The influence of angry customer outbursts on service providers’ facial displays and affective states

The influence of angry customer outbursts on service providers’ facial displays and affective states

This article explores the existence and extent of emotional
contagion, as measured by facial displays and
reported affective states, in a service failure event. Using
video vignettes of customers complaining about a service
failure as stimulus material, the authors measured the
facial displays and affective states of service providers as
proxies for emotional contagion. Following a two-step
approach, service providers’ facial expressions were first
recorded and assessed, revealing that service providers’
facial displays matched those of the angry consumer.
Second, a mixed ANOVA revealed service providers
reported stronger negative affective states after exposure
to an angry complaint than prior to exposure. The results
demonstrated that during a complaint situation, angry
outbursts by consumers can initiate the emotional contagion
process, and service providers are susceptible to
“catch” consumer anger through emotional contagion.
Implications for complaint management and future
research are discussed.

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