Orchard Supply Hardware Case Summary

Currently, I work for Orchard Supply Hardware as a part time cashier, meaning that I work four or eight-hour shifts. Part of this job, besides making sure that the customer pays for their items, is making sure that the customer leaves the store satisfied with their shopping experience. As the first and last person that the customer sees before they leave the store it is my job to present myself in a pleasant manner that acts in accordance with the company’s mission to be the friendly neighborhood hardware store. In order to support Orchard’s mission each employee is asked to always be smiling and be focused solely on the customers. Ultimately, as Hochschild explains, in order to act in agreement with the company’s regulations and rules emotion
Furthermore, Hochschild explains that emotions are not just reactions but they are also social expressions of the emotional state that give us cues on how to act. This applies to being aware of the way that one presents themselves to others, how loud one is talking, and being able to read other peoples body language so that one can respond in the correct manner. In this case, as the customer walked in to the store I was able to read that he was not in a good mood because his brows were furrowed, he did not respond or make eye contact at my greeting, and he walked through the store with his arms crossed and his clenched jaw. The body language that this man exhibited let me know that I was going to need to adjust my communication; I was going to have to try harder to make sure that he left the store with a positive experience. I made sure that I adjusted my tone to only reflect positivity, kept a smile on my face, and made sure that I was talking quieter than I normally would to make sure that the customer did not feel as though I was to engage in an argument with him. This man’s body language and tone of voice also let my manager know that she was needed in order to help diffuse the