ABSTRACT
Employees in service jobs are accountable to two different "masters": their employers and managers, on the one hand, and their clients and customers on the other. Employers intervene and attempt to control the service encounter in order to extract maximum efficiency and productivity. In retail work, this control has extended over workers' behavior, over their emotions, and, increasingly, over their appearance. Employers look for workers who already embody a particular habitus. The assessment of aesthetic labor is highly subjective, and it is linked to employer discrimination. Retailers seek out workers who already use their brand, know its cultural meanings, and match the lifestyle associated with it. This chapter reveals the following organizational strategies used by employers to select the right workers: (a) vetting creative talents, (b) hiring customers off the floor, (c) offering discounts instead of higher wages, and (d) prolonging interviews and manipulating schedules. The demand for aesthetic labor justifies continued job segregation.
