How you deal with rude customers can mess up your sleep

According to a new study, the stress of encounters with rude customers does not always stay at work.

If you’ve ever worked a service job, you’ve probably faced a customer who pushed you to the limit: rudely questioning your competence, complaining about a long wait you didn’t cause, rolling their eyes when you explain store policy. You smile anyway, because that’s what you’re trained to do.

Later, when they ask for a refill or their check, you move a little slower. You’re less attentive, you take your time. Nothing dramatic—just small gestures that feel, in the moment, like taking back a bit of control.

In a new study, Sunny Kim, a Boston University School of Hospitality Administration assistant professor, and her colleagues found that when hospitality workers cope with rude customers by quietly retaliating—a phenomenon known as “service sabotage”—the strategy can backfire. Instead of offering relief, it can trigger rumination, even disrupt sleep, as workers replay the incident over and over in their minds.

The findings appear in the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.

Here, Kim digs into why rude customer interactions linger, why “just don’t take it personally” may be the wrong advice, and what managers can do to better protect their teams:

The post How you deal with rude customers can mess up your sleep appeared first on Futurity.