Because You're Worth It: A Study of the Consumer Status Concept

Abstract

Researchers and marketing professionals propose placing the customer at the heart of the firm's preoccupations. From a historical perspective, the place occupied by the customer has grown with increased market competition, more consumer information and pressure from consumer movements (Cochoy, 1999(Cochoy, , 2002Ughetto, 2002). Thus, customers could believe that firms do everything in their power to avoid disappointment and enchant consumers day after day (Firat and Venkatesh, 1995). This feeling is reinfor-ced by corporate advertising. Schwarzkopf knows that "every woman wants to be treated like a queen" and L'Oréal systematically reminds us that "we're worth it".Recognizing the existence of customer status means believing a firm has certain obligations toward the latter (Sarbin and Allen, 1968). In addition, this status entails behavioral standards such as consideration (Sahlins, 1972). Yet, in practice, we can see that satisfying all customers is not an end in itself: in

Knocking sovereign customers off their pedestals? When contact staff educate, amateurize, and penalize deviant customers

“…To achieve this type of long-term relationship, the customer should be positioned at the heart of the firm (Hartline et al, 2000). This implies that firms must strive to satisfy customers and accept that they have obligations towards them (Sabadie, 2010).…”