Washington, July 8 (IANS) Businesses make an impression when they sing ‘Happy Birthday’ for customers or cook up entrees right at diners’ tables, but the attention is not always welcome.
Cele Otnes, University of Illinois marketing expert, who conducted a study, says that businesses create rituals that make customers feel special. But the push for a competitive edge can also backfire, leaving customers feeling put upon, trapped or embarrassed.
‘Not all customers want to be entertained,’ Otnes says.
The study examined rituals that are embedded into sales and service practices but gives customers little chance to opt out.
Researchers analysed how customers are swayed by the sights, sounds and other frills of these nearly inescapable business rituals.
For some, the trappings make rituals memorable and provide an incentive to come back, Otnes says, according to findings presented at the European Association for Consumer Research Conference, Royal Holloway University, London.
Workers in costumes, polished performances and glitzy accessories were among ritual aesthetics that made customers feel special, surveys of more than 150 college consumers found, says a university release.
However, for others, rituals can leave a bad enough taste to chase away return business, says the study.
