Traditionally, marketing researchers have assumed that consumers behave irrationally when they purchase, use, and dispose of products and hire services. Consumers' misbehaviours are defined as 'behavioural acts by consumers which violate the generally accepted norms of conduct in consumption situations'. These acts include verbal and/or physical abuse, shoplifting/theft, creating a cost/loss, vandalism, and trashing but are conceptually distinct from other more appropriate (but negative) behaviours such as making a legitimate complaint, switching, or exit. For example, abnormal consumer behaviour (misbehaviour in acquiring products, excessive buying to compensate for psychological problems); product misuse: addictive buying drugs and alcohol, gambling binge eating/drinking/smoking; illegal consumer behaviour (misbehaviour in acquiring products-theft, shoplifting, black markets, bootlegging, counterfeiting brands), product misuse: underage drinking, smoking and sex-related products and services, drug use and abuse.
In many super shops and grocery shops, sometimes, consumers steal products. Sometimes, many customers demand more rather than they deserve, disturb other customers, want service faster, and shout to the sales people and receptionists. In many customer care centres, sometimes, customers come to bother them without any problem, waste valuable time of service people and sometimes customers call to the service centre at midnight just for having fun. Consumers' misbehaviour and marketing activities are interrelated. Such as, consumers' misbehaviours for price include avoidance of paying, giving too much change, or falsely claiming the reverse; knowingly taking advantage of loans and credit when financial position won't sustain these; credit card fraud. Consumers' misbehaviours for distribution are vandalism of shops and shopping mall, illegal or unethical distribution of counterfeit goods, use of unauthorised distribution to sell bootleg products, physically damaging in-store displays and carpets. Consumers' misbehaviours for promotion are adding graffiti to posters, distorting (via word of mouth or on-line communities) advertising messages to damage the reputation of a brand out of spite.) Such misbehaviours with marketing employees and other consumers are being abusive to front-line marketing staff such as call centre operatives, complaint departments, store operators and service staff, double standards adopted by the same individual in their capacity as a marketer and consumers.
Practically, a better understanding of consumer misbehaviour will assist marketing managers to develop suitable policies to deal with misbehaving consumers as well as creating more effective training systems for service employees. These changes have the potential to decrease the incidents and/or escalation of misbehaviour, which in turn may increase service providers' wellbeing-a precondition for a safer and more agreeable work environment.
Bibi Kulsum Lipi
East West University
lipialam94@yahoo.com
