"Its Own Little City": Service Work in Truck Stops

Abstract

Montana truck stops act as a meeting place for long-haul truckers, vacationers, local commuters, and the workers simply trying to earn a living. Today, the employees at such truck stops operate at the intersection of customer service, the trucking industry, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Although each of these has been studied individually, the research I conducted during the summer and fall of 2020 offers a unique view of how customer service employees fared during political unrest, global health concerns, and financial struggle. Additionally, this study highlights the power dynamics that exist in the service industry by examining how such dynamics manifest in the interactions surrounding face masks, sexual harassment, and unhappy customers. I conducted this study using ethnography and interviews. During the summer of 2020, I worked full-time at a truck stop near Missoula and documented the interactions I observed. I then interviewed four truck stop employees from across Montana to develop a broader understanding of what it is like to work at a truck stop. The data I collected with these methods suggests that truck stop employees are concerned with how customers approach mask mandates, either because the employees are concerned for their health or because they do not want to enforce mandates on customers who resist. My findings also suggest that interacting with customers can be the source of both connection and frustration, depending on the customers' moods and behaviors. The qualitative nature of this study allows me to tell the stories of those who are often overlooked in academia and beyond. Although truck stops occupy little space in most people's day-to-day experiences, they are dynamic, interesting, sometimes contradictory spaces where people of all political stances, religious ideologies, genders, sexual orientations, and worldviews come together. The resulting interactions can be predictably challenging, or surprisingly warm and pleasant. My research offers a glimpse not only into the microcosm of truck stops, but also provides valuable insight about society as a whole.