A negative event can overwhelm an accumulation of positive activities
Long-term RM success often depends more on preventing the bad than on promoting the good
Negative activities generally have approximately twice as strong an effect as positive activities, but not all negative events are the same
Companies sometimes welcome toxic poisons, by engaging in actions that generate and even encourage perceptions of unfairness
When managers recognize unfairness as a relationship poison, they should find the antidote by revising their RM and loyalty programs to make the benefits for targeted customers invisible to bystanders
United Airlines cited its contractual policies when it refused to spend $1200 to repair a passenger’s guitar that its baggage handlers had carelessly broken
The passenger received word that he was ineligible for compensation because he failed to make the claim within United’s stipulated 24-hour timeframe
The passenger vented his frustration by creating a song entitled “United Breaks Guitars” and uploaded it on YouTube
As of 2014, it garnered almost 14 million views and may have cost United Airlines $180 million.
Maintaining Relationships: Preventing the “Bad” is More Important than Adding More “Good”
Negative behaviors impact relationships more than positive behaviors
Meta of 38,000 relationship shows negative activities have twice the effect of positive activities
Conflict and opportunism also have strong negative effects
People seek explanation for negative more than positive events; unfairness judgments provide insight into motivation for bad events
Unfairness plays a large role in undermining relationships since individuals feel emotional need to punish unfair behaviors, even at a cost to themselves
Hardwired psychological behavior to prevent cheating
Starbucks/United Airlines
(Emmons and McCullough 2004)
(Palmatier et al. 2007; Samaha, Palmatier, and Dant 2011)
