A Study on the Consumer's Dissatisfaction for the Clothing Product
- with Consumer's claims -

Choi Hae Woon(Dept.of Clothing and Texitiles Graduate School, HanYand University)

The purpose of this study is to investigate the consumer's claims related to clothing merchandise. By the origination stage of claims, details of claims, and treatments of claims, purchasing places of clothing merchandise, the consumer's claims are analyzed which were lodged to in consumer's complaint center, Seoul YWCA, In 1981 ∼1990. Also, it is performed to survey the potential housewives' conciousness for purchasing, cleaning clothes with questionnaires. The survey was carried out on 480 housewives (30∼59years old) living in Seoul. To analyze these data statistically, frequency and percentile are used.

The results of analysis for consumer's claims are as next :

1. Concerning the sex distinction, female complainers are more than male complainers. About the age bracket, twenties and thirties are the most numerous. The originations of claims being various, it is laundry and dry cleaning stage out of them that rank first, and total numbers of claims for clothing products continually have increased during 1981 ∼1990. Out of the clothing items, outerwears are of the first rank and formal wear and coat are highest in rank of outerwears. For claims about purchasing places, agency ranked first and market, department store, custome-made and discount store came after in order

2. Concerning the contents, quality of clothing product ranks first, inferior service, price, contrast, unfair transaction ranks in order. There are claims about quality of clothing product that color change ranks firat and damage and form change rank in order

3.The treatments of claims are that counsel, exchange, refund, repair and correction rank in order.

The result of survey research can be summarlzed as follows :

1. Inspite of identifying care label before purchasing and laundering, consumers have thought negatively care label.
2. Concerning the cleaning, 76.7% of consumers experiences dissatisfaction of laundering and 48.6% does that of dry cleaning.
3. The majority of dissatisfactions were color change and form change and surface change came after in order.
4. The majority of respondents said complaints to seller but those who had dissatisfaction but took no action were 39.2% too. Why consumers don't complaining are that they don't think it was worth the time and effort, don't think content unimportant etc..
5. Concerning the dry cleaning, a majority of consumers complaint to laundry and dissatisfied treatment of laundry. Why consumers don't complaining are too much time needed, don't important etc..