Customer aggression and service sabotage

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study aims to investigate the independent and combined moderating effects of social sharing and rumination on the relationship between customer aggression and service sabotage.Design/methodology/approachTwo samples of service providers were recruited: a sample of face-to-face service employees from various organizations (N = 481) and a sample of call center employees (N = 122). Data were collected using self-reported questionnaires and the research hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression analyses.FindingsThe impact of customer aggression on service sabotage was exacerbated by rumination in Sample 1 and although failing to reach significance (0.08), the same pattern of interaction was observed in Sample 2. The results lend support to the existence of a three-way interaction effect between customer aggression, social sharing and rumination. Specifically, the positive relationship between customer aggression and service sabotage was stronger for employees who reported high levels of both social sharing and rumination compared to employees who reported high levels of social sharing but low levels of rumination.Practical implicationsImplementing stress-management training intended to help service employees avoid using maladaptive coping strategies when confronted with mistreatment can serve to reduce employees’ engagement in retaliatory behaviors directed against customers.Originality/valueThe study’s findings provide one potential explanation for the mixed findings in the literature on social sharing and suggest that sharing of emotions for coping with customer aggression may become a maladaptive strategy for individuals who tend to engage in ruminative thinking whereas it may be a helpful coping choice for individuals who do not.