University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business conducted a study, which suggests that retailers can ease customer conflicts by playing referee.
It's not uncommon to see two customers fight or have an argument in a shop. Most often than not, these conflicts arise when a customer is annoyed by a "messier" customer who leaves the shelves untidy. A new study by University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business states that these conflicts can be eased easily if the retailer plays referee in such situations, according to a press release.
Researchers of the study conducted a small experiment to see whether customers in a shop got annoyed with other customers who left things in a mess and how reprimanded customers were treated by other customers.
For the study, researchers set up their own shop, which had clothes neatly arranged in shelves. They then placed some of their own "shopper" in the shop along with other genuine customers. The planted shopper was asked to leave the clothes messy after browsing through it on one occasion and tidy on another occasion. After a while, the planted shopper accidently dropped a sheaf of papers. Researchers found that when the shopper left the clothes neatly after browsing through the shelves, other customers came to help the shopper pick up the papers that had fallen. However, when the shopper was messy, no one stepped forward to help him pick up the papers. Researchers also observed that other customers were more sympathetic and helpful to the shopper when the retailer reprimanded him for dropping the papers than when the retailer didn't reprimand him. Another finding of the study includes that fellow customers are less likely to punish rude customers that are also suffering from an ailment or are of a higher status.
Authors of the study concluded that customers who behave inappropriately are usually treated badly if their misbehavior goes unchecked. Hence, retailers should make it their business to play referee in such situations to ease the conflict. Retailers should also empower their staff with the authority to reprimand customers breaking basic shopping rules along with ensuring that each customer has enough space to browse through without having to go through messy shelves.
The results of the study are published in June's Journal of Consumer Research.
