Geysers or Bubbling Hot Springs? A Cross-Cultural Examination of Customer Rage From Eastern and Western Perspectives

Abstract

There is compelling evidence that incidents of customer rage are on the rise and not just in Western, individualistic societies. Changing social and economic conditions in collectivist societies (e.g., emerging consumerism and rising wealth in China) have spawned the emergence of customer rage in Eastern countries. To this end, we examine how customer rage–associated emotions, expressions, and outcomes differ across Eastern and Western cultures. Results drawn from 982 frontline service customers from two Eastern (China and Thailand) and two Western (Australia and United States) countries show that although consumers from Western cultures are more likely to exhibit rage emotions, consumers from Eastern cultures are more likely to report a desire for revenge and express their emotions in both overt and more subtle ways. That is, customers from Eastern cultures, while slow to display anger, once initiated, their rage expressions toward frontline service workers tend to be physical and vengeful. This result contradicts generally held beliefs that Eastern consumers are reticent to express negative emotions. With these findings in mind, and to minimize damaging customer rage incidents, firms regularly engaged in cross-cultural service encounters need to provide intercultural awareness and communications training that equip frontline employees to understand customs, manners, etiquette, and expectations of Eastern and Western cultures in general and even specific cultural segments.