Intercultural relationships across the counter: An interactional analysis of in situ service encounters

Relationships between immigrant entrepreneurs and customers typically gain attention after negative encounters that at times end tragically. These events are framed along racial lines, positing the immigrant store owner (e.g., Korean, Chinese, Arab, or Chaldean) and African American customers against one another. Subsequent research on the topic has primarily focused on structural factors that are said to impede the economic development of the African American community that thus foster frustration and resentment. Intercultural communication research has also been used to determine whether culturally based language barriers impede effective understanding. Little has been done, however, to examine what actually happens in the service encounters and the nature of the worker-customer relationship as it develops on a daily basis. This study investigates the immigrant entrepreneur and customer relationship by examining what happens across the counter day-in and day-out. Using conversational analytic techniques, ethnographic methods, focus groups, and open-ended interviews, the research concludes that the relationship is more complex than previously believed. Findings indicate that while confrontations do exist, they are not the norm. The store relationship is better characterized by the routine and mundane nature of the encounters that produce no obvious antagonism. Rather, close and positive relationships between workers and customers are more likely to emerge across the counter. Finally, the relationship, whether positive or negative, is an interactional achievement that emerges out of the convenience store and service encounter context.