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Another reason customers prefer salesperson relationships are their dislike or apathy towards shopping (Reynolds & Beatty, 1999). Many people enjoy shopping as a leisurely activity, but for others, it is viewed as an inconvenient task or stressful experience. Maintaining salesperson relationships can minimize this dislike for shopping. Salespeople can help make shopping more convenient by relieving customers of some of the duties (Reynolds & Beatty, 1999).
Many patrons may enjoy shopping but are not aware or knowledgeable about the products or services they are purchasing. They may continue a relationship with a salesperson who provides knowledge and guidance to the customer. This helps the customer feel less apprehensive about their purchase and can minimize any perceived risks (Reynolds & Beatty, 1999). .
Finally, customers maintain relationships with salespeople simply because they are social and enjoy the friendships of the salespeople (Benapudi & Berry, 1997). If a .
3.
salesperson relationship is perceived as a friendship, there is a higher level of trust and the customer's psychological and emotional needs are met (Reynolds & Beatty, 1999).
Customer Satisfaction.
Customer satisfaction is theorized as the "discrepancies between customer evaluations and expectations" (Stanforth & Lennon, 1997). There are a couple of different ways to describe customer expectations. Normative expectations are what the customer thinks "ought" or "should" happen. What the customer perceives is likely to happen is termed expectations (Stanforth & Lennon, 1997). Customer standards will vary depending on the store and environment. For example, expectations would be higher at an expensive department store than at a discount retailer. .
It is believed that customers who maintain relationships have a more realistic view of expectations because of their frequency of patronage. They may also be more willing to overlook a small mistake on the part of the salesperson, whereas a normal customer would find the same mistake unacceptable (Stanforth & Lennon, 1997).
