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How uncivil customers corrode the relationship between frontline employees and retailers

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  • Gaucher, Benoît
  • Chebat, Jean-Charles

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of customers’ uncivil treatments on frontline retail employees’ emotions, deviant behaviors and relationship with the retail organization. Our theoretical model is based on both marketing and personnel management literatures. 415 frontline retailing American employees answered our questionnaire. Employees treated uncivilly by customers feel angry but have to hide their negative emotions, which leads them to emotional exhaustion and deviant behaviors. Paradoxically, employees’ strong commitment to their retailing organization brings about more deviant behaviors. We propose some managerial strategies to cope with uncivil customers, as well as future research on this important and under-researched topic.

Suggested Citation

  • Gaucher, Benoît & Chebat, Jean-Charles, 2019. "How uncivil customers corrode the relationship between frontline employees and retailers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 1-10.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:46:y:2019:i:c:p:1-10
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.09.012
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    Cited by:

    1. Mortimer, Gary & Fazal-e-Hasan, Syed Muhammad & Strebel, Judi, 2021. "Examining the consequences of customer-oriented deviance in retail," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    2. Lee, Tingko & Sam Liu, Chih-Hsing & Li, Pei-Hsun, 2021. "The influences of cooperative climate, competitive climate and customer empowerment on service creativity," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    3. Castaldo, Sandro & Ciacci, Andrea & Penco, Lara, 2023. "Perceived corporate social responsibility and job satisfaction in grocery retail: A comparison between low- and high-productivity stores," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    4. Fellesson, Markus & Salomonson, Nicklas, 2020. "It takes two to interact – Service orientation, negative emotions and customer phubbing in retail service work," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    5. Gong, Taeshik & Park, JungKun & Hyun, Hyowon, 2020. "Customer response toward employees’ emotional labor in service industry settings," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    6. Kushagra Bhatnagar & Julien Cayla & Delphine Dion & Gregorio Fuschillo, 2024. "Consumer Sovereignty and the Ethics of Recognition," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 192(1), pages 1-19, June.
    7. Alain Debenedetti & Damien Chaney, 2024. "From feeling like home to being at home: The negative outcomes of attachment to commercial places," Post-Print hal-04355633, HAL.
    8. Mayr, Kathrin & Teller, Christoph, 2023. "Customer deviance in retailing: Managers’ emotional support and employees’ affective wellbeing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    9. Stephan Olk & Dieter K. Tscheulin & Jörg Lindenmeier, 2021. "Does it pay off to smile even it is not authentic? Customers’ involvement and the effectiveness of authentic emotional displays," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 247-260, June.
    10. Mortimer, Gary & Wang, Shasha & Osorio Andrade, María Lucila, 2023. "Measuring customer aggression: Scale development and validation," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).

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