Vice President of Research, Cellular Telephone Industry Association (CTIA) – video

Lunch:  Lois C. Greisman, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission

Panel 3: Complaint-Driven Issues Within Airlines

  • The effect of service quality and expectations on customer complaints
  • Flight arrivals and departures; Lost Baggage

Silke Forbes, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of California, San Diego – slides, academic paper, video

Norman Stickman, Director, Aviation Consumer Protrection Division, Department of Transportation (DOT) – slides, video

Robert C. Land, JetBlue Airways Corporation – video

Panel 4: Complaint-Driven Issues Within Biopharmaceuticals
Dr. Jeffrey Macher, Associate Professor, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University, and Senior Policy Fellow, Georgetown CBPP
Jeffrey Macher, Associate Professor, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University, and Senior Policy Fellow, Georgetown CBPP – academic paper, video

Gregg Claycamp, Office of Compliance, Center for Drug Evaluation Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Jeffrey Francer, Assistant General Counsel, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA) – slides, video

Closing remarks: John Mayo, Georgetown University

More pictures of the conference are available at our flickr site.

This conference was organized by Jeffrey Macher and John Mayo of the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.  John Mayo is the Executive Director of the Georgetown Center for Business & Public Policy.  Jeffrey Macher is a Senior Policy Fellow in the Georgetown Center for Business & Public Policy.