A bartender, a brand rep and a customer walk into a bar: an exploration of the expert middleperson in the Persuasion Knowledge Model

Figures & data

Figure 1. Persuasion Knowledge Model (Friestad & Wright, 1994).

Table

Interview Number	Name	Age	Gender
1	Hunter	31	Male
2	Daryl	39	Male
3	Thomas	45	Male
4	Becca	34	Female
5	Brandon	31	Male
6	Max	33	Male
7	Adam	38	Male

Table

Planned Questions	Interview Number
Tell me how you became a bartender and how long have you been working in the industry?	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
How did you come into the role of buying spirits?	1, 2, 3, 4
Can you describe your service style and how that helps you find the best product for the customer?	5, 6, 7
Can you recall your first experience with sales or marketing encouraging you to buy a certain brand?	1, 2, 3, 4
How are relationships formed with brand representatives?	5, 6, 7
When and how do meetings with brand representatives occur?	1, 2, 3, 4
What kind of relationships are formed with brand representatives?	1, 2, 3, 4
How do these relationships start?	1, 2, 3, 4
How do you see your role in the relationship?	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Who benefits from these relationships?	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Do relationships stay strictly professional, and if not, how do they change?	5, 6, 7
Who do you feel has more power in the relationship and does this change?	5, 6, 7
What kind of things do you as a bartender pay attention to in your decision making for purchasing spirits for the bar?	1, 2, 3, 4
Have your roles or activities surrounding the purchasing or marketing of spirits changed over time?	1, 2, 3, 4
How do you feel about influencers in the craft cocktail industry?	4
Have your thoughts and feelings on brand representatives changed over time?	1, 2, 3, 4
Have you ever done a favour for a brand representative?	5, 6, 7
Have you ever asked for a favour from a brand representative?	5, 6, 7
In terms of your opinion of a brand representative, what role does knowledge play?	5, 6, 7
In terms of your opinion of a brand representative, what role does passion play?	5, 6, 7
In terms of your opinion of a brand representative, what role does personality play?	5, 6, 7
What traits do you weigh most heavily in a brand representative?	5, 6, 7
Do you trust brand representatives?	5, 6, 7
How do they build trust?	5, 6, 7
Does anyone else influence your purchasing decisions when stocking the bar?	5, 6, 7
What are your goals when stocking the bar?	3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Do brand representatives have an impact on these goals?	5, 6, 7
Describe your level of expertise with liquor.	1, 2, 3, 4
Describe your customers’ level of expertise with liquor.	1, 2, 3, 4
Describe your brand representatives’ level of expertise with liquor.	1, 2, 3, 4
What are the most helpful aspects of a brand representative’s job?	5, 6, 7
Have you ever felt an obligation to a brand representative?	5, 6, 7
Have brand representatives helped improve you as a bartender?	5, 6, 7
Have brand representatives helped improve your job satisfaction?	5, 6, 7
Would you become a brand representative?	5, 6, 7
Would you consider brand representatives important to your career?	5, 6, 7
Describe your service style as a bartender.	1, 2, 3, 4
Do you use marketing or persuasion to convince your customers to purchase a particular spirit?	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Do you try to sell particular spirits to improve your tips?	5, 6, 7
Do you try to sell particular spirits to help the bar sell more?	5, 6, 7
Do you try to upsell your customers?	1, 2, 3, 4
Do you think the actions or methods of brand representatives affect how you relay information to a customer?	1, 2, 3, 4

Friestad, M., & Wright, P. (1994). The persuasion knowledge model: How people cope with persuasion attempts. Journal of Consumer Research, 21(1), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1086/209380

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Data availability statement

Data will be made available as per request to authors.