Mum no longer Number One!

Bad news mums – a son’s loyalty lies with his partner and not you, a study by Costa who launch their ‘Coffee Club’ customer rewards card today has revealed.

After spending years dreading the day when their little boy grows up, one of a mum’s worst fears has come true with guys admitting they feel more loyalty towards their wife or girlfriend than their own mother.

Even their best friend features higher on the loyalty list than mum, while their dad and siblings completed the top five.

But unfortunately for those guys, the feeling isn’t mutual as the study revealed that girls are more likely to put their best friend above their other half.

Mum’s followed close behind, along with their fathers, brothers and sisters.

Loyalty Manager for Costa, George Gee, who commissioned the research to discover what drives loyalty when it comes to relationships and purchasing decisions said:

“Most mums dread the day when they are no longer needed by their little boys, but will accept that it is going to happen at some point. But to find out their sons are more likely to be loyal to their partner than them is going to make them worry even more.

“It’s interesting to see that women aren’t as likely to think of their partner so highly, putting their best friend before him.

“What is clear however is that men and women of all ages value loyalty. The research also shows they like being rewarded for it. 85 per cent of people said they believed businesses should be offering more rewards for their custom. Our new Costa Coffee Club will do just that”

The poll of 3,000 Brits found that women are more loyal than men, with 71 per cent of girls saying they consider themselves to be a loyal person, compared to just 67 per cent of guys.

And half of all Brits reckon they are more loyal than they were five years ago, with the majority putting this down to lessons they have learnt during their lives.

Researchers also discovered that infidelity is considered the biggest act of disloyalty by half of Brits, followed by being lied to, or spoken about behind their backs.

It’s not just relationships where Brits feel loyal. 15 per cent of people feel guilt-ridden if they drink a coffee that’s not from their usual brand or shop, and one in five feel guilty if they don’t do their shopping in their usual store.

George Gee from Costa added: “Rewards, great quality products and great service were cited as the top motivators for loyalty to a shop, brand or business  

“At Costa we pride ourselves on offering our customers the very best coffee, food, service and experience. We are delighted to now be able to show coffee lovers that we value their custom with our new ‘Coffee Club’.”

The Costa poll also revealed that guys rate their favourite football team highly, putting them sixth in the list of people and things they feel most loyal to.

Men overall voted their country in at number seven – a wide gap seen between the patriotic 56+ age group who rated it 3^rd and 22-25 year olds who ranked it only 8^th.

Work colleagues took eighth place while their pets and favourite brands took the ninth and tenth spots.

But animal-loving women voted their beloved pets into sixth place, followed then by their co-workers and the county they live in.

Loyal girls even named their boss as part of their top ten, with their best-loved brands close behind.

The ‘Coffee Club’, is a free and easy card based reward programme enabling customers to earn points with every purchase to spend on any food, drink and merchandising item in Costa stores nationwide from March 4th 2010. 

Top ten things men and women are most loyal to

Men

• Girlfriend/Wife
• Best friend
• Mum
• Dad
• Brothers/Sisters
• Favourite football/sports team
• Your country
• Work colleagues
• Pets
• Favourite brands

Women

• Best friend
• Husband/boyfriend
• Mum
• Dad
• Brothers/sisters
• Pets
• Work Colleagues
• Your Country
• Boss
• Favourite brands