Internet Diffusion of an E-Complaint

Abstract

SUMMARY "Yours Is A Very Bad Hotel," a customer complaint in the form of a PowerPoint presentation, earned a degree of notoriety when it spread worldwide via the Internet even though it was not intended for public distribution. While none were solicited, its authors received over 4,000 e-mail responses to their e-complaint. This paper presents a content analysis of 1,000 of those responses. The results of the content analysis yielded interesting patterns of diffusion that have implications for hospitality practitioners and academics. The findings include geographic diffusion within and outside the U.S. as well as diffusion through professional groups and organizations over time. Patterns with respect to gender, employment sector, affective response, intention to communicate with other individuals and groups, and intentions for further usage of the complaints are also presented. Comparisons to theories of diffusion of innovations were also undertaken.