A study from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia found that consumers with a price-conscious mentality — that is, whose main goal is to save money — view retail employees as less human than less thrifty shoppers. "That [price-conscious attitude] kind of pushes us away from fully engaging with others as human," said Johannes Boegershausen, a Sauder PhD student and co-author of the study. Employees judgedBoegershausen and his colleagues conducted several experiments and analyses to gauge shoppers' perceptions of employees while they were on the hunt for bargains. They showed study participants photos of a flight attendant in a RyanAir uniform, a Lufthansa uniform and a neutral uniform. They found that the price-conscious shoppers were more likely to give poor feedback regarding the employees they encountered.

Source: CBC News December 22, 2017 15:00 UTC