Marilyn Monroe famously said that
“diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” and her words have had a lasting effect on
women around the world. Over time she
has become a symbol for sexuality, luxury, and beauty. Similarly, so have diamonds and other fine
jewelry over the years. Diamonds not
only symbolize status and wealth, but they are also used as a sign of
everlasting love. Advertisements,
movies, and television shows have conditioned us to view marriage in a
particular way, and they have helped to shape our beliefs and values also. Men are taught that the way to a woman’s
heart is through diamonds, and women are taught that men show their love and
commitment through buying them. Since we
have this dominant cultural ideology in today’s society, I decided that a
perfect option for this assignment would be to visit a high end jewelry
store. I chose to go to Tivol on the
Country Club Plaza in order to see what types of persuasion the employees use
in order to sell diamonds. I found the
salespeople to be particularly effective at persuading me through atmospherics,
cognitive shorthands, and coactive persuasion.
One
of the first things that I noticed when I entered this high end jewelry store
was the elegant atmosphere. Not only is
the Country Club Plaza an incredibly nice place to shop, but the stores located
within this outdoor shopping center are all nicely landscaped and flawlessly
decorated. Tivol is no different, with
white pillars and marble décor outside of the store. Although I was somewhat intimidated by the
clientele entering the store, I entered the store anyways and proceeded to look
around. The soft, romantic music
instantly calmed me, and the darker walls further encouraged me to look at the
lit up cases of jewelry. The scent
inside the store was a musky mixture of lavender and vanilla. It seemed to me that the scent was neither
feminine nor masculine, and that it was a romantic scent that appealed to both
genders. When I walked in I immediately
saw a table of discounted jewelry which also made me feel more comfortable, for
it seemed that they were trying to cater to people who were on a budget as
well. Although the store is known for
being very expensive and high end, the inviting atmosphere made me feel
comfortable enough to continue to shop.
After
I had been looking around for a few minutes, a middle aged man confidently
walked up to me and began to ask me some questions. I immediately felt the need to show him
respect because of his business suit and gentlemanly behavior. Instead of simply asking how I was feeling,
he said “how do you do miss?” I told him
that I was very well and explained to him that my boyfriend suggested that I go
look at engagement rings. Even though I
never told him what my boyfriend did for a living, or what I suspected my price
range was, this was obviously something he was excited to hear. He started asking me what carat of diamond I
would prefer, and what type of cut I would potentially want. Since I do not own any expensive jewelry, I
was somewhat confused and overwhelmed by his terminology. He seemed incredibly knowledgeable about all
different types of diamonds and jewelry, and I started to become submissive to
him and felt his authority over me.
Since I know nothing about jewelry, I felt as though I should listen to
his opinions about what type of jewelry would be the best for me.
As
I continued to listen to this man, a beautiful and well-dressed woman
approached me and asked me if I would care for some champagne while I
shopped. Although I politely declined
her generous offer, this idea of pre-giving made me want to continue to
interact with the salespeople. She
questioned me about my life and showed genuine interest in me, and the
communication seemed receiver-oriented.
As the saleswoman learned more about me and my interests, she was also
keeping my attention, making it easier for her to persuade me. She realized that I probably was not in any
position to buy any jewelry that day, and so she used different strategies to
try to get me to purchase something. She
informed me about payment plans, and showed me jewelry that was very
affordable. She seemed to genuinely want
to satisfy me as a customer even though I am sure she understood that I was not
in any position to buy anything.
After some time
had passed, the man approached me again and asked me if I had seen any rings
that I wanted to try on. Even though I
would have wanted any ring in the store, I decided to ask him to choose a few
for me that he felt suited me the best.
The first ring he had me try on was obscenely expensive with an enormous
diamond, and it looked ridiculous on my hand.
When I openly admitted that it was far too expensive he showed me
another ring. This ring was less
expensive, and the diamond was a little smaller. Even though this ring was still way over my
price range, in comparison to the other ring it seemed to be much more
affordable. I immediately upped my price
range in order to continue to try on rings that were similar to this particular
ring. The way that he contrasted the
rings made me change my perception about how much money should be spent, and I
ended up wanting to spend more than I originally did.
As
I proceeded to try on a plethora of beautiful diamond rings, many different
salespeople began to compliment me on how amazing the rings looked on me. They also complimented my hands, manicured
nails, and impeccable taste in jewelry.
Although I knew that they were simply trying to get me to buy something,
I felt flattered and I wanted them to continue to like me. I almost wanted to purchase something in
order to be liked and admired, even though I knew it was completely
insincere. Instead of purchasing
something, I found the ring of my dreams and asked the man who had been helping
me about the price, and if he could give my boyfriend some sort of deal if he
were to purchase the ring from this particular store. He told me that if my boyfriend were to come
in before the end of the week that he would be able to offer him a percentage
off of the original price. He seemed to
act as though this sale was only available for a limited time only, and that
sales were scarcely offered. This made
me feel as though I would never be able to buy this ring unless it was within
the week.
I
learned so much about persuasion through this experience. I found that there are many aspects that
factor in to persuading customers to purchase items, and that persuasion is not
always defined as a pushy salesperson trying to force you to buy
something. I was not pushed by anyone at
Tivol to purchase any jewelry, however they did persuade me in less obvious
ways. The inviting atmospherics made me
want to stay longer in the store and admire the fine jewels. The authoritative and complimentary staff
encouraged me to listen to their opinions and want to be liked. They contrasted different rings to get me to
up my price range without overtly letting me know that they wanted me to spend
more money. Finally, they used scarcity
to make it appear as though this was a fantastic deal that would not be there
for long.
Although
I could sense that their motives were selfish and insincere, the staff did
successfully persuade me in many ways throughout my time at Tivol. Even though it appears as though these types
of persuasion are not completely ethical because their main purpose is to sell
jewelry, it also seems as though it is not entirely unethical either. In today’s society it is difficult to make a
living, especially in sales. I did not
get the impression that the employees at Tivol were going out of their way to
be dishonest and unethical, but that they were genuinely interested in
satisfying their customers in order to make a profit. However, I have become much more aware of the
different types of persuasion that salespeople use, and I believe that I have
grown into a smarter consumer.
References
Jones, J. G.,
Simons, H. W. (2011). Persuasion
in society (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
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