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Service as performance: How do class differences affect hospitality interactions?

Is your hairdresser seething with hidden resentment? Do you subconsciously want to dominate the people who serve you? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, customers and hospitality workers engage in a game of status that plays out in their everyday encounters."When we think about a service context in a high-end hospitality industry such as a spa, a luxury hotel or a cruise, the image that comes to our mind is a serene, peaceful setting with numerous friendly, empathetic service providers working hard to take care of the customers," write authors Tuba ?st?ner (Colorado State University) and Craig J. Thompson (University of Wisconsin?Madison).In this imagined world, satisfied, happy customers treat service providers with respect and reward them with generous tips. However, the reality behind that idyllic vision is quite different, the authors explain.The authors interviewed consumers and employees in the hairdressing industry in metropolitan regions of Turkey, which caters to affluent a

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