A new study examined how rude customer interactions affect people in service jobs. Workers often face customers who question their competence, complain about waits they did not cause, or show visible annoyance when staff explain store policy. During these interactions, employees commonly smile and keep a polite tone because training and job expectations encourage them to hide negative feelings.
The researchers, including Sunny Kim, an assistant professor at the Boston University School of Hospitality Administration, describe a pattern they call "service sabotage." After an unpleasant encounter, some workers carry out small, quiet retaliatory actions—being less attentive, taking more time with a task, or slowing responses—that can feel like a momentary way to regain control.
Kim and her colleagues found that these tactics can backfire. Rather than easing stress, they can lead to rumination: workers replay the incident in their minds, and this mental replay can interfere with sleep. The study appears in the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management and the original post was on Futurity. The research also questions common advice to "just don't take it personally" and notes that managers can take steps to better protect their teams, although the study does not list specific measures. The authors highlight effects that reach beyond the workplace, affecting workers' health and daily life.
Difficult words
- examine — to study carefully to learn about somethingexamined
- competence — ability or skill to do a job
- retaliatory — done to punish or get revenge
- rumination — repeated thinking about a stressful event
- interfere — to prevent or disturb progress or function
- sabotage — secret action that damages work or plans
- attentive — paying careful notice to people or tasks
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- What steps could managers take to better protect their teams from rude customers?
- How might rumination about unpleasant customer interactions affect a worker's life outside work?
- Have you seen employees hide negative feelings at work? How did it affect service or the employees?
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