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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of customer deference to service providers in service encounters, and articulate its chief antecedents, experiences and consequences. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected in Thailand, using critical incident technique. A total of 253 subjects share their experiences of being “deferential” (i.e. “kreng-jai” in Thailand) during everyday service encounters. Findings The findings indicate that in cultures in which the cultural norm (i.e. kreng-jai) is to be considerate of others, customers often become deferential of the service provider during service encounters, especially when customers perceive that the service provider’s well-being is compromised. However, customer deference involves aversive feelings which lead customers to devise coping strategies and avoid future contact with a company. Research limitations/implications Using a specific cultural norm, the findings challenge prior finding that people from collectivist culture are more likely to tolerate and be satisfied with service encounters, and document the role of previously unexamined customer-related factors in driving satisfaction in ordinary service encounters. Practical implications The findings recommend service providers to preempt customers’ deference by establishing and communicating the role and acceptable behaviors, managing physical distance with customers, and monitoring customer non-verbal behavior and facial expressions to detect the customers’ true feelings. Originality/value No prior research has comprehensively examined the phenomenon whereby consumers seek to benefit service providers at the expense of their own well-being. This study demonstrates that customer deference degrades customer satisfaction even in ordinary service encounters.

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the role of artistic elements in a shopping mall’s experiential marketing strategy and the effects of artistic elements on customer shopping value (e.g. utilitarian, hedonic and symbolic) and shopper response (e.g. satisfaction, behavioural intention). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 300 shoppers in a shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand. A partial least square-structural equation model was used to examine the impact of the artistic elements along with other elements in the shopping mall on shopper response through perceived shopping value. Findings Empirical evidence shows that artistic elements in an artified mall have a positive effect on customer hedonic and symbolic value, which in turn leads to positive shopper response. Artistic elements perform better than other elements in predicting symbolic value. Research limitations/implications The findings suggest that artistic elements should be considered a new source of mall differentiation and customer experience enhancement. Unique artistic elements add emotional and symbolic appeal to the mall, and mall managers should carefully choose artistic content that matches the position and target shoppers of their mall. Originality/value This paper proposed and empirically examined the effect of artistic elements as the new fourth atmospheric element. It extends the art infusion theory by applying it to the “non-luxury” shopping mall context to demonstrate the spillover effect of art on shopping value, which further influence shopper response.