„Usłyszeć uśmiech” – praca emocjonalna przedstawiciela handlowego w kontekście interakcji z klientem przed pandemią COVID-19 i w jej trakcie
“Hear the Smile” – the Emotional Labour of a Sales Representative in the Context of Customer Interaction Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the interactive activities undertaken in their professional work by sales representatives in the context of their relationship with the customer (buyer, contractor). Actions taken by traders during negotiations and cooperation with the client are described. At the same time, differences in interaction with the contractor during the COVID-19 pandemic were indicated. The emotional work of traders that is performed by them during negotiations and transactions with the buyer is described. The necessity to use shallow emotional work in the current pandemic situation was indicated. The emotional state of the sales representative should be “visible” in the voice of the employee. Due to the transfer of interaction from direct to indirect, by telephone, the client is to “hear the smile” of the employee. The interlocutors indicated lower effectiveness of their work and lower motivation to work. All considerations were based on research conducted for many years by the author of the article in the group of sales representatives and on research conducted in 2021 by Paulina Skiera as part of the bachelor’s seminar conducted by the author. The research was qualitative research with the use of, inter alia, unstructured interviews and observations.

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