סמינר בהתנהגות ארגונית

Abstract

In a series of studies I examine the problem of hostility acts by customers toward employees. The studies continue earlier work on the effects of customer anger on customer service employees, which suggest powerful effects of seemingly inane or minute hostility incidents. I begin with an analysis of the behaviors that constitute customer hostility, which suggests that hostility is far more than extreme cases of physical violence and includes a spectrum of behaviors that may be physical, verbal or non-verbal. I continue with analyses of service context effects that lead to customer hostility and also with assessments of the reactions of customer service employees. The full-cycle picture that these analyses paint helps explain why hostility events continue to occur, but also suggests the costs that displays of hostility can have in organizations.