Service worker appearance and the retail service encounter: the influence of gender and age

Carley Foster and Sheilagh Resnick

The Service Industries Journal, 2013, vol. 33, issue 2, 236-247

Abstract: This study explores how the age and gender of service workers influence customers' perceptions of the retail service encounter in a health and beauty retailer. An analysis of qualitative interviews with 40 customers and 20 service workers suggests that customers seek reassurance in the service encounter by ‘matching’ and ‘mirroring’ the age and gender of customer-facing staff with their expectations of who should deliver appropriate service during the retail service encounter. These non-verbal cues, as a way of assessing the credibility of the service provider, are particularly important when customers are involved in high-involvement purchase occasions.

Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:servic:v:33:y:2013:i:2:p:236-247

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DOI: 10.1080/02642069.2011.614341

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The Service Industries Journal is currently edited by Eileen Bridges, Professor Domingo Ribeiro, Ronald Goldsmith, Barry Howcroft and Youjae Yi

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