Employee revenge against uncivil customers

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 636-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akanksha Bedi ◽  
Aaron C.H. Schat
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Service Employee ◽  
Blame Attribution ◽  
Blame Attributions ◽  
Attributions Of Blame ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This study aims to examine the relations between service employee blame attributions in response to customer incivility and revenge desires and revenge behavior toward customers, and whether employee empathy moderated these relations. Design/methodology/approach The authors used survey data based on the critical incident method provided by a sample of 431 customer service employees. Findings The results suggested that blaming a customer was positively associated with desire for revenge and revenge behaviors against the uncivil customer. In addition, the authors found that blame was less strongly associated with desire for revenge when employees empathized with customers. Finally, the results show that an employee who desired revenge against the uncivil customer and who empathized with the customer was more – not less – likely to engage in revenge. Practical implications The authors found that when employees experience mistreatment from customers, it increases the likelihood that they will blame the offending customer and behave in ways that are contrary to their organization’s interests. The results suggest several points of intervention for organizations to more effectively respond to customer mistreatment. Originality/value In this study, the authors make one of the first attempts to investigate the relationships between service employee attributions of blame when they experience customer incivility, desire for revenge and customer-directed revenge behaviors. The authors also examined whether empathy moderates the relations between blame attribution, desires for revenge and revenge behavior.

Studying customers’ resource integration by service employees in interactional value co-creation

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loïc Plé
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Customer Participation ◽  
Resource Integration ◽  
Service Dominant Logic ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Dominant Logic ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Noting that resource integration is a pivotal dimension of value co-creation in Service-Dominant logic, this paper aims to explore how service employees engaged in co-creation processes with customers integrate the latter’s resources. Design/methodology/approach To address the limitations of previous research on customer resources and their integration by service employees, this study turns to the concept of customer participation to identify the nature of customers’ resources. A conceptual framework of their integration by service employees underpins nine key propositions. This foundation leads to the development of theoretical contributions, managerial implications and avenues for research. Findings Customers can use 12 types of resources in value co-creation. Contrasting with earlier findings, the conceptual framework reveals that service employees may not only integrate these customers’ resources but also either misintegrate or not integrate them. Non-integration and misintegration may be intentional or accidental. Accordingly, value co-creation or co-destruction may result from interactions. Research limitations/implications This conceptual and exploratory text requires complementary theoretical and empirical investigations. It also does not adopt an ecosystems view of co-creation. Practical implications Knowing the different steps of resource integration and what influences them should increase the chances of value co-creation and limit the risks of value co-destruction. Originality/value Scant research has examined the nature of customer resources and how service employees integrate them. This paper also is the first to distinguish among resource integration, misintegration and non-integration.

Blinded by the light? Analyzing sustainability authenticity, customer service perceptions, and halo effects

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clinton Amos ◽  
Sebastian Brockhaus ◽  
Amydee M. Fawcett ◽  
Stanley E. Fawcett ◽  
A. Michael Knemeyer
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Behavioral Experiments ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainability Initiatives ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate how service perceptions influence customer views of the authenticity of corporate sustainability claims. The goal of this paper is to help supply chain decision-makers better understand boundary conditions in order to design more enduring and impactful sustainability programs.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employ behavioral experiments, subjecting two theoretically derived hypotheses to verification across five diverse industries and two distinct sustainability vignettes.FindingsCustomer service perceptions emerge as a significant boundary condition to the perceived authenticity of sustainability efforts. Subjects attributed significantly higher authenticity toward sustainability efforts in above average vs below average service quality contexts. Further, respondents attributed deceptive motivations to sustainability efforts at companies with below average service.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors confirm the underlying tenet of social judgment theory, which suggests thata prioriperceptions create a zone of acceptability or rejection. Ultimately, investing in sustainability can lead to counterproductive cynicism.Practical implicationsThe authors infer that customers’ willingness to give companies credit for sustainability initiatives extends beyond service issues to any practice that influencesa prioriperceptions. Supply chain managers must rethink their role in designing both customer service and sustainability systems to achieve positive returns from sustainability investments.Originality/valueThe authors challenge the assumption that customers universally positively view sustainability efforts. If customers holda priorinegative service perceptions, otherwise well-designed sustainability programs may invoke cynical reactions. Thus, sustainability programs may not inoculate firm reputations from adverse incidents. Given they touch both service and sustainability systems, supply chain managers are positioned to holistically influence their design for competitive advantage.

Supervisor transgressions: a thematic analysis

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessa E. Basford
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Critical Incident Technique ◽  
Employment Decisions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Qualitative Responses ◽  
False Accusations ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Initial Exploration

Purpose – Despite the harmful impact of supervisor transgressions, they have received little empirical attention. The purpose of this paper is to addresses this important gap, examining the nature of transgressions committed at work by supervisors against subordinates. Design/methodology/approach – A critical incident technique was employed in which employees described a transgression committed by their supervisor. Qualitative responses were then analyzed, resulting in the emergence of supervisor transgression themes. Findings – In total, 11 themes emerged, including: performance criticisms, demeaning insults, false accusations, undue demands, unfair employment decisions, inconsiderate treatment, inequitable behavior, inappropriate contextual selections, disregard of opinions, undersupplied resources, and underprovided recognition. Research limitations/implications – While this approach is not without limitations, including the potential for participant memory error and researcher analytical bias, it offers a necessary initial exploration into the content of supervisor transgressions. Findings open new areas for continued research exploration into the nature and functioning of supervisor transgressions. Practical implications – Practitioners also stand to benefit from this work, as this identification of supervisor transgression themes affords organizations knowledge about how to best target supervisory interventions. Originality/value – Though researchers have just begun to examine the nature of leader transgressions, they have yet to analyze the content of supervisor transgressions. This study offers an original investigation into how supervisors transgress against subordinates at work.

Gaining customer knowledge in low cost airlines through text mining

2014 ◽  
Vol 114 (9) ◽  
pp. 1344-1359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bee Yee Liau ◽  
Pei Pei Tan
Keyword(s):  
Text Mining ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Negative Polarity ◽  
Statistical Techniques ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Low Cost Carriers ◽  
Flight Cancellations ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the consumer opinion towards the low-cost airlines or low-cost carriers (LCCs) (these two terms are used interchangeably) industry in Malaysia to better understand consumers’ needs and to provide better services. Sentiment analysis is undertaken in revealing current customers’ satisfaction level towards low-cost airlines. Design/methodology/approach – About 10,895 tweets (data collected for two and a half months) are analysed. Text mining techniques are used during data pre-processing and a mixture of statistical techniques are used to segment the customers’ opinion. Findings – The results with two different sentiment algorithms show that there is more positive than negative polarity across the different algorithms. Clustering results show that both K-Means and spherical K-Means algorithms delivered similar results and the four main topics that are discussed by the consumers on Twitter are customer service, LCCs tickets promotions, flight cancellations and delays and post-booking management. Practical implications – Gaining knowledge of customer sentiments as well as improvements on the four main topics discussed in this study, i.e. customer service, LCCs tickets promotions, flight cancellations or delays and post-booking management will help LCCs to attract more customers and generate more profits. Originality/value – This paper provides useful insights on customers’ sentiments and opinions towards LCCs by utilizing social media information.

Talking bodies – an embodied approach of service employees’ work

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiina-Kaisa Kuuru ◽  
Elina Närvänen
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
The Body ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Interpretive Approach ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Practice Bundles ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to study the embodied nature of service employees’ work in human touch contexts. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts the practice theory as its interpretive approach, using focus group interviews with service employees from different industries. Findings The study identifies four practice bundles related to the embodied dimension of service employees’ work: orienting, attuning, connecting and wrapping up. The findings illustrate how employees’ knowledge, skills and capabilities are used via the body. Practical implications The study provides guidance for managers to use an embodied perspective in the management of service employees. Originality/value This study contributes to the discussion on embodiment in service encounters by highlighting the embodied nature of service employees’ work.

Foreign or domestic: who provides better customer service?

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Poddar ◽  
Timucin Ozcan ◽  
Ramana Kumar Madupalli
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Service Recovery ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Service Excellence ◽  
Customer Evaluations ◽  
Interaction Factors ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Service Representative

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of customer service employees’ (CSEs) competence and service recovery outcomes on service evaluations of foreign and domestic CSEs. Design/methodology/approach – Three experiments were conducted to test and validate the proposed hypotheses. The participants were told a cover story that they were either listening to (Study 2) or reading (Studies 1 and 3) a real conversation between a customer service representative of a bank and a customer and the authors wanted their views about the service encounter. While country of origin (COO) and competency were common independent variables across three studies, Study 2 included service recovery with a full refund and Study 3 had both full and partial refund and apology offered or not. Findings – Results from three experiments show that while competent CSEs are evaluated the same, regardless of their COO, the domestic CSE is evaluated more negatively than the foreign CSE when both are incompetent. The authors also find that when competent CSEs deliver no service recovery, the foreign CSE evaluations are significantly lower than the domestic one. Study 3 results show that this effect is mediated by participants’ ethnocentric beliefs. Research limitations/implications – For implications, this study provides a deeper understanding of the role of COO in services contexts. Future researchers can utilize the findings to investigate the important role that expectations play in determining service excellence and how it affects the COO effect. Practical implications – The paper provides managers in both offshoring client and provider firms with an understanding of the effects of offshoring on employee evaluations. It discusses the relevance/irrelevance of COO on the customer evaluations of service employees. Originality/value – The study investigates an under researched phenomenon – offshoring of services. This paper is one of the few looking at the role of different interaction factors, such as competence, recovery on service evaluations.

Under-over benefitting perceptions and evaluation of services

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 430-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicente Martínez-Tur ◽  
Yolanda Estreder ◽  
Carolina Moliner ◽  
Rosa María Sánchez-Hernández ◽  
José Mª Peiró
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Nonlinear Relationships ◽  
Linear Relationships ◽  
Linear And Nonlinear ◽  
Competing Hypotheses ◽  
Curvilinear Relationships ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – In the context of service exchanges, the purpose of this paper is to examine the form of the link from under-benefitting (customers receive less than they invest) vs over-benefitting (customers receive more than they invest) perceptions to customer service evaluations. The authors assess three competing hypotheses: maximization, fairness, and the asymmetric hypotheses. Design/methodology/approach – Linear and nonlinear relationships between under-over benefitting perceptions and service evaluations are examined following a test-retest approach. These relationships are investigated in four samples from two survey studies: hotels (Time 1, n=591; Time 2, n=512) and restaurants (Time 1, n=536; Time 2, n=473). Findings – Results confirmed the existence of asymmetrical curvilinear relationships. Service evaluations improve sharply when perceptions move from under-benefitting perceptions to balanced situations. However, service evaluations do not improve in high over-benefitting situations. Practical implications – The design of employee tasks and services should avoid both under-benefitting perceptions and a disproportionate maximization of customer benefits. Originality/value – Previous research studies have investigated these types of relationships by computing linear relationships or comparing different groups of customers. The current research tests the link from under-over benefitting perceptions to customer service evaluations by also considering nonlinear relationships. This approach supports an asymmetrical curvilinear relationship that captures the complexity of service exchanges.

Authentic appreciation creates a winning workforce

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-27
Author(s):  
Paul White
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Staff Turnover ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – Emphasizes the importance of keeping staff happy and feeling appreciated and reveals how best to do this. Design/methodology/approach – Shows what happens when employees do not feel valued and explains how best to correct this. Findings – Claims that when employees do not feel valued, staff dissatisfaction, tension in the office, more errors, poor customer service and higher staff turnover may follow. Practical implications – Describes how team members feel appreciated when appreciation is: communicated regularly; in the language and actions important to the recipient; delivered individually and is about him or her personally; and when the appreciation is viewed as being authentic. Social implications – Reveals that almost 80 per cent of people who quit their jobs cite not feeling valued as a key reason. Originality/value – Shows how communicating appreciation effectively can help to transform the workplace.

Simply the best … customer service

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 41-42
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Service Industry ◽  
Cutting Edge ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Delight ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings The customer has not been coming first for decades, but a new pressure to create customer delight is changing the service industry. This review looks at how customer delight can benefit employees as well as customers. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Why do online grocery shoppers switch or stay? An exploratory analysis of consumers’ response to online grocery shopping experience

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (12) ◽  
pp. 1300-1317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reema Singh
Keyword(s):  
Critical Incident ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Grocery Shopping ◽  
Intention To Stay ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Psychological States ◽  
Shopping Experience ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to add to current knowledge of online customer experience (OCE) by examining various drivers and outcomes of online grocery shopping experience that can help researchers and retailers answer the pressing question: “Why do online grocery customers stay or switch?” Design/methodology/approach This study applied netnography and critical incident analysis to a pool of 1,004 reviews captured from forum and review sites dedicated to online grocery shopping. Findings Two broad dimensions of OCE, four attributes and 13 factors corresponding to shoppers’ psychological states and their utilitarian and hedonic orientations emerged from the data analysis. The proposed framework, containing these four attributes and corresponding 13 factors, captures the consumers’ intention to stay with the current retailer or switch. Research limitations/implications The study contributes to existing knowledge of OCE by providing a dynamic and yet holistic framework that encompasses experiential states and utilitarian or hedonic orientations in an online grocery context. Although its contributions are valuable to both researchers and practitioners, further quantitative analysis is needed to validate the findings. Practical implications In addition to providing superior customer experience by implementing the various drivers of OCE identified here, online grocery retailers can use the study findings as a strategic guide toward building a frictionless and pleasurable shopping experience. Originality/value The study employs netnography and critical incident technique to identify experiential attributes such as reliability, responsiveness, return and refund, which are unique OCE attributes in online grocery, a relatively unexamined field of retailing.

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