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Abstract：The current research investigates dehumanization as a way consumers manage feelings of embarrassment experienced in retail and service contexts. The results of six experimental studies (three in a field setting and three conducted online) provide converging evidence that when consumers buy embarrassing products or require an embarrassing medical service, they dehumanize the service provider. Specifically, when in an embarrassing service interaction, consumers tend to engage in mechanistic dehumanization, perceiving service providers as more mechanistic and less capable of emotional reactions than when in a non-embarrassing service interaction. The studies also show that when faced with embarrassing retail or service situations, consumers prefer service providers who show a mechanistic demeanor over those who are warm and looking to build rapport. These findings extend the dehumanization literature by providing an example of a subtle, everyday form of mechanistic dehumanization, and contribute to the research on embarrassment by identifying a unique way that consumers manage their feelings of embarrassment in retail and service encounters.