The article, "How to Apologize to a Customer When Something Goes Wrong," explains the service recovery paradox as:

The fact that unhappy customers are more likely to engage in word$-$of$-$mouth with other customers

If companies anticipate and address product$/$service issues before they happen, customers are happier over the long term

The customers that complain the most after service failures are often the ones that show the highest engagement over the long term

If companies properly fix service$/$product failures, they can increase customer loyalty and satisfaction more than if the failure had never happened