“I have learned my lesson”: How clients' trust betrayals shape the future ways in which street‐level bureaucrats cope with their clients

Trust betrayal is a subjective feeling of a street‐level bureaucrat (SLB) that a client acted contrary to expectations, diminishing the former's belief in the latter's good intentions. How do SLBs experience a betrayal of trust by clients? How do such betrayals shape the future ways in which SLBs cope with clients? We investigate these questions empirically using semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews and focus groups with Israeli social service providers. The findings reveal four types of client trust betrayal: integrity‐based, previous impression‐based, legitimate behavior‐based, and category‐based. We identify five strategies SLBs employ to cope with clients following such betrayals. With specific clients who betrayed their trust, they adopt minimal, formal, and guarded behavior; they satisfy the client's demands; they sever the relationship with the client entirely. With future clients, they exhibit careful, less “naïve” behavior and adopt a boundary‐setting approach. The negative implications for public service delivery may be far‐reaching.