Maintaining norms about expressed emotions: the case of bill collectors

Administrative Science Quarterly,  June, 1991  by Robert I. Sutton

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5. Supervisor interviews. I conducted semistructured interviews with supervisors of buckets two, three, and six and recovery. They had between five and 20 years experience in the industry. In addition to supervising collectors, they routinely gave "manager talk-offs" to recalcitrant or irate debtors. Interviews lasted ninety minutes to two hours and were recorded and transcribed. Prepared questions concerned the supervisors' experience and responsibilities, the kind of person best suited to be a collector, how collectors were treated during the first days on the job, emotions collectors were expected to convey, and expected practices for dealing with different types of debtors. As in group interviews, I pursued other promising topics that arose.

6. Observing collectors. I observed 10 collectors while they worked. I sat alongside five collectors, one each in buckets two, three, five, and six and recovery. Each "side-by-side" lasted one to three hours. I watched the screen and (in four cases) used a headset to listen to calls. The collector and I discussed each call after it ended and communicated during calls via notes, facial expressions, pointing at the screen, and talking while the mute button was engaged. I observed another five collectors through the "spy-and-tell" system, which enabled managers to hear the collector and debtor and to see screens reviewed by the collector. I sat with a manager while she monitored the collectors and provided a running commentary on their performance during a two-hour period.

7. Written materials. I gathered written materials, including newsletters, a training manual, a book describing the corporation's philosophy of lending and its collection operation, annual reports, and flyers about contests intended to motivate employees.

Analyses