What do the following people have in common? A host pressing
alcoholic drinks into guests' hands as they arrive, a couple
arguing over the seating arrangement at a formal dinner, and
a hostess agonizing over the guest list for a special
celebration at her home.
The answer? Here's a hint. The host offering drinks hopes
to relax inhibitions so conversations will be animated, and
the couple and hostess hope to match people likely to be
interesting and friendly to each other. These people want
their guests to enjoy themselves, and they share in common a
recognition of the importance guests play by contributing to
the experience of other guests.
Retailers, are you paying attention? Service retailers,
especially?
Stephen Grove, of Clemson University, thinks you should be
more concerned about this influence than you are. He
believes you're missing opportunities to mold customer
behavior that would improve perceptions of your service.
Grove dispatched three teams of marketing students to theme
parks in central Florida to interview a cross section of
patrons. He wanted to know if these people had fresh
memories of critical incidents with other guests that had a
significant impact on their overall satisfaction. Over half
said "yes," and they described a total of 330 critical
incidents that fell into 3 categories: 1) rules of conduct,
2) sociability, and 3) crowding. Half of these were
positive, and half were negative.
Positive experiences with the first group, rules of conduct,
found people going beyond expectations to offer help, for
example, assisting a handicapped person. Negative
experiences involved violations, such as cutting in line.
Sociability incidents involved friendly or unfriendly
patrons. Positive crowding experiences included contagious
enthusiasm that helped create a sense of excitement, while
negative incidents created a sense of encumberment or
malevolence.
Grove also noticed several tension points: waiting in lines,
mixing people with wide age differences, and
"out-of-towners."
Long waits in lines are difficult for many people, and the
urge to "take it out" on nearby patrons is tempting. Wide
age differences challenge customers' patience with young
children or slow-moving elderly patrons. And
"out-of-towners" attract negative attention by violating
implicit rules of conduct, for example, conversing
loudly in a foreign language, or rude conduct.
Business owners already take many steps to manage customer
behavior: signs that say "No shirt no service;" reminders not
to talk during movies; bouncers in bars; networks of
reinforced railings that neatly fold long lines into small
areas, prevent cutting into line, and offer modest seating
for desperately tired feet; and so on. Grove applauds these
efforts, but he thinks we can do more.
Grove found that customers' visits tended to be ruined by
violations of rules of conduct, and enhanced by gregarious
acts of kindness. So our guiding principle should be to
discourage the former and encourage the latter. Inform
customers of conduct that spoils others' visits. Encourage
random acts of kindness at key locations, for example, a
reminder near stairways to offer assistance to the unsteady,
or seats to pregnant women. Encourage customers to help you
enforce rules by promptly reporting unpleasant incidents.
This allows you to prevent recurrences and to recover
customers who report them.
Stimulate friendly conversations among patrons. Place small
signs in locations where lines form that suggest open-ended
questions such as "What are your favorite attractions in this
city that I shouldn't miss?" and suggest people ask nearby
patrons. Your signs might also tell a good joke customers
could repeat with the promise that new jokes will come in
reply. They could also point out ways customers can help
each other, for example, foreign visitors usually welcome
suggestions to improve their English. Finally, Grove
suggests we entertain customers who are standing in lines,
with videos or personnel assigned to the task.
Try thinking like a cruise ship social director. Customers
need you to guide their experience by correcting violations
of rules of conduct and by cooperatively engaging their
efforts. If you do, they'll notice and appreciate your
attempts, and they may even come back.
Reference: Grove, Stephen J., and Raymond P. Fisk (1997)
The Impact of Other Customers on Service Experiences: A
Critical Incident Examination of "Getting Along." Journal of
Retailing, 73 (1), 63-85.
Customer Psychology Findings, by James Larsen, Ph.D.
Helping Customers "Get Along"
Research reveals damage to customer satisfaction inflicted by other customers and offers suggestions for improvement.