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The higher education sector has evolved over the past decade due to the ever-changing needs of students who are its primary customers. As a result, most students have to deal with unmet expectations which subsequently lead to service failure. Even though service failure cannot be eliminated, higher education institutions are expected to provide an effective complaints management system to resolve student problems and service failure incidents. This study analyzed service failure and complaints management in higher education institutions. A quantitative, descriptive, and cross-sectional study was undertaken using 430 full-time students across three public universities in South Africa. The findings of this study showed that students encounter various forms of service failures in institutions of higher learning with the majority experiencing service failures in respect of funding and academic registration. Also, most of the students were generally satisfied with the complaints management system. Thus, this study can help institutional managers to understand service failure incidents confronting the sector. Furthermore, the study provides an opportunity for institutional managers to assess the effectiveness of the complaints management system and make improvements to ensure a better student experience

Over the last decade, both inflation and societal pressures have increased. The COVID-19 outbreak exacerbated these problems, resulting in a decrease in people's earning ability and contributing to an increase in the unemployment rate in developing countries. Equally tricky for businesses is satisfying price-sensitive customers in the face of unpredictability. Thus, price- and value-obsessed customers are often less committed to a company since they seek fabulous discounts. Therefore, this study examined perceptions of customer satisfaction and brand loyalty amongst millennials in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from respondents were gathered using a descriptive quantitative research methodology, and a simple random sampling procedure was employed to select 142 respondents. Additionally, the research's driving principle was positivism. A self-administered questionnaire was given to the participants to complete. This study's findings suggest a strong and positive relationship between brand loyalty and customer satisfaction. The survey results were thus crucial for learning about the factors that affected customers, such as their shopping preferences and whether or not they would remain loyal to the brand. The results also show that the COVID-19 pandemic has, in some way or other, altered millennials' shopping habits. This research might be helpful to the management of the company in developing comprehensive and in-depth data about a target market so that they can plan and execute the most successful strategies.

Over the last decade, both inflation and societal pressures have increased. The COVID-19 outbreak exacerbated these problems, resulting in a decrease in people's earning ability and contributing to an increase in the unemployment rate in developing countries. Equally tricky for businesses is satisfying price-sensitive customers in the face of unpredictability. Thus, price- and value-obsessed customers are often less committed to a company since they seek fabulous discounts. Therefore, this study examined perceptions of customer satisfaction and brand loyalty amongst millennials in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from respondents were gathered using a descriptive quantitative research methodology, and a simple random sampling procedure was employed to select 142 respondents. Additionally, the research's driving principle was positivism. A self-administered questionnaire was given to the participants to complete. This study's findings suggest a strong and positive relationship between brand loyalty and customer satisfaction. The survey results were thus crucial for learning about the factors that affected customers, such as their shopping preferences and whether or not they would remain loyal to the brand. The results also show that the COVID-19 pandemic has, in some way or other, altered millennials' shopping habits. This research might be helpful to the management of the company in developing comprehensive and in-depth data about a target market so that they can plan and execute the most successful strategies.

The higher education sector has evolved over the past decade due to the ever-changing needs of students who are its primary customers. As a result, most students have to deal with unmet expectations which subsequently lead to service failure. Even though service failure cannot be eliminated, higher education institutions are expected to provide an effective complaints management system to resolve student problems and service failure incidents. This study analyzed service failure and complaints management in higher education institutions. A quantitative, descriptive, and cross-sectional study was undertaken using 430 full-time students across three public universities in South Africa. The findings of this study showed that students encounter various forms of service failures in institutions of higher learning with the majority experiencing service failures in respect of funding and academic registration. Also, most of the students were generally satisfied with the complaints management system. Thus, this study can help institutional managers to understand service failure incidents confronting the sector. Furthermore, the study provides an opportunity for institutional managers to assess the effectiveness of the complaints management system and make improvements to ensure a better student experience