As suggested by the service-profit chain, the relationship
between customer satisfaction and financial performance should
be positive and the higher the customer satisfaction, the more
favorable the performance measures should be. However, while
some studies suggest that this positive relationship exists
(Bernhardt et al., 2000; Nelson et al., 1992), others argue that
customer service quality perceptions and satisfaction are sometimes,
but not always, reflected in profits (Schneider, 1991).
Bernhardt et al. (2000) suggest that a positive and significant
relationship exists between changes in customer satisfaction and
changes in financial performance of a firm. However, in the short
run, this positive and significant relationship may be obscured by
many factors but it may be significantly positive in the long run.