Controling the uncontrolable: the application of attendance rules in the construction of mutual comprehension between client and attendants in a Call Center

Abstract

This article aims to analyze mutual understanding as an aspect of dyadic behaviors in a service encounter, since it is a little-explored discursive element as the literature on Marketing and People Management shows (MA; DUBÉ, 2011). Specifically, we investigate how mutual understanding may or may not be constructed between callers and call-takers of a helpline in accordance to the guidelines (textual element) made by People Management that call-takers must follow in the process. We use the Conversation Analysis approach (SACKS; SCHEGLOFF; JEFFERSON, 1974) to analyze naturally-occurring interactions in a micro ethnographic way. The data comprise 126 audio-recorded interactions from Disque Saúde call center in Brasilia. The results reveal that simply following the guidelines does not guarantee the construction of mutual understanding and, on the contrary, leaves room for distinct social actions, like abandoning mutual comprehension when call-takers face interactional demands that cannot be predicted by a script.