Personal Characteristics Inspiring Initial Trust – What Matters in Service Encounters?

Research background: The following article concerns initial trust, i.e. trust which is formed during the first contact with a customer. Trust is, of course, an interdisciplinary category and as such it is defined in various ways; however, it is most often emphasized that it entails a positive attitude towards another person and a conviction that the person will meet our expectations. In relation to a particular individual, trust is connected with their identity, that is, with the attributes that distinguish them from other people, such as gender, skin color, way of dressing, or age.