The Longer the Better? the Effect of Service Duration on Service Judgments

Consumers tend to evaluate services based on the duration of the services. In a series of experiments, we show that (a) judgments that are based on duration deviate from more optimal judgments that are based on the actual content of the service, and (b) the impact of duration on judgment is more apparent when duration is considered in relation to the price of the service than when it is evaluated alone. We also document a situation in which the use of duration backfires and leads to judgments that not just deviate from, but are opposite of an optimal judgment. Finally, a field study provided external validity for the duration heuristic by demonstrating its impact in a real-world consumer setting.

Citation:

Catherine Yeung and Dilip Soman (2006) ,"The Longer the Better? the Effect of Service Duration on Service Judgments", in AP - Asia-Pacific Advances in Consumer Research Volume 7, eds. Margaret Craig Lees, Teresa Davis, and Gary Gregory, Sydney, Australia : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: .