Since my first observation in my chosen lab isn't due until next week, I decided to practice my observation skills by going to a local coffee shop (a Starbucks, specifically ) and seeing what happens there. The first thing I immediately noticed were, of course, the things that make it difficult to observe: the music at medium-high volume makes it slightly difficult to hear staff conversations, while the high counters prevent you from seeing much of the area of work. That music obscures conversations seems to be its purpose, or at least one of its purposes. It's loud enough that you can hold a relatively private conversation without expecting others to hear exactly what you're saying. But at the same time, it just obscures the conversation, doesn't hide it entirely, so the cafe still seems lively when there are people talking. I suspect it also provides an illusion of liveliness even when the cafe is otherwise quiet. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Counters serve the dual purpose of storing and delineating barriers: Within the barriers formed by the counters is the work area, where it would be taboo for a customer to enter. From my seat in the bar, I can see some of the contents of these counters and notice that the stored items are the ones that seem to spoil the "theme" of the other more displayed items on the higher selves. Visible items stored in the cafe are universally unopened, almost organized, with colorful labels mostly displaying the store's logo. These are all items used in the creation of the various coffee products made here - coffee beans, teas, bottles of flavored syrup, etc. - and yet none of the items displayed are open. Syrups/bags of coffee beans/etc. Those that are actually open and in use are stored lower down, in doors hidden from the view of most customers. I suspect this is to maintain an image of cleanliness and healthiness: an open container, after all, is exposed to the elements and bacteria, prone to spoilage. The consumer sees only the well-organized and sealed ingredients: the actual disorganization of the process of creating the drink hidden by the high counters. The store design itself projects a different idea of ​​what is happening to the consumer than the reality of the process. Let's move on to the process itself. When I observed, there were three staff members visibly on duty. The first customer they interacted with was the cashier, although this was not their only job. When a customer ordered a drink, the cashier asked for two key pieces of information: the drink they wanted, followed by their name, before taking the money and handing them the receipt and chance. They couldn't take the time to tell this information to other workers, so the cups were used as a means to convey the message directly to those who would be preparing drinks. The attendant would take a cup of the appropriate size for the drink and write on the cup the name of the drink to be put in the cup and the name of the person who ordered it, before placing it on a counter behind the counter. cashier (between the cashier and the other staff). The now transcribed cup is then taken by the other two workers, who get to work actually producing the drink described by the transcription. The machines used vary depending on the specific drink, to the point that if you knew nothing about the purpose of coffee shops, you might assume that the only standardized product made were the cups themselves. Of course, the.