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Purpose: The present study was undertaken to examine the service recovery satisfaction in the government and private hospitals by using the conceptual framework of justice theory. The study examines the reasons of service failure and the relationship between the demographic factors and the patient care facilities available in the hospitals.

Methodology: Data for the present study was collected from 300 patients who availed the facilities for their treatment at government or private hospitals by using a structured questionnaire through convenience sampling and analysed subsequently.

Findings: The collected data revealed that the customer’s satisfaction with service recovery was positively and significantly affected by the distributive justice in both the government and private hospitals. The reasons of service failure in government hospitals were lack of cleanliness and hygiene, poor administrative procedure and poor management of patients. Although the patients did not have complaint with the private hospitals but the main reasons for service failure were longer duration of treatment, billing or payment issues and non-availability of specialized doctors. Factor analysis confirms the 6 key components of the patient care facilities which affect the customer satisfaction in the government and private hospitals. Finally, the study also revealed that the patients were more satisfied with the patient care facilities and the service recovery process provided in the private hospitals as compared to government hospitals.

Research limitations/implications: The findings of this study confirmed the importance of justice theory in the service recovery satisfaction. There are different reasons of service failures in the private and government hospitals, leading to customer dissatisfaction. The study was restricted in geographical terms.