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Playing the Game

Social Experiments

By Marissa HallPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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I never understood the saying “you got to play the game” while shopping. What game was I forced to play and who was I playing for? That all changed when I went to T-Mobile to look at new phones.

The first time I went in to shop for a new phone I was not looking my best. I wore sweatpants and a large t-shirt. My hair was up, and I wore no makeup. Honestly, I was not worried about how I looked. It was a Saturday morning and I was out running my errands. However, the customer service I was received was horrible! The employees asked me simple questions, “finding everything alright” and before I could even respond they were off to help someone else. The employees were more fixated on helping families who looked like they could afford expensive phones. That was when I decided that I wanted to do a social experiment.

I love doing social experiments and it gives me great insight to the world we live in. What better way to understand people’s behavior than doing inconspicuous experiments? I have stood in an elevator with some of friends backwards, causing everyone else in the elevator to feel extremely uncomfortable. Eventually, one person followed suit! No one was harmed and no one (except my friends) knew what I was doing. So, it was time for another social experiment.

I went back into T-Mobile, this time wearing a pair of nice jeans and a nice blouse. My hair was still up, and I wore a small amount of makeup. I still got the “finding everything alright” question, but this time the employees waited for an answer. I looked around the store and noticed that most of the employees were the same ones working when I was wearing sweatpants. I was waiting for recognition, but none came. So, I continued shopping and decided to take my social experiment to the next level.

About a week later I went back to T-Mobile, this time wearing a cute dress and sandals. My hair was curled and I wore the normal amount of makeup that I typically do. I had three employees come over to me and ask me if I needed help. It surprised me that not all of them were male. In fact, only one male came over to me and asked if I needed help. So, the stereotypical gender theory was out the window. I had at least one employee with me the whole time I was at the store. All of them were very helpful and gave me some advice on buying a new phone and I ended up buying a phone later that week.

I was surprised that there were major differences in the way I was treated. When I wore sweatpants, none of them employees bothered to really help me. I could have been filthy rich, but because I was dressed “poor” no one seemed to care. When I wore jeans, I got treated just like everyone else. The employees were helpful but, no one went out of their way to help me. However, when I wore a dress I felt like I was treated like a princess in the store. Everyone wanted to help me (they might have been working off commission.) It was like the other customers did not matter. While it was a nice feeling, the game they were playing was obvious.

It surprised me at how accurate “you got to play the game” is. Not only does it work in a professional setting but, it even works when shopping. Sometimes people can be difficult to figure out, what they are thinking and why their actions are what they are. However, after doing the social experiments it is easier to understand that people “like what they see.” I learned from dressing up that people tend to see money and whoever is dressed nice probably will buy something. I learned from the elevator experiment that people do not like to be uncomfortable and want to fit in, even if the environment is off.

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