Is preferential treatment of some customers worth the dissatisfaction of others?

Were you ever at a restaurant and noticed that other customers were receiving service at a different level to what you were getting? Or, as a service provider, do you give some customers preferential treatment in the presence of others? I recall standing in queue at a stationery store when a customer walked through the door and up to the counter, engaged the salesclerk, was served and then went on his way leaving behind the customers he met in line.

I was dissatisfied and to show my dissatisfaction, I returned the item I was about to purchase and left the store. I felt that the salesclerk disregarded my feelings when she extended preferential treatment to another customer in my presence. Notwithstanding, I have received preferential treatment from other businesses, thus familiar with the satisfaction that comes with it.

In our next two articles we discuss whether preferential treatment of some customers is worth the dissatisfaction of others. Professor Magnus Söderlund, Centre Director, Centre for Consumer Marketing, Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), Sweden, discussed the topic in an EMC Academic Group Journal – Edition 4 article. In his article, preferential treatment is described as “when a customer receives something “extra” that other customers do not – or at least not at the same extent.”

According to Professor Söderlund, preferential treatment has long been considered as a useful marketing technique to influence consumer behaviour in a positive way – be it the form of offering better prices for certain customers, early VIP access to sales, or by giving priority to certain customers in queues. However, this practice can cause potential problems for businesses, when other customers are present and can see the different levels of service being experienced both by themselves and fellow customers.

As one can imagine, the natural reaction is for customers to compare the level of service that they are getting with that which the other people in the same situation are experiencing. This results is what researchers call “Justice Perceptions”, which are customers’ judgement as to whether they have been treated fairly or not.

Both the customer receiving the preferential treatment and the customer witnessing preferential treatment are affected. One thinks he is being treated justly and the other that he is being treated unjustly.

Next week we will examine how preferential treatment can impact your customer service levels.

Contact us today at marketing@searchlight.vc or (784) 456-1558 or (784) 494-0031. We’ll help you get noticed.