An evaluation of deviant customer behaviors from the perspectives of employees and managers

This study aims to reveal the impacts of deviant customer behaviors on employees and managers working in thermal hotel enterprises. Within this scope, the research explores the views and experiences of thermal hotel employees and managers regarding deviant customer behaviors, their thoughts on the causes of such behaviors, coping strategies, and the resulting impacts. The limited number of studies focusing on deviant customer behaviors targeting tourism sector employees highlights the significance of this research. The study population consists of employees and managers working in twenty thermal hotel enterprises operating in Afyonkarahisar, as registered by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (2024). Given the size of the population, a purposive sampling method was employed, selecting participants from five thermal hotels where employees and managers have direct contact with guests. A total of 35 employees and managers participated in the study. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using a qualitative data analysis software through content analysis. Themes, categories, and codes were generated, and both descriptive and interpretive analyses were conducted. The findings revealed that employees were subjected to deviant behaviors such as insults, rude attitudes, and belittlement, while managers primarily witnessed deviant customer behaviors such as verbal harassment, insults, and defamation. Employees identified the main causes of deviant behaviors as lack of education, excessive service demands, and ego gratification. On the other hand, managers highlighted excessive service demands, high ego, and cultural differences as the primary reasons for deviant behaviors. The findings indicate that deviant customer behaviors lead to effects such as loss of motivation, sadness, anger, and sleep disorders among employees. For managers, the effects include loss of motivation, sadness, anger, career obstacles, and social stress. Based on the results obtained, various recommendations are presented for employees and managers in the tourism sector.