Uncomfortable service interactions are ubiquitous in tourism and hospitality settings (e.g., returning a dish in a restaurant, ordering room service late at night, and complaining about noisy others in a hotel). Across five experimental studies, we show that service robots reduce consumers' metaperception processing and as a consequence can mitigate customer discomfort. Specifically, we demonstrate that service robots’ perceived low level of mind leads to reduced or even eliminated metaperception processing (i.e., customers do not think about the perceptions robots may have about them). Consumer outcomes include more favorable attitudinal and behavioral responses (e.g., satisfaction, engagement, and revisit intentions). Moreover, we find that the degree of anthropomorphic robot appearance does not affect metaperception. Taken together, these findings provide theoretical and practical insights for the successful deployment of service robots into otherwise potentially uncomfortable service encounters.

中文翻译：

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服务机器人在不舒服的服务遭遇中的元感知优势

令人不舒服的服务互动在旅游和酒店环境中普遍存在（例如，在餐厅归还菜肴、深夜订购客房服务以及抱怨酒店中的其他人吵闹）。通过五项实验研究，我们表明服务机器人减少了消费者的元感知处理，因此可以减轻客户的不适。具体来说，我们证明服务机器人感知的低水平思维会导致元感知处理的减少甚至消除（即，客户不会考虑机器人可能对他们的感知）。消费者结果包括更有利的态度和行为反应（例如满意度、参与度和重访意图）。而且，我们发现机器人外观的拟人化程度并不影响元感知。总而言之，这些发现为成功地将服务机器人部署到其他可能令人不舒服的服务中提供了理论和实践见解。