BY PATRICK M. SHERIDAN FOR CNNMoney
Apparently, rude sales people and fancy brands go well together.
At least that's what a recent study shows. Shoppers appear to want to buy more of the high end brands after being treated badly, according to research conducted by two professors.
"As upsetting as it is to be condescended to, in a luxury environment it appears to work in the brand's favor," said Morgan Ward, who teaches at Southern Methodist University. He said it's about wanting to be "part of the tribe" or the in-crowd.
Ward co-authored the research paper, which was based on several scenarios in which participants interacted with phony salespeople they thought worked for upscale brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton or Burberry. Some of the people posing as sales staff were rude and some were not.
Surprisingly, customers in the simulations had an increased desire to buy the luxury goods after being treated rudely. In fact, the ruder they were, the higher the desire to buy the posh items.
