The study examines the influence of the psychological personality construct of the Dark Triad, consisting of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism, on emotional labor strategies and the resulting positive and negative consequences for employees in the service sector. Data from an online survey designed for this purpose, involving 255 service employees, show that psychopaths and narcissists use surface acting to regulate their emotions in interactions with customers. The latter also employ the strategy of deep acting. Furthermore, the findings confirm that surface acting mediates the influence of the Dark Triad on burnout, while deep acting acts as a partial mediator in the relationship between narcissism and engagement. Engagement subsequently increases employee satisfaction and performance.