Pretending and Dissembling: The Act of Service

  • Dana Yagil

Abstract

The chapter introduces the notion that service involves many elements found in the theater. Typically, service providers are encouraged by their organization to present a performance to the customers, who generally accept and approve of the artificial nature of the service situation. In the dramaturgical context, the service interaction is analyzed in terms of roles, with the service provider as an actor and the customer as audience. The norms underlying the development of the service process, which mold the parties’ expectations and behaviors, are discussed in terms of the service script. The physical environment in which the interaction takes place is viewed as a theater set, meant to stimulate desired emotions and behaviors on the part of the audience.

Keywords

Service Provider Emotion Regulation Positive Emotion Emotional Exhaustion Impression Management 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Notes

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© Dana Yagil 2008

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  • Dana Yagil

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