Canadian HR Reporter

people to buy,'" he said. "If you're this luxury retailer, you have an image of exclusiv- ity… and when you challenge me, I aspire to that, I want to show you that I can actually buy it so, in that case, rude service actually makes you want it more. You want to prove in that context that that's something you can aff ord." e fi ndings are based on a se- ries of studies done largely in the United States, involving about 500 people. Participants imagined or had interactions with salespeople — rude or not — and rated their feelings about associated brands and their desire to own them. Participants who expressed an aspiration to be associated with high-end brands had an increased desire to own the luxury products after being treated poorly — so re- jection by a brand increased con- sumers' desire to affi liate with it. Mainstream brands such as the Gap, which are generally ac- cessible to a lot of people, don't have this aff ect at all — if people are treated rudely, they don't buy, said Dahl. "It only happens when people aspire to the brand. In other words, it has to be something that you want that you don't have, and it re- ally only happens for those prod- ucts that are truly aspirational — a small set of people own them. Lux- ury products are a good example." It's possible the rudeness of a salesperson adds to the perceived prestige of the goods or service to customers who wish to be seen in a certain way, said Elaine Hay, founder and president of staffi ng fi rm Campbell, Edgar in Vancouver. "A variation of the takeaway close in sales, so to speak." But customers prefer receiving service from associates they feel they can relate to, who are knowl- edgeable and respectful of the products they represent, she said. "Being rude to a customer is never a basis for building a long- term relationship." Specialty luxury retailer Holt Renfrew would seem to agree. It strives to ensure a warm and wel- coming environment, according to Moira Wright, divisional vice- president of public relations at Holt Renfrew in Toronto. "Our personal relationships with our customers are at the core of our business." e study is talking about in- terrupting the traditional pat- tern and the researchers have just applied it to high-end brands, said John Glennon, president of Sandler Training in Kelowna, B.C. "We've known for years that that's basically reverse psycholo- gy — the more pleading, the more desperate, the more presenting that's done by a salesperson, the less likely the person is going to buy," he said. "It's more interrupt- ing the stereotypical sales pattern." e number-one thing custom- ers want is personalized customer service, along with knowledgeable people and friendly staff , accord- ing to Barbara Crowhurst, CEO of Retail Makeover in Toronto, add- ing it makes absolutely no sense to roll out the study's model. "Patience... articulation, com- munication, being respectful, being proactive, being positive, being empathetic — the kind of individual that hosts those kinds of attributes and that kind of char- acter, those kinds of behaviours, those kinds of skills, is my model retail associate." And high-end brands should set an even higher standard for customer service, said Crowhurst, citing as an example the friendly staff found in Apple stores. Caveats It's not that luxury brands neces- sarily want their people to give bad service, said Dahl, "but they want their people to have the atti- tude of being an aristocrat or be- ing someone who is prestigious, to wear those clothes, to have that upper class type of look," he said. " ey don't train people to be rude… but the attitude of exclu- sivity... people see it." However, authenticity is key — the more convincingly the staff represent and embody the brand, the greater the impact their rejec- tion has on consumers. " e salesperson actually has to fi t the brand, so if it is some- one selling a specific product, they have to represent the club. If it's someone that's snobby that is dressed down themselves, you don't respond because they're not part of that aspiration group," said Dahl. "If the salesperson isn't truly representing the brand, the eff ect doesn't happen." And the positive brand percep- tions resulting from a rejection incident may erode over time, he said. "Good service is always the right thing if you're the brand. But if your salespeople are look- ing to make a quick sale, this is a tactic they can use, so it speaks to the notion of sales force manage- ment — you have to be aware of how your salespeople are treat- ing people because it may actu- ally serve them better to serve the one-off customer poorly." CANADIAN HR REPORTER CANADIAN HR REPORTER June 2, 2014 June 2, 2014 12 FEATURES/NEWS FEATURES/NEWS COST: $69 + applicable taxes LIVE WEBINAR TIME: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. EDT TO REGISTER: CPDCentre.ca/hrreporter For more webinars including on-demand visit us online OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY - A TIME OF CHANGE IN ONTARIO ELIMINATE EMPLOYEE SKILLS GAPS IN WEEKS OR MONTHS A roadmap for the significant changes to Ontario OH&S legislation over the past 12 months - and what's coming. PRESENTER: Jason Beeho and Ryan Campbell | Rubin Thomlinson LLP DATE: June 04, 2014 Ensure your organization uses best practices to facilitate internal training and get employees up to speed efficiently. PRESENTER: Arupa Tesolin | Learning Paths International DATE: June 18, 2014 WEBINAR SERIES Jason Beeho Arupa Tesolin RECRUITMENT Ageism not easy to circumnavigate Employers need to be very careful during hiring, dismissal to avoid claims By Janice Rubin A geism is one of the last and best-hidden mani- festations of discrimi- nation in the North American workforce. In a post-mandatory retirement age, 17 per cent of Canadians expect they will nev- er be able to aff ord to retire, ac- cording to a 2013 survey of more than 1,000 people by HSBC. It has become increasingly impor- tant for employers to be aware of attitudinal barriers in the wo rk- place that may lead to a jump in age discrimination claims in 2014 and beyond. Whether during the hiring or dismissal process, employers need to pay close attention to several factors to guard against possible age discrimination claims. Given the trend in recent case law, it's fair to expect employers will be increasingly called upon to dem- onstrate that employment-related decisions in relation to "senior" employees are made on legitimate business grounds. Looking back, 2013 saw a rise in age-related lawsuits — one of which was Reiss v. CCH Canadian Limited. Peter Reiss, a 60-year-old former lawyer, applied for a posi- tion as a legal writer but was not selected for an interview. Instead, his application was put on hold. The HR department advised him it was "looking like they are moving towards candidates that are more junior in their experi- ence and salary expectation." But the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal held that these comments were a suggestive or stereotyped assumption that an older applicant would require a higher salary than a junior em- ployee. Consequently, Reiss was awarded $5,000 in damages for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect. Another example of ageism came out of Alberta in 2012 in Cowling v. Alberta Employment and Immigration. Joan Cowling, a 67-year-old employee who had been with the government of Al- berta for eight years, came to the end of her contract. At that point, her position was redefi ned to ensure services "over the long term." e role was also revised with a focus on "growth" and "development" and while Cowling was qualifi ed for the po- sition, the government declined to hire her when she reapplied. In this case, the Alberta Hu- man Rights Tribunal ruled the re- structuring was not for legitimate business reasons and Cowling's age was a factor in her ability to secure a long-term "developmen- tal" or "growth" position. While such legal faux pas may seem obvious in retrospect, these attitudes are often so deeply in- grained both individually and culturally that they are hard to identify. Employers should be aware of what age discrimination looks like and how to avoid these types of legal problems. To ensure business decisions are made on legitimate grounds and to avoid age discrimination claims, employers should keep in mind three key points: Will it pass the smell test?: Be- fore terminating an older worker or failing to hire him, ask if there was diff erential treatment based on age. If reviewed by an external body, will the decision pass the smell test? This is particularly true if a group of senior workers is aff ected by an employment decision at the same time. Avoid (indirect) discriminatory language: In the United States, a sizeable number of legal deci- sions fi nd employers discriminate against older workers because of the language they use. Avoid lan- guage such as "set in his ways," "looking for someone more ju- nior" or "lacking in energy" that communicate, often unintention- ally, an employee's older age was at play. Resist discriminatory assump- tions: Employers should not make any assumptions or decisions about the mindset and capabili- ties of older employees, directly or indirectly. Common assumptions — such as an older worker will be less en- gaged, will require huge accom- modation or will be absent from the offi ce more because of illness — are untrue. Janice Rubin is co-founder and man- aging partner at law fi rm Rubin om- linson in Toronto. She can be reached at (416) 847-1814 or ca.linkedin.com/ pub/janice-rubin/2/901/a58. Rudeness adds to prestige Rudeness adds to prestige SNOBBY SALES < pg. 1

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