Don’t Shoot the Cook: Perceptions of Food Servers and Restaurants as a Function of Blaming Coworkers and Customers for Service Failures

Despite evidence indicating that some front-line employees account for their service failures by undermining coworkers or blaming customers, previous service-recovery research in the restaurant industry has virtually ignored the effects of such actions. This lack of attention is unfortunate considering possible threats to employees’ images and incomes, and to the success of restaurants. This study addressed this issue. Participants (N = 604) viewed videos of hypothetical restaurant encounters in which food servers offered various accounts for service failures (i.e., delivering incorrect orders) to customers. While imagining they were the customers, participants rated servers (e.g., likeability, credibility, predicted tip) and the restaurant (e.g., likelihood of returning and recommending to others). Accounts that blamed mistakes on others (i.e., customers or coworkers) or minimized mistakes were predicted to be significantly less effective than more traditionally studied account types (e.g., apologies) in repairing the image of servers and the restaurant. Despite notable exceptions, these predictions were supported. Additionally, given a double-bind effect reported in past studies, we predicted, but did not find, that females would be less successful than males when blaming others. Theoretical and practical implications for service industry managers and workers are discussed.