Feeling bad and doing good: The effect of customer mistreatment on service employee's daily display of helping behaviors

Mistreatment by customers is a common occurrence for many frontline service employees. Although some evidence suggests that employees engage in dysfunctional workplace behaviors as a result of mistreatment, others studies have suggested that employees may cope with such negative experiences by helping others. Drawing on negative state relief theory, we conducted 2 studies to test these relationships and examine whether service employees cope with negative emotions arising from such daily customer mistreatment by engaging in helping others. In Study 1, daily surveys from 70 restaurant employees showed that daily customer mistreatment predicted the experience of negative moods the next morning, which, in turn, led to higher levels of coworker helping the next day. In Study 2, daily surveys from 54 retail employees showed that daily customer mistreatment led to higher customer helping the next day, but only when customer orientation was high. Our results further show that helping behavior was associated with elevated positive affective experiences and that the proposed relationships differ depending on whether customer mistreatment is measured at a daily or a cumulative perspective. Specifically, cumulative customer mistreatment over time decreased general helping. These findings are discussed in relation to employees' coping strategies towards acute and cumulative mistreatment.     

Retaliating against Customer Interpersonal Injustice in a Singaporean Context: Moderating Roles of Self‐Efficacy and Social Support

Few studies have examined the relationship between customer injustice and employees' retaliatory counterproductive behaviors toward customers, and those that have done so have been conducted in a Western setting. We extend these studies by examining the relationship in a Singaporean context where retaliatory behaviors by employees might be culturally constrained. While the previously established positive relationship between customer injustice and counterproductive behaviors was not replicated using peer‐reported data from employees across two hotels in Singapore, we found that individuals' self‐efficacy and perceived social support moderated it. Specifically, the injustice‐to‐counterproductive behaviors relationship was positive for individuals with high self‐efficacy, and for those who perceived high levels of supervisor social support. The findings offer insights into when Singaporean employees and, potentially, employees from other Confucian Asian societies will retaliate against customer injustice, and provide practical implications of how managers can help employees cope with customer injustice.     

On the positive aspects of customers: Customer‐initiated support and affective crossover in employee–customer dyads

This study examines psychological resources for service employees and their customers, which enhance the service experiences of both parties during service conversations. We investigate whether customer behaviour (customer‐initiated support) positively impacts on employees’ affect. We also examine the crossover of employees’ affect on customers’ affect. State positive affect (PA) was assessed in 82 employees of car dealerships and 421 customers on 2 occasions (before and after the conversation). Multi‐level analyses showed the hypothesized positive impact of customer behaviour on employees’ PA and in turn of employees’ PA on customers’ PA. Results are integrated in an overall process model whereby customers’ PA leads to customer‐initiated support, which increases employees’ PA and in turn enhances customers’ PA. Results suggest direct and indirect crossover effects. This study extends research on customer behaviour offering a positive slant on customer behaviour and suggests to actively involve customers in the service process in order to promote their positive behaviour towards employees.     

Investigating employees’ emotional and cognitive reactions to customer mistreatment: an experimental study

ABSTRACT

With increasing market competitiveness, companies strive to deliver high-quality services. Negative reactions from employees to customer mistreatment erodes the quality of the service provided. This study investigated whether negative emotions and cognitive impairment are mechanisms through which customer mistreatment is related to generalized customer-directed incivility. 157 Italian (Study 1) and 259 Irish (Study 2) research participants completed questionnaires which included an experimental task that manipulated customer misbehaviour levels through scenarios to create three conditions (control, incivility, verbal aggression). Emotional reactions, cognitive impairment and generalized customer-directed incivility intentions as a result of the scenarios were investigated. In both studies, participants in the mistreatment conditions reported more negative emotions, greater cognitive impairment and higher generalized customer-directed incivility intentions than those in the control condition. In Italy (Study 1) negative emotions mediated the relationship between exposure to a customer mistreatment event and generalized customer-directed incivility intentions, but not in Ireland (Study 2), demonstrating the importance of considering contextual conditions in understanding such mediating mechanisms. This study extends research by showing how a single encounter with a misbehaving customer can contribute to the development of incivility intentions towards customers as entities. The implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.     

Interpersonal Process of Emotional Labor: The Role of Negative and Positive Customer Treatment

Emotional labor refers to the process of regulating both feelings and expressions in response to the display rules for promoting organizational goals. Existing literature has provided strong evidence for the impact of emotional labor (i.e., surface acting and deep acting) on service employees’ emotional exhaustion. However, the empirical examination of the mechanisms underlying this association is largely missing from prior research. Drawing on the social interaction model of emotion regulation, this article reported 2 daily diary studies examining the role of customer treatment toward employees in channeling emotional labor's impact on employee emotional well‐being. Specifically, Study 1 measured emotional labor at the between‐person level as habitual emotional regulation strategies used by service employees, and Study 2 measured emotional labor at the within‐person level to capture its fluctuations. Results showed that employees engaging in more surface acting were more likely to receive negative treatment from customers, which in turn increased their negative affect and emotional exhaustion. Further, employees engaging in more deep acting were more likely to receive positive treatment from customers, which in turn increased their positive affect. Implications and limitations of these findings were discussed.     

Transitory bias as a source of customer dissatisfaction: An exploratory investigation

Previous literature has identified sources of customer dissatisfaction in the forms of poor product performance, discrimination, and universal mistreatment (i.e., broad-based mistreatment of customers). This article proposes the existence of a fourth source of perceived customer dissatisfaction, termed transitory bias, which is based upon fleeting customer characteristics and actions. Using a critical incident approach, this exploratory study analyzes customer narratives of 230 negative experiences. After writing their narratives, consumer informants completed a quantitative survey pertaining to their experience. Some sources of transitory bias were found to be customer complaining, negotiation, special requests, and underpurchasing. Transitory bias was found to drive perceptions of negative customer experiences in 29.1 per cent of the narratives. This was fewer than the number of cases involving universal mistreatment (50%) but more than those involving poor product performance (18.3%) and discrimination (2.6%). Results showed that satisfaction, repeat purchase likelihood, recommendation likelihood, and word of mouth were similar to those found in narratives where universal mistreatment and discrimination were primary drivers of dissatisfaction. This article creates awareness of the transitory bias construct and allows academicians the opportunity to study it as a source of customer dissatisfaction. Retail and service establishments should be aware of customer perceptions of transitory bias because it impacts key performance metrics. Managers may wish to train employees to better identify and respond to sources of transitory bias. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

顾客授权行为对员工职业成长的影响：自我决定理论视角

聚焦于顾客授权行为这一概念, 以自我决定理论为基础, 分别引入基于组织的自尊作为中介变量和职业中心性作为调节变量, 探讨了顾客授权行为对一线服务员工职业成长的影响机制和作用边界。通过一项三阶段的时间滞后研究设计, 获取了245份有效样本, 结果显示: (1)顾客授权行为对员工职业成长具有显著的正向影响; (2)基于组织的自尊在顾客授权行为与员工职业成长之间起着部分中介作用; (3)职业中心性对顾客授权行为与基于组织的自尊的作用关系具有正向调节作用: 当员工职业中心性水平较高时, 顾客授权行为对基于组织的自尊的正向影响更强; (4)职业中心性进一步调节顾客授权行为通过基于组织的自尊对职业成长的间接影响: 当员工职业中心性水平较高时, 顾客授权行为通过基于组织的自尊对职业成长的正向效应会增强。     

How do cynical employees serve their customers? A multi-method study

In this multi-method study, we investigate how social job demands (i.e., social interruptions) and resources (i.e., colleague support) in the service context influence employee (negative) (re)actions to customers through cynicism towards the job. In addition, we investigate why customers are less satisfied with the provided service when employees endorse a cynical attitude. To test the hypothesized process, we used observer ratings of the employee–customer interactions regarding the number of interruptions and employee negative (re)actions during service encounters, employee self-reports of overall colleague support and daily cynicism, and customer-ratings of service quality. Participants were 48 service employees and 141 customers. Results of multi-level structural equation modelling analyses showed that whereas the number of observed social interruptions during service encounters related positively to cynicism, social support related negatively. Cynical employees exhibited more negative (re)actions towards their customers (e.g., expressed tension, were unfriendly). Consequently, the more negative (re)actions employees showed towards their customers, the less satisfied customers were with the service quality. The study contributes to the literature by explaining what makes service employees cynical about their work, and why cynical employees provide low-quality services.     

Cultural and demographic correlates of self‐reported guardedness among East Asian immigrants in the US

The study examined guarded self‐disclosure or reticence to reveal personal information about oneself to others among East Asian immigrants in the United States, in terms of cultural (ethnic identity, self‐construal, and acculturation) and demographic (gender, age, number of years in the US, and English fluency) variables. Norms regarding appropriate amount, content, and type of self‐disclosure differ noticeably between Asian and American cultures. In general, Asians have been found to be more guarded in their self‐disclosure than their American counterparts. Such differences may hinder the formation of relationships between Asian immigrants and Americans. Thus, it is important for psychologists to examine culture‐specific and non‐culture‐specific correlates of guarded self‐disclosure among Asian immigrants in the United States. However, to date, there has been a dearth of studies examining this topic. This paucity of research is somewhat surprising given the large number of Asian immigrants in the United States. The participants included 170 East Asian immigrants (88 males, 82 females) who were administered a battery of psychometrically established measures. While guarded self‐disclosure did not vary by ethnic group (i.e., Chinese, Japanese, and Korean), it was associated with cultural and demographic variables. East Asian immigrants who exhibited guarded self‐disclosure were more likely to report elevated ethnic pride, interdependent self‐construal, separation, and marginalization, and were less likely to report elevated interpersonal distance, independent self‐construal, and integration. Men reported significantly higher guarded self‐disclosure than women. Overall, this study highlights the importance of assessing both culture‐specific and nonspecific factors in guarded self‐disclosure among East Asian immigrants. The findings emphasize the importance of considering more generic types of self‐disclosure in addition to disclosure of very private and/or distressing information. Awareness of the cultural correlates of guarded self‐disclosure may help counsellors target their outreach programmes for individuals of East Asian heritage.     

Trickle-Down Effects of Positive and Negative Supervisor Behaviors on Service Performance: The Roles of Employee Emotional Labor and Perceived Supervisor Power

Based on the trickle-down model, the present study simultaneously examined how transformational leadership and abusive supervision influence employees’ proactive customer service performance and service sabotage through employees’ emotional labor strategies toward customers. Moreover, this study examines whether perceived supervisor power can activate or inhibit the aforementioned trickle-down processes. The present study collected data from 186 service employees–supervisor pairs at different times. The results of structural equation modeling indicate that transformational leadership positively predicted employees’ proactive customer service performance via deep acting, whereas abusive supervision was positively associated with employees’ service sabotage through surface acting. Furthermore, being perceived as a powerful supervisor is an important factor to maximize the benefits of transformational leadership. The theoretical and practical implications are further discussed.     

顾客欺凌行为：概念、测量、形成与作用机制

顾客欺凌行为是指在服务交互过程中, 员工感知到来自顾客“低质量”的人际对待, 表现为顾客言语侵犯、性骚扰等。以往研究较深入地探讨了其相关概念、结构、影响因素和影响后果。顾客欺凌行为受个体主观因素和客观因素影响, 通过资源保存、社会交换、情感事件及组织公平理论对个体和组织产生影响。未来研究应更深入探讨顾客欺凌行为的概念、结构和测量问题, 进一步探索其作用机制, 并基于不同的文化情境进行跨文化的研究。     

Doing the right thing without being told: joint effects of initiative climate and general self-efficacy on employee proactive customer service performance

We developed and tested a cross-level model of the antecedents and outcomes of proactive customer service performance. Results from a field study of 900 frontline service employees and their supervisors in 74 establishments of a multinational hotel chain located in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia demonstrated measurement equivalence and suggested that, after controlling for service climate, initiative climate at the establishment level and general self-efficacy at the individual level predicted employee proactive customer service performance and interacted in a synergistic way. Results also showed that at the establishment level, controlling for service climate and collective general service performance, initiative climate was positively and indirectly associated with customer service satisfaction through the mediation of aggregated proactive customer service performance. We discuss important theoretical and practical implications of these findings.     

When the customer is wrong: A review of research on aggression and sexual harassment in service encounters

Early theory and research on workplace aggression and sexual harassment generally focused on workers as both the source and the target of these behaviors. More recently, however, there has been a recognition that such behaviors are also exhibited by customers. This paper reviews research on customer aggression and sexual harassment in service contexts along the following lines: 1) Antecedents of customer misbehavior as reflected in organizational perceptions (e.g., denial of customer misbehavior, structure of service roles), customer motives (e.g., low level of perceived risk) and role-related risk factors (e.g., dependence on customer, working outside the organization, climate of informality); 2) The effect of customer aggression and sexual harassment on service provider well-being, work-related attitudes and behavior; 3) Coping strategies used by service providers in response to customer aggression and sexual harassment (i.e., problem-solving, escape-avoidance, support-seeking); and 4) A comparison between the main characteristics of aggression and sexual harassment by customers and by insiders.     

A Commentary on 'Exploring the Nature of Human Resource Developers' Expertise"

Previous research has shown that organizational identification (OI) of leaders is positively related to employee OI and, in turn, linked to positive behaviours of employees towards the organization. In the present study, we argue that leader OI does not only affect variables at the employee level but, through its influence on employees, also contributes to important customer outcomes (i.e., customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and customer recommendations). Drawing on self-concept based theories of leadership effectiveness and insights from service linkage research, the present article proposes that OI plays an important role in these influence processes. Additionally, the article delineates the behavioural and psychological variables that intervene employee OI and customer outcomes. More specifically, we suggest that leader OI is positively related to follower OI, which results in customer-oriented service behaviour. Customer orientation, in turn, should positively affect customers' identification with the organization and, ultimately, result in customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and customer recommendations. Results of a multilevel field study using data from leaders, employees, and customers provide support for our theoretical model.     

Antecedents of Emotional Display Rule Commitment

This study examined the antecedents of commitment to emotional display rules for customer service employees in typical and incivility customer service interactions. Results showed that expectancy and valence were unique predictors of the commitment to display positive emotions to customers in typical customer interaction scenarios, whereas expectancy and motivational force (i.e., the product of expectancy and valence) were unique predictors of commitment in incivility interaction scenarios. Further, in both situations, agreeableness and reward structure were significant predictors of expectancy, valence, and motivational force and had indirect effects on display rule commitment. Finally, expectancy, valence, motivational force, and display rule commitment were lower in the incivility customer interaction condition compared to the typical interaction condition, suggesting that individuals had less motivation to display positive emotions when dealing with an uncivil customer.     

Be Fair,Your Employees Are Watching: A Relational Response Model of External Third‐Party Justice

There is growing theoretical recognition in the organizational justice literature that an organization's treatment of external parties (such as patients, community members, customers, and the general public) shapes its own employees’ attitudes and behavior toward it. However, the emerging third‐party justice literature has an inward focus, emphasizing perceptions of the treatment of other insiders (e.g., coworkers or team members). This inward focus overlooks meaningful “outward” employee concerns relating to how organizations treat external parties. We propose a relational response model to advance the third‐party justice literature asserting that the organization's fair treatment of external parties sends important relational signals to employees that shape their social exchange perceptions toward their employer. Supporting this proposition, in two multisource studies in separate healthcare organizations we found that patient‐directed justice had indirect effects on supervisory cooperative behavior ratings through organizational trust and organizational identification.     

Exhausted,mistreated, or indifferent? Explaining deviance from emotional display rules at work

This article explores different theoretical explanations for deviance from display rules (DDR), which occurs when employees consciously display emotions to customers that are unsanctioned by the organization. DDR is an important outcome in service organizations because it triggers strong negative reactions from customers, such as negative reputation and business losses. To better explain why DDR occurs, the author compared predictors drawn from organizational justice theory, conservation of resources theory and goal-setting theory in a comprehensive model to explore complementary and competing effects. The model was tested using hierarchical linear modelling with data from 1146 transactions performed by 51 service employees who participated in an experience sampling study over several weeks. Results demonstrated that emotional valence mediated the transaction-level relationship between customer interpersonal injustice and DDR. Similarly, negative emotions mediated the transaction-level relationship between mental exhaustion and DDR. However, person-level differences in goal commitment to organizational display rules had a buffering effect on the relationship between negative emotions and DDR. Overall, the results demonstrate that unfair treatment from customers and mental exhaustion can promote the expression of unsanctioned emotions to customers via negative emotional experiences, but employees who are committed to emotional labour goals are more resistant to engaging in DDR.     

Spillover Effects of Emotional Labor in Customer Service Encounters Toward Coworker Harming: A Resource Depletion Perspective

This research examines how the implications of emotional labor can transfer from customer encounters to coworker interactions using temporally lagged data from a sample of frontline service employees. The results show that surface acting in customer service encounters is positively, and deep acting is negatively, related to ego depletion. Employees’ ego depletion, in turn, is positively associated with their interpersonally harmful behavior toward coworkers. Hence, ego depletion appears as a mediating variable that translates the implications of distinct emotional labor strategies into coworker harming. Moreover, emotion regulation self‐efficacy moderates the role of surface acting. The positive indirect relationship between surface acting and coworker harming, via ego depletion, is buffered among employees with higher emotion regulation self‐efficacy. These findings shed new light on the complex and far‐reaching consequences of emotional labor. We demonstrate the relevance of emotional labor to third parties not directly involved in customer service encounters and highlight important mediators and boundary conditions of these indirect relations.     

Differences in Universal‐Diverse Orientation by Race‐Ethnicity and Gender

This article addresses the roles of race‐ethnicity and gender in university student orientation toward diversity. Differences in orientation toward diversity were found between men and women as well as among racial‐ethnic groups (Asian/Asian American, African American, Latino, Anglo‐American). Anglo‐American students' scores were significantly lower than those of people of color, but no differences were found among groups of color. Men's scores were significantly lower than women's scores. Discussion addresses implications for higher education diversity programming.     

When customers exhibit verbal aggression, employees pay cognitive costs

In 4 experimental studies, we show that customer verbal aggression impaired the cognitive performance of the targets of this aggression. In Study 1, customers' verbal aggression reduced recall of customers' requests. Study 2 extended these findings by showing that customer verbal aggression impaired recognition memory and working memory among employees of a cellular communication provider. In Study 3, the ability to take another's perspective attenuated the negative effects of customer verbal aggression on participants' cognitive performance. Study 4 linked customer verbal aggression to quality of task performance, showing a particularly negative influence of aggressive requests delivered by high-status customers. Together, these studies suggest that the effects of even minor aggression from customers can strongly affect the immediate cognitive performance of customer service employees and reduce their task performance. The implications for research on aggression and for the practice of customer service are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).