본 연구는 인간이 인간에게 제공하는 행정서비스의 속성상 서비스 제공자에 의한 서비스 실패 현상은 불가피하다는 전제 하에, 지금까지 이루어진 서비스 실패와 회복에 관한 논의를 토대로 한국의 민원행정창구에서 나타나고 있는 서비스 실패현상과 회복노력의 실체와 관계를 중요사건기법(CIT)을 활용하여 파악하고자 하였다. 중요사건기법은 양적 연구의 장점을 가미한 질적 연구의 한 방법으로서, 어떠한 활동에 긍정적 혹은 부정적인 영향을 미치는 중요한 사건을 수집한 후 내용분석을 통해 새로운 분류체계를 개발하는 연구방법이다. CIT방식과 폐쇄형 질문지를 동시에 사용하여 행정기관 민원창구에서 면접조사로 수집된 자료 341개를 각각 양적인 방법과 질적인 분류를 한 결과, 서비스 실패는 최종 6가지, 서비스 회복은 4가지 유형으로 분류되었다. 전반적인 문제점은 현재 민원창구에서의 서비스 실패수준은 높은 반면, 회복수준은 아주 낮은 것으로 나타난 것이었다. 회복유형에서는 일반적으로 예상되는 물리적인 회복과 사과의 복합적 효과보다 오히려 단순한 사과 및 인정의 회복수준이 약간 더 높게 나타났다. 이러한 결과들을 종합하여 향후 고객과의 서비스접점인 민원창구에서의 서비스회복 및 개선전략의 방향을 연구함의로 제시하였다.

The present study analyzes satisfactory/unsatisfactory experiences in the civil affairs administration counters using the CIT (critical incidents technique). Analyzing341 service failure incidents and 239 service recovery incidents, we extracted service failure features and service recovery factors. After the data collection, acategorization exercise was conducted. Three categories and eightdistinct sub-categories come from the data. The reliability of the analysis was measured by coefficient of reliability and alternative index reliability. The validity of the analysis was also proved. The study reveals interesting results regarding the impact of recovery types on customer satisfaction. Most of the past studies show that the effective recovery strategies are largely dependent upon specific service dimensions. The quantitative approach, however, has a problem in the sense that it is difficult to evaluate the customers' emotions. This study, therefore, examines each recovery type to see which is the most effective one for a specific service failure in a service experience. Interestingly enough, the results demonstrate that it is not effective to deal with a customers' dissatisfaction only through compensation without a sincere apology. In short, different recovery strategies need to be used depending upon the service failure types and the situation of service.

The present study analyzes satisfactory/unsatisfactory experiences in the civil affairs administration counters using the CIT (critical incidents technique). Analyzing341 service failure incidents and 239 service recovery incidents, we extracted service failure features and service recovery factors. After the data collection, acategorization exercise was conducted. Three categories and eightdistinct sub-categories come from the data. The reliability of the analysis was measured by coefficient of reliability and alternative index reliability. The validity of the analysis was also proved. The study reveals interesting results regarding the impact of recovery types on customer satisfaction. Most of the past studies show that the effective recovery strategies are largely dependent upon specific service dimensions. The quantitative approach, however, has a problem in the sense that it is difficult to evaluate the customers' emotions. This study, therefore, examines each recovery type to see which is the most effective one for a specific service failure in a service experience. Interestingly enough, the results demonstrate that it is not effective to deal with a customers' dissatisfaction only through compensation without a sincere apology. In short, different recovery strategies need to be used depending upon the service failure types and the situation of service.

Customer Contact, Service Failure, Service Recovery, CIT(Critical Incidents Technique)