Customer mistreatment is a common challenge for frontline hospitality employees, with social sharing often used as a coping mechanism. However, whether sharing these experiences leads to positive or negative outcomes remains unclear. Drawing on the social sharing of emotion theory, this study investigates the dual impact of talking about customer mistreatment. Utilizing three waves of data from 373 leader-employee dyads, we found that talking about customer mistreatment is positively correlated with both anger rumination and positive framing. While anger rumination negatively impacts proactive customer service performance (PCSP), positive reframing enhances it. Moreover, when frontline hospitality employees perceive higher levels of active listening, the negative impact of talking about customer mistreatment on PCSP through anger rumination is buffered, while the positive impact through positive framing is enhanced. Our findings extend the literature on customer mistreatment, social sharing, and PCSP, offering actionable insights for hospitality management.
