The attenuation of revenge-related responses after a major service failure is not simply caused by the passage of time—as is assumed in prior work. Instead, we propose that the effect of time is enhanced by the completion of multiple surveys that allow customers to constructively make sense of their service failures. We document this sensemaking-based attenuation effect by conducting four longitudinal experiments; each of them includes a series of three to four surveys completed over four to eight weeks. Doing so, we make three key contributions. First, all studies show that customers having the opportunities to complete a series of sensemaking-inducing surveys report fewer revenge-related responses than participants completing a single survey (i.e., a control group) for the same period. Second, we document the process at play by manipulating the contents of surveys (i.e., “cognitions and emotions” vs. “only cognitions” vs. “only emotions”) and by showing the mediation roles played by sensemaking and benevolent trusting beliefs. Third, we identify quality of pre-failure relationship as a boundary condition whereby the attenuation is stronger when relationship quality is weaker. Finally, we explain how sensemaking can be prompted by marketers to appease their customers.

重大服务失败后与报复相关的反应的减弱不仅仅是由时间的流逝引起的——正如之前的工作所假设的那样。相反，我们建议通过完成多项调查来增强时间的影响，让客户能够建设性地理解他们的服务失败。我们通过四个纵向实验记录了这种基于意义建构的衰减效应；每一项都包括在四到八周内完成的一系列三到四项调查。为此，我们做出了三项关键贡献。首先，所有研究都表明，有机会完成一系列意义建构调查的客户报告的与报复相关的反应比在同一时期完成单一调查的参与者（即对照组）要少。其次，我们通过操纵调查内容（即“认知和情感”与“仅认知”与“仅情感”）并显示意义建构和仁慈的信任信念所发挥的中介作用来记录发挥作用的过程。第三，我们将故障前关系的质量确定为边界条件，当关系质量较弱时，衰减更强。最后，我们解释了营销人员如何激发意义建构来安抚客户。