subway yoga mat

we've talked a lot about one-on-one interactions,but erving goffman also wrote an entire chapter on teams. do you remember the story aboutfigure a's performance? to summarize: a dresses like a really environmentally conscious person.oh right! can't forget those sandals and yoga mat. a gets into a hummer and drives awayfrom b. figure b can't help noticing that the "given" performance contradicted the "givenoff". a isn't the only performer in this situation:

subway yoga mat, the driver of the car is part of a's performanceas well. this contradiction has now reflected poorly on a's team. b may now have some seriousdoubts that a and a's driver are friends of the environment. goffman explains that itdoesn't matter how team members are related - it is the shared interaction that matters.let's hear elisabet's story. so, when i was

working in the restaurant it was very importantthat the people don't stay sitting and eating too long because the salary was tip-based.so as soon as they get ready with the dessert we take out all the plates and we put thecheck and we say, "thank you very much for coming!", but sometimes like some customershave the check there and they don't want to pay and they just are talking and we are losingbusiness. what we do is another server, one of my colleagues, will go and pretend "oh!"and take the check and say, "oh, i'm sorry! i thought you put the card already." the waitstaffat this restaurant is a team. they are bound together by the situation and must maintainthis performance throughout their shifts. elisabet has been waiting for table 4 to leavefor several hours. they haven't paid yet.

she wants to nudge them into paying the billand clearing out, but doesn't want to make it obvious. if they catch on, then they probablywon't leave her a tip. goffman might say that elisabet and her co-workers are co-conspirators.they will have to come up with a plan of action to get table 4 to leave without losing elisabet'stip. here's the plan: elisabet's co-worker is going to approach table 4, pick up thebill, and apologize for his mistake. he will retreat, and hopefully table 4 will pay thebill and leave. regions allow the team to plan the performance. elisabet and her co-workerplan in the back region, or kitchen area, where customers are not allowed to go. itis in the front region where the performance is staged and maintained. goffman describedbeing on a team as similar to being in a secret

society. team members share a secret aboutthe strategies they use to keep their performance going. elisabet and her co-worker are keepinga secret from table 4. they staged an unmeant gesture in order to get customers to leave.victory for elisabet and her co-worker! looks like their teamwork paid off.