1. Daniel
Lawrence
1
Ethnography at TOPO
In order to lessen the impact of my observations on those I am observing, I chose a restaurant. I felt that a
restaurant would easily disguise my note taking for a few reasons. First, I would just look like another
customer, and by choosing to use my phone to take notes—instead of a much larger computer or
notebook—any changes in behavior should have been eliminated. Second, The buzz of a busy restaurant
would camouflage my constant observations because customers would be focused on their own meals and
interactions. TOPO (Top of The Hill) was chosen because on a Friday night, it would be the perfect place
— Consumers & Conversations—
Upon walking into the restaurant, it was obvious that most of the customers were students
eating with their families. These families included brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and in some
cases even family members outside of the nuclear family, like grandparents. Besides the family
gatherings, there were also many college-aged men and women on dates. While the families
were wearing more causal wear, (t-shirts, polos, and jeans) the students on dates were dressed
very formally. The “couples” engaged in much more detailed conversations, speaking about
specific professors, their favorite places on campus, and I even heard one of them mention where
they see themselves in 5 years. The families spoke more generally about the student’s overall
feel for the classes, and about what each family member was up to. It seemed they were just
catching up, whereas the dates were preforming some sort of investigation.
Analysis
These families were discussing the football game, so I assume they were planning on staying
down for the weekend or for a few days to watch the game and spend some time with their
children attending UNC. Also, judging by the formal clothing worn on the dates, there was
probably a sorority or fraternity event later that day and the members were taking their date our
prior to the event. I noticed that the conversations
— Ambiance —
The first thing I noticed was the fact that many people were waiting at the entrance
because “no seating was available,” but somehow both my friend and myself were greeted and
given a seat right away. The restaurant is arranged with the hostess up front, the bar next and
then a relatively large sit-down dining table section. The bar was pretty busy, but most people
were eating as well as drinking. It also surprised me to see such “top-shelf” liquor at TOPO, they
seemed to have a very vast selection (including their own brand) but I did not see many people
order the higher end brands.
The overall dining section was dimly lit with a low muttering of folky style music, which
provided a nice comforting ambiance. As the night moved on, the music gradually shifted to a
more “poppy” style. The loud chatter of the customers somewhat overpowered the music, but the
level of conversation did not detract the overall relaxing feel and hearing the members at your
own table was not challenging. The outside section, on the other hand, seemed to be less
desirable and more and more people complained about being seated out there as the night
progressed. These complains were compounded when customers who has been waiting were
walked by empty tables not labeled “reserved”. It seems the restaurant needed some help with
organization on crowded nights.
— Orders and Servers—
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Lawrence
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The servers were very forthcoming and helpful throughout the dining experience. I
witnessed them constantly checking on customers, making suggestions for drinks and orders and
even spending time “getting to know the consumers”. I noticed that the servers did not offer you
sparkling water, and instead, placed a glass of iced tap water on the table before the customers
arrived. This was interesting to me because I have only been to one restaurant that did offer
sparkling water with dinners, (Kipos Greek Taverna) which is not good news for Pellegrino and
made me consider the fact that usually only European-style restaurants might offer this amenity.
I could not believe the amount of people who ordered the special of the day (A steak with
collard greens and okra). The special was among the most popular items on the menu, along with
the Coke and Whiskey Braised Beef, and the Fried Chicken. The menu consisted of quite a few
healthy items, but they were not very popular. I believe my friend was the only one to order the
kale salad and flatbread. It seemed that the restaurant lacked a children’s menu, and although I
did not ask them directly, I saw many children ordering larger entrees like the N.Y. Strip Steak
or the Fried Chicken meal.
• When would you use ethnographies, as applied specifically to your client this semester?
Why then? How would you go about your observations? Where would you go? What
would be the goals of the observation, i.e., what would you be looking to find? Justify
your decision.
Our client this semester is Pellegrino and there are a few key times when ethnographies
would be a perfect way to find out more about our customers. If we were looking to launch a
new product, ethnographies would be a great way to see firsthand what products the customer
purchases. Overtime, we could find patterns in consumption for the different demographics, like
what price ranges the consumers consider, the quantity of products they purchase, why they
purchase certain products, and even what flavors they prefer. This information would give us an
idea of what consumers are looking for and what ways we could effectively design the product.
Ethnographies would also be helpful in discovering what discounts and deals interest consumers
the most (2 for 1, 10 for $10, Buy 2 get 1 free, etc.).
I think the best way to go about using participant observation, as a research method,
would be to limit consumer contact and bias as much as possible. We could limit consumer
contact in a few ways. First, we could use the pre-existing cameras set up in stores to look at
consumers natural reactions to price changes, deals, new packaging, and purchasing decisions.
This method would be the best way to ensure that the research is not affected by internal
complications. I believe another good way to find out about consumer purchasing decisions
would be to hire secret shoppers to measure what impact these shoppers have on the real
shoppers. We could have these secret shoppers engage with the consumer in different ways and
record the customers reactions. This would show us how people can influence purchasing
decisions, both verbally and by their very presence.
There are three locations where ethnographies would help us the most, in the grocery
store, in convenience stores, and in restaurants (both those that serve Pellegrino and those that
don’t). These are the main places were we can both learn about our competition, and about
consumer purchasing decisions in different situations; buying for home use, buying for
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Lawrence
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immediate use, and buying for gradual use over a meal. We would look at these three locations
because they would provide us with the three main instances where Pellegrino and other drinks
are consumed. If there was anything I learned by doing this ethnography, it is that even in
seemingly irrelevant situations, you can learn a tremendous amount of information about people
and this can lead you to investigate further and in unexpected places (like researching for S.
Pellegrino in restaurants that do not even serve it).
4. Daniel
Lawrence
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Ambiance
-‐ Waiters/Waitresses
o Very forthcoming
o Helpful and opinionated- gave suggestions to us and a numerous amount of
people with their orders.
o Spent a lot of time “getting to know the customer”
o Relatively quick and timely ordering.
o Did not offer sparkling water- hmm…
-‐ Many tables were empty and not obviously reserved, but turned people away and made
them wait. When they finally were called to be seated, they complained about how many
open places there were.
-‐ Inside Section
o Busy but contained empty tables.
o Dimly light- provided a nice and relaxing environment.
o Loud conversation overpowered the music (From Bob Dylan (Folk) & country to
more pop music style later in the night) , but was not so intense that it distracted
from the overall relaxing feeling. Perfectly capable to keep a conversation with
the person across from you.
o Large groupings of tables for families.
-‐ Outside section
o Seemed less desirable, but in the summer and even colder weather it is usually
very popular. The rain must have affected the vibe.
-‐
Orders
-‐ Meal
o Quite a few people went for the special- Some sort of steak with collard greens,
okra, and potatoes.
o Whiskey and Coke braised beef was popular as well
o Friend Chicken popular
o Healthier options on the menu…not so much.
o My friend was probably one of the only ones I saw that ordered a salad and a
flatbread.
o Didn’t seem to have a children’s menu, but many children…hmmm
o
o
-‐ Drinks
o Lots of Beer (obviously it’s a brewery)
o Some cocktails
o People spent quite a while in selecting these drinks
§ EXCEPT the beer drinking men (and some women)
• They knew what beer they wanted as soon a the waiter came over
and ordered it right away.
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o One exception to this: Two men next to us kept asking for
samples of beer… which I thought was weird because they
sell flights… but the WAITER did cater to their every
whim and got them samples.
