Lies customers tell
A new study into customer ethics has revealed that a large number of customers are happy to lie for discounts, accept accidental windfalls, and return used goods even.
Researchers, led by Queensland University of Technology, have found that a third of customers think it is "acceptable" to pocket extra change, while almost half think it is okay to return used goods for a refund.
Lead researcher Dr Larry Neale said as businesses adopt new technologies and move towards self-serve options, knowing what customers believe is ethical or unethical is more important than ever.
Businesses cannot rely on their customers to always do the right thing. Arm's length and self-serve transactions provide the customer with greater opportunities for deviant behaviour. For example banks now use ATMs as the dominant method of dispensing cash to their retail customers.
"Customers who receive less cash than they should when withdrawing from an ATM will likely contact the bank and report the discrepancy. Those customers who receive a cash windfall from the ATM are less likely to contact the bank and refund their windfall."
According to the researchers, as part of the study, which involved more than 3,700 young consumers across five continents over a 10-year span,consumers were asked their ethical views on 14 different customer scenarios ranging from legal to illegal. "From a business perspective, the unfortunate reality is that there is indeed a dark side to consumer behaviour. The results reveal consumers already know that illegal activities such as filing a false claim are unethical."
However there were mixed views of what was "acceptable" when the behaviour was against company policy but not necessarily illegal, for example returning used goods for a refund. "Fortythree per cent of people said they think returning used goods for a refund is acceptable behaviour."
Other surprising results include people who claim senior and child discounts. "Twice the number of people think falsely claiming a child discount (40 per cent) is acceptable, than falsely claiming a seniors discount (21 per cent)."
Whether the behaviour under scrutiny was the decision to keep excess change or to commit fraud, there were consumers who felt such actions were justifiable.
"As a consequence, far too many of these consumers view their own misbehaviour as a way to level the playing field. Either the business wins or the consumer wins in this zerosum game."
