I am editing a textbook on customer service, and while looking for information on customer behaviour, I came across this factoid in numerous places:
A dissatisfied customer will tell between 9-15 people about their experience. Around 13% of dissatisfied customers tell more than 20 people. – White House Office of Consumer Affairs
However, I cannot find the source for the information. And, I can’t even find such a body as the White House Office of Consumer Affairs.
Apparently it is, or was, real. I found one reference from whitehouse.gov from when T. Michael Kerr was appointed Department of Labor’s Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management. It said that he worked in that office under Carter but the link was dead. I googled carter administration “White House Office of Consumer Affairs” and found reference to it here, here, here and here.
It was apparently started under Johnson. That last link says “NCL is focused on four key priority areas: … including reinstating the Office of Consumer Affairs in the White House” so I guess it’s not a thing anymore.
Thank you for your help. Sounds like it is not a recent piece of research in that case, and would therefore be hard for me to source (I’m in Australia). I’ll search for something I can reference a bit easier.