Accent of customers can cause bias, says new study
ACCENTS CAN dictate a level of “unconscious bias” when it comes to customer service, new research suggests, with British or French inflections seen as most favourable.
Researchers in Sheffield, carrying out a mystery-shopping style study, found house hunters with these accents were given preferential treatment by estate agents.
But first-time buyers with an accent from eastern Europe, the Middle East or Africa were treated with the lowest levels when it came to customer service.
Researchers from the University of Sheffield’s School of Languages and Cultures said there “could be a level of unconscious bias in the way estate agents deal with their customers”.
“Our research has found that not everyone is getting the same treatment when they’re taking this significant step in their lives, particularly those from minority backgrounds,” said Nicole Baumgarten, lecturer in translation and intercultural communication studies.
Women with Romanian names and accents were given the worst level of customer service, according to the study.
All of the prospective homeowners taking part in the research were women in their late 20s and had names and accents that appeared to be either from Britain or from countries in central and eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The volunteers gave only their names to estate agents when inquiring about buying a house for the first time.
The researchers found that while a good level of customer service was given to most of the participants and there was little evidence of overt discrimination, estate agents did appear to
be friendlier in their approach to women with names and accents that appear to be from Britain or France.
Dr Baumgarten said they engaged in more social conversations and displayed more signs of empathy and solidarity compared with the conversations they had with women with other accents.
“For example, when speaking to someone who they thought were British or French, the estate agents would typically engage in more informal social conversations such as asking them about their day, where they work, making jokes, or saying things which showed they empathised with the process of trying to buy a first home,” she said.
“When speaking to someone who they thought were from a different country, the estate agents tended to remain more reserved and avoided more social conversations.”