Consumers react differently to beautiful service employees. Ruben M Ramos/Shutterstock.com
Beautiful people tend to have a lot more luck in the work world.
Research has shown people deemed attractive get paid more, receive better job evaluations and are generally more employable. It’s even been shown that good-looking CEOs bring better stock returns for their companies.
In part, this may be because companies believe consumers are more likely to buy things from beautiful employees, which is perhaps why retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch use looks as criteria in their hiring process.
There’s some evidence, however, that this worker “beauty premium” may be wearing off – at least when it comes to employees who interact with consumers. In television commercials, for example, retailers and other companies are increasingly using real people – with all their physical flaws – rather than photoshopped models to give their brands an “authentic” feel.
Research several colleagues and I conducted recently suggests that companies may be wise to take this approach with customers. Our studies show occasions where the beauty premium doesn’t hold – and can even backfire.
Beauty can create distance
In our first study, we wanted to better understand how consumers respond to attractive service employees.
We invited 309 college students to read the same description of being served dinner at a restaurant and then look at an image of a person we described as their waiter.
Participants randomly viewed either a male or female server whose facial features were edited to depict high or low levels of attractiveness, based on prior research defining beauty. Separately, we used similar objective measures of attractiveness to rate participants on the same scale.
We then asked participants to rate the attractiveness of the server and how “psychologically close” they felt to him or her. Participants also graded customer satisfaction, the service quality and the likability of the waiter on a scale from low to high.
We found that how close a consumer felt toward the waiter correlated with how they rated the quality of service they received. That is, if they felt distance from the waiter, they were more likely to give him or her poor marks. Furthermore, we found that people who thought the server was attractive but were themselves not good-looking – using our objective beauty assessment – were more likely to feel distance.
We wanted to know whether this distance was actually more about how they perceived themselves than any objective measure. So we conducted a second similar study for which we recruited 237 people who were waiting to board a flight at China’s third-largest airport, located in Guangzhou. We asked them to read a scenario about receiving meal or other service from a flight attendant while aboard the plane and view a picture of the employee. Just as in the first study, participants randomly viewed either “attractive” or “unattractive” flight attendants.
They then rated the attractiveness of the attendant as well as themselves and indicated whether they believe there’s a connection between beauty and skill. They also rated the service received.
We found that participants who saw themselves as less good-looking felt more distance from an attractive flight attendant and were also more likely to perceive the service as lower quality. In addition, participants who said there isn’t a connection between beauty and skill also tended to assess attractive employees’ service as low quality.
A third and final study, in which we surveyed consumers at a shopping mall who had just had a face-to-face encounter with a service employee, further confirmed the results of the first two. In each study, we found a clear connection between beautiful workers and unpleasant customer experiences for people who are less attractive.
So in a world that admires and hires beautiful people, our research suggests there’s a potential downside, at least in the service sector.
About the Author
Chun Zhang, Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Dayton
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Books Improving Attitude and Behavior from Amazon's Best Sellers list
"Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones"
by James Clear
In this book, James Clear presents a comprehensive guide to building good habits and breaking bad ones. The book includes practical advice and strategies for creating lasting behavior change, based on the latest research in psychology and neuroscience.
Click for more info or to order
"Unf*ck Your Brain: Using Science to Get Over Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Freak-Outs, and Triggers"
by Faith G. Harper, PhD, LPC-S, ACS, ACN
In this book, Dr. Faith Harper offers a guide to understanding and managing common emotional and behavioral issues, including anxiety, depression, and anger. The book includes information on the science behind these issues, as well as practical advice and exercises for coping and healing.
Click for more info or to order
"The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business"
by Charles Duhigg
In this book, Charles Duhigg explores the science of habit formation and how habits impact our lives, both personally and professionally. The book includes stories of individuals and organizations who have successfully changed their habits, as well as practical advice for creating lasting behavior change.
Click for more info or to order
"Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything"
by BJ Fogg
In this book, BJ Fogg presents a guide to creating lasting behavior change through small, incremental habits. The book includes practical advice and strategies for identifying and implementing tiny habits that can lead to big changes over time.
Click for more info or to order
"The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning, Elevate Your Life"
by Robin Sharma
In this book, Robin Sharma presents a guide to maximizing your productivity and potential by starting your day early. The book includes practical advice and strategies for creating a morning routine that supports your goals and values, as well as inspiring stories of individuals who have transformed their lives through early rising.
