| The purpose of the study was to assess the attitudes of Michigan retirees at three stages of retirement (early, age 60 to 64; middle, age 65 to 69; and later, age 70 and above) toward selected marketplace practices, consumer dissatisfaction, and complaint resolution.; The research was cross-sectional in design and used mail survey methodology. Attitudes were measured by Likert-type statements and closed and free-response questions. The study was restricted to retirees who had been retired for at least one year and were 60 years of age and older.; The survey was sent to 866 retirees from six Michigan cities and towns during March and April 1982. One hundred ninety-six usable questionnaires were analyzed in the study.; While the hypotheses were not found to be statistically significant, descriptive analysis indicated some differences in attitudes between groups. The younger retirees reported a greater tendency toward price consciousness, comparison shopping, and the use of newspaper advertising for product information. Retirees in the middle stage of retirement most frequently ranked new products and brands as inferior in quality to older established products. Retirees in the later stage of retirement reported the greatest frequency in paying cash for consumer purchases, preparing shopping lists, experiencing health and transportation problems hampering shopping activities, and needing shopping assistance by sales personnel.; All three age groups reported more product problems than service problems. Specifically, product problems related to food and clothing and service problems concerning general repair were the most frequently reported. The most frequently cited reason for dissatisfaction was the quality of the product or service.; Blame for consumer problems was most often attributed to the retailer, followed by the manufacturer. The complaint action taken most frequently by all age groups was to complain to the retailer. The majority of retirees who reported a complaint concerning a consumer problem were not satisfied with the resolution of the complaint. |
