Identifying and correcting microaggressions as a form of discrimination against underrepresented ethnoracial (UER) customers is particularly difficult. Subtle actions can be harmful even if the target doesn’t realize it. Affected people may grow numb to the situation, or even come to accept subpar care.
As part of the research published in the journal Racism and Discrimination in the Marketplace, perceived service between providers and ethnoracial consumers were measured and compared.
“In the context of banking, study 1 of three compares satisfaction ratings across ethnoracial consumers consumers (UER and White) and examines actual behaviors of employees across video recordings of service encounters,” according to the research.
“Study 2 employs a video scenario experiment to demonstrate how ethnoracial consumers consumer perceptions differ in evaluating the same encounter. In study 3, subjects evaluate positive and negative service encounters.”
“Our findings show that if actual service is objectively measured, then managers and policy makers will be able to identify and address undetected instances of discrimination.
