The “right-to-refuse-service” paradox: Other customers’ perception of discretionary service denial

Abstract

The present study investigated the impact of service denial on other customers’ perception of the service provider in a shared service context. Drawing on other customer perception and brand relationship quality literature, we examined when and how service denial to certain customers (owing to their unfavorable physical appearance, unsuitable behavior, and dissimilarity with the target customer group) impacts other customers’ relational and behavioral outcomes toward the service provider. The results of four studies conducted in restaurant services context suggested that cold brand relationship quality and hot brand relationship quality are the underlying process by which service denial influences other customers’ recommendation intention toward the service provider. Moreover, other customers’ social value orientations (altruistic, egoistic, competitive) moderate the impact of service denial on brand relationship quality. Implications for practitioners are discussed.