Customer Gratitude Scale

What it measures

Measures the positive relational emotion customers feel toward a firm in response to relationship investments — when the firm goes beyond the basic transaction to provide special benefits, personalised attention, or unexpected value. Customer gratitude is distinct from dispositional gratitude (the stable trait measured by GQ-6) — it is a specific emotional response to a firm's relationship-oriented behaviour. Palmatier et al. established that gratitude mediates the effect of relationship marketing investments on loyalty, word-of-mouth, and share of wallet, above and beyond satisfaction and commitment. Critical for relationship marketing, CRM, and loyalty programme research.

Representative items

• I feel grateful to this company for the way it treats me as a customer.
• I feel thankful to this company.
• I feel appreciative of this company.
• I feel a warm feeling toward this company because of what they have done for me.
• I feel indebted to this company for the benefits it has provided me.

Citation

Palmatier, R.W., Jarvis, C.B., Bechkoff, J.R., & Kardes, F.R. (2009). The role of customer gratitude in relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 73(1), 1–19.