Customer Rage: Triggers, Tipping Points, and Take-Outs

Patterson, Paul G.; McColl‐Kennedy, Janet R.; Smith, Amy K.; Lü, Zhi

doi:10.1525/cmr.2009.52.1.6

Cited by 51 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Schneider and Bowen (1999) and Patterson et al, (2009) Notably, they underwent the five types of experiences previously mentioned (i.e., sensing, feeling, thinking, acting and connecting). Customers were favorably impressed with the way the engineers worked and cooperated (which they never heard through the phone).…”

Section: Approach 1: Designing and Delivery Human Touch Experiencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small details that make big differences

Bolton

Gustafsson

McColl‐Kennedy

et al. 2014

Journal of Service Management

235

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1 Authors appear in alphabetical order 3 SMALL DETAILS THAT MAKE BIG DIFFERENCES: A RADICAL APPROACH TO CONSUMPTION EXPERIENCE AS A FIRM'S DIFFERENTIATING STRATEGYPurpose -Service organizations and marketers have focused too much of their energy on their core service's performance and too little emphasis on designing a customer journey that enhances the entire customer experience. There is nothing wrong with firms seeking continuous improvement in service quality and customer satisfaction. These efforts are needed for firms to be competitive in the marketplace. The problem occurs when performance levels and service offerings become too similar within an industry, so that price is the only competitive weapon that remains. We argue that in order to break this deadlock, companies need to focus on the small details that make big differences to customers.Design/methodology/approach -The paper builds on interviews with executives in successful service organizations. It provides an analysis of differentiation strategies in diverse service organizations across consumption contexts, nations and cultures around the world.Findings -We develop three research propositions and argue for radical approaches to help service organizations truly understand customers and provide service experiences that engage and delight them. We argue that the new challenge for marketing is to help companies find and implement these small details to make a large impact on the overall customer experience.Originality/value -In order to truly understand the customer experience, we need a holistic view of all interactions customers have with a company. We need to understand the customerfirm interactions at all touch points, that is, during search, purchase, consumption and postconsumption. Customer experience involves the customers' cognitive, affective, emotional, social and sensory responses to the firm. The originality of this research lies in our focus on the 4 small details that make a difference to customers during the service process rather than in the final outcome of the service performance.

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Section: Approach 1: Designing and Delivery Human Touch Experiencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small details that make big differences

Bolton

Gustafsson

McColl‐Kennedy

et al. 2014

Journal of Service Management

235

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Patterson et al (2009) reported that customer rage has evolved over time due to inadequate handling of customer complaints and customers' assessment of threats to their basic needs, such as self-esteem and fairness. These rage expressions could be any or all of the following: physical, verbal, non-verbal, displaced or at best constructive expressions ).…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research in marketing emphasizes customer rage as an issue that is becoming increasingly prevalent in marketing environments and especially in service settings (Grove et al 2004;McColl-Kennedy et al 2009;Patterson et al 2009). According to Patterson et al (2009) 2004). Also, many times customers are not only wrong in their behaviors but are indeed unjust, taking advantage of the "customer is always right" notion by making unreasonable demands in their interactions with service employees (Berry and Seiders, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Problematic customers and turnover intentions of customer service employees

Poddar

Madupalli

2012

Journal of Services Marketing

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of problematic customer behaviors on customer service employee attitudes and subsequent turnover intentions from the organization and also the occupation. Design/methodology/approach -Data from five semi-structured depth interviews and 215 quantitative surveys using structured questionnaires were used to develop and test the theoretical model. Customer service employees working in different call center companies serving American customers were approached using an established survey panel. Findings -Results using the partial least squares (PLS) methodology showed that problematic customer behaviors drain customer service employees emotionally. Emotional exhaustion is negatively related to job satisfaction, and subsequently, employees' turnover intentions. The results also show that turnover intentions with organization and occupation are positively related to each other. Research limitations/implications -As regards implications, this study provides an understanding of the relationship between problematic customer behaviors and employees' turnover intentions. Future researchers can utilize the findings from this study for investigating other consequences and antecedents of problematic customer behaviors. A limitation of the study is its use of cross-sectional data. Practical implications -This paper provides call center managers with an understanding of the effects of problematic customer behaviors on employee attitudes. It discusses the need for understanding problematic customers and ways to manage the effects of such experiences. Originality/value -The study investigates an under-researched phenomenon, i.e. problematic customer behaviors. The study provides evidence of the relationship between problematic customer behaviors and turnover intentions in service employees. This study is also one of very few in marketing to investigate the relationship between organizational and occupational turnover intentions.

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“…Indeed, the process of rage elicitation is not well understood. Research that examines the cause of negative emotions 4 tends to focus on anger rather than rage (except e.g., Patterson et al 2009;Roos and Friman 2008). Moreover, the appraisal-emotion link has been viewed as occurring at a single point in time.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Unpacking Customer Rage Elicitation

Surachartkumtonkun

McColl‐Kennedy

Patterson

2014

Journal of Service Research

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Unlike prior research that has confined customer rage to a single point in time, this article explores the unfolding of rage over three time periods, at the initial service failure (Episode 1) and two ineffective service recovery attempts (Episodes 2 and 3). In each episode, we examine the association between loss, or a threat of loss, of personal resources (e.g., selfesteem, sense of justice, sense of control and economic resources such as time and money) and negative emotions. We empirically demonstrate for the first time that although rage may sometimes take place at the initial service failure (Episode 1), rage does not tend to be an immediate reaction. Rather, it is when service failures remain unresolved that residual negative emotions are carried forward into the next episode, so that rage is dominant at Episodes 2 and 3. This carryover of negative emotion spirals with more resources being threatened propelling the customer into rage. The authors offer a methodological contribution demonstrating the dynamic nature of appraisals and emotions in a sequence of related episodes in the elicitation of rage. Finally, differences between U.S. and Thai responses are discussed with important theoretical and managerial implications.3 "The lawyer was retained to represent me in court … . After paying the retainer ($1000), he was never available. … It was disappointing (Episode 1) ... . When I tried to contact him again…, he still would not return my calls. By this time, I was getting angry (Episode 2)… . I finally left one more message and I told him how incompetent he has been … . I would be filing a complaint of abandonment … . (I was) extremely angry with his representation. I felt like he deserved to be punished. …I ended up yelling, screaming and then crying, and told him I was going to try to have him disbarred (Episode 3)." (Female, 36, U.S. legal service)Customer rage is occurring around the globe negatively impacting customers and employees.When customers experience intense anger or rage, they tend to want to express their emotions, behaving aggressively to others (Bougie, Pieters, and Zeelenberg 2003;McColl-Kennedy et al. 2009). Exposure to enraged customers is distressing for employees and can potentially create a negative contagion effect on other customers (Harris and Reynolds 2003). Furthermore, some negative emotions such as rage can result in switching behavior (Roos and Friman 2008;Roos, Friman, and Edvardsson 2009). It is not surprising therefore that customer rage has attracted the attention of both practitioners and researchers. A recent study by the Center for Services Leadership and Customer Care Measurement & Consulting has revealed an alarming number of rage incidents in the U.S. (Grainer et al. 2014). Yet, despite its growing occurrence, customer rage is still not well understood with many organizations ill-equipped to manage customer rage effectively or to avoid rage occurring in the first place.Customer rage is defined as an extreme negative emotion (e.g., outrage, hate, disgust, fu...

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Customer Rage: Triggers, Tipping Points, and Take-Outs

Cited by 51 publications

References 13 publications

Small details that make big differences

Small details that make big differences

Problematic customers and turnover intentions of customer service employees

Unpacking Customer Rage Elicitation

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