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Customer Mistreatment (Wang Liao Zhan Shi)

HR & WorkReliability: alpha 0.943 sample items

About this scale

A multi-item measure of customer mistreatment of frontline employees — verbal aggression, unreasonable demands, and condescension. Strong predictor of strain and burnout in service contexts.

Sample item(s)

“Customers have spoken to me rudely”
“Customers have made unreasonable demands”
“Customers have been condescending toward me”

Reliability

Reported internal consistency: alpha 0.94. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.

Notes

Pair with workplace incivility for service-context research.

Source & citation

Wang, M., Liao, H., Zhan, Y., & Shi, J. (2011): Daily customer mistreatment and employee sabotage against customers: Examining emotion and resource perspectives. Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 54, No. 2, pp. 312–334.

Wang, M., Liao, H., Zhan, Y., & Shi, J. (2011): Daily customer mistreatment and employee sabotage against customers: Examining emotion and resource perspectives. Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 54, No. 2, pp. 312–334.

Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.

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