Survey: Customers more satisfied when white males serve them

[Newsjock]

Source: The Globe and Mail

North American customers are more likely to be satisfied with their level of service if it comes from a white male instead of a woman or minority, says a new study.

The research by University of British Columbia professor Karl Aquino found that female and minority employees who exhibited the same behaviours as their white male counterparts were rated lower in anonymous customer feedback surveys.

... The research was conducted in the U.S. and focused on customers in a health maintenance organization, a bookstore, and at golf courses.

... What's particularly troubling, he said, is not just that female and minority physicians were rated less favourably for providing similar service, but that the harder they tried, the lower they scored.

“It seemed like doing more actually penalized them,” he said.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/survey-customers-more-satisfied-when-white-males-serve-them/article1223879/