The Little Girl, the Shaky Old Man, and More!

It is five in the afternoon, raining, and I am on drive-thru at Royalty Burger. At every order I ask “how’s the rain treating you?” and virtually everyone who has lived here for an extended period of time answered. However, a few people seemed unamused with the rain, which we had not gotten enough of in a long time. I would often ask if they were from some other part of the United States and they would respond with a rainy state of origin.

It is now 6:30pm and I am helping clean up and stock the lobby. A blond little girl, probably 5 or 6 years old, walked up to the drink station and was trying to get a refill. She could not reach it. I asked if she would like me to help and she responded “yes”. While I had expected to take the container and refill it myself she wanted to “do it too”, so I guided her hand to the ice and then to her desired drink. It was pretty cute, especially when she ran off with her drink, stopped as if she had forgotten something, and then turned to say “thank you”.

My headset went off to let me know a customer was at the drive-thru and I respond in my usual greeting. It is apparent that I have a cranky customer, which is not uncommon, but is always annoying. This person in particular seemed to be on a mission to put me in a foul mood. I quickly turned on the “bright and shiny” fake smile and proceeded to cash him out. He was an elderly man with a scruffy beard, worn clothes, and slender body.

Not long after Old’n Cranky came Mr. Shaky hands. He is a regular customer and everyone is always worried that he’ll drop either his food or the money. I imagine he has a medical condition because Mr. Shaky is considerably shaky. After he left I told my manager whenever I serve him I feel like I should escort him home because it seems dangerous for him to be driving. She responded with a chuckle and returned to her work.

It is about 9:30pm and the rain started picking up again. This is annoying when on drive-thru because the sensor picks up what I call “invisible customers”, which is just the rain tripping the sensors.

It is 9:45pm and we have a large group of teenagers walk in, which is kind of bothersome because the lobby closes at 10pm and we have to re-clean. For the most part they seem to be enjoying themselves, I say this because they are being really rowdy with each other and overly friendly with the female cashier.

Student Lounge #2

            It is about 10:34 a.m. and I settle into a spot fairly central to most of the action in the eating area of the student lounge. There is a steady and rather busy flow of students of all ethnicity, races and cultures flowing through the restaurant area.

I notice two students in particular each seated alone at the two tables in front of me, the first appears to be Hispanic and is casually sipping a Fanta soda while browsing his cell phone and listening to music I presume. The second is also male and appears Caucasian, he is also browsing his phone but is drinking a tea instead of a soft drink. Just now Tea begins to gather his things in a methodical manner quickly wipe the table and leaves.

I now notice two female students both using one of the computers set up against the wall of the lounge; the first is a dark brunette and appears to be of an Asian ethnicity. The other is a somewhat heavier set Caucasian girl. They both posses very large backpacks that seemed filled to the brim. They don’t appear to be doing school work on the computer but instead; simply seem to be passing the time surfing the web.

Fanta has almost finished his drink and appears to be packing up, he packs his bag, grabs his sun glasses and proceeds to down the last bit of soda before leaving.

The computer girls also seem to be finishing up whatever they were doing on the desktop, they log off of the computer sit back for a few minutes talk a bit and then leave together deeper into the building.

Two Hispanic males now have taken over the table that Tea was once seated at and begin to casually enjoy a meal and small talk. In a way they have almost a “gangster” look to them as they both are wearing rather baggy clothes but they also are both wearing heavy work boots and seem quite professional in manner. One appears to have what looks like a pretty expensive watch.

At a farther table to petite Hispanic/Asian students are also enjoying a meal together, I can’t quite make out exactly what race they might be but I will simply refer to them as the “pair”. They are in no hurry what so ever as far as eating or having anything in particular to do. They are mostly talking and slowing picking at their food rather than full on eating a meal.

The gangsters and already finished their meals, exchanged a few words and taken of f in a somewhat hastened pace as if back to work; not necessarily in a hurry but at a busy pace.

They pair also is now finishing up their conversation and are making their way out. They gather their leftovers, I don’t believe they finished their food completely, one disposes of the trash and the other waits for her friend to catch up and they then depart. 

The Student Shop

Its about 95° outside and the sun is out with no signs of clouds in the sky. I arrived at CometCoins Coffee Shoppe around four in the evening. When I walk in it is quiet and all you can hear is the soft music in the background. The music is quiet enough that nothing is clearly decipherable except the sounds of a guitar playing. As I look around I spot several laptops, books and paper, and backpacks. Most of the patrons are students. There are a few older patrons who are engulfed in the Sunday paper.

There is a couple who appear to be on a study date. They’re taking up a small table in one of the far corners of the room. They sit closely at the ample table. They both quietly work rarely communicating with each other. When they communicate its in quickly hushed tones.

In the opposite corner a young male is working diligently on his computer. None of his clothes are matching. He has his computer bag placed on the table and is picking within arms reach. Every once in a while he reaches in and pulls out a morsel of food.

A table away from the lovebirds sit two girls. Their backpacks lay haphazardly on the floor and their papers are strewn across the table. They both have their computers out but neither of them are working. They are both enthusiastically having a conversation. Their voices break the silence of the coffee shop. They speak in a mix of Indian and English. It reminds me of Spanglish.

The barista at the counter is expressionless and neutral. He is polite and makes small talk with the patrons as he fills the orders. He finishes quickly although there is only a small amount of people in line.

Half an hour into my stay there is a quick rush. About ten or fifteen people fill the CometCoins in a matter of minuets. They are mostly older patrons but a few younger patrons as well.

Three young girls in their late teens sit at a table as they wait for there drinks. They all look similar to each other almost like sisters. They each have the same shade of dirty blonde hair and wear the same style yoga shorts and shirt in different colors. They reminisce about their high school senior year and how much fun they each had. They then move on to talk about their classes and professors. They all agree and disagree on the same things. None of them are happy with the amount of homework they are receiving this semester.

Another patron who came in with the rush sits down at the large table in front of the bar. He looks to be in his mid thirties. He wears a cowboy boots that match his straw hat. He wears Levis jeans and a white buttoned down shirt. Clipped on his belt buckle is his phone. It is a clunky obviously out dated flip phone. It looks like the type of phone you could run over and nothing would happen to it. In his hands he holds a very modern tablet. He seems very engrossed with what he reads. He swipes quickly through and doesn't hear his order being called until the barista calls out to him. Like most of the older patrons he is just passing through and leaves after getting his order.

The Chatty Cathys have seemed to quieted down and have begun to do their work diligently. Soon after they become productive they resume their conversation and their progress ends.

During this rush the barista has been able to flawlessly keep up. He fills multiple orders at the same time using his time efficiently.

I take note that almost everyone is drinking some form of hot beverage although it is 95° outside. Among those who drink cold drinks the males seem to only be drinking iced coffee and the females seem to be drinking fruity teas.

I also take note that all the computers with the exception of one of the Chatty Cathys are Apple brand computers.

Field Notes

I have decided to conduct my fieldwork at my place of work, as I am very rarely anywhere else.  

I work at an upscale (as far as Las Cruces goes) dining establishment which we will refer to as the silver dollar. 

Before diving into the specifics of customer and intro personal relations of the establishment, I am required to preface an interesting aspect of the restaurant. It is actually divided into two seep rate restaurants: all owned by one person,  but with two different menus and two separate wait staffs. One is considered more "fine dining" and one is considered more "casual". These are polite ways of classifying our patrons, our dining areas, and our wait staff, into economically based caste systems. 

This first blog will detail the setting so as to get an accurate picture of the environment and feel of the place I work before customer relations even come into play.

Part I: hostesses/ seating

Before I began as a member of the wait staff, I was a hostess for over a year. I saw two full sets of hostesses cycle through and was the only one to remain for quite sometime. (Turnover rate for a hostess position is high and Otis perhaps because of the following)

When you host at the silver dollar for even a month you quickly begin to understand the basic clientele of both restaurants. Prominent figures in the community are often seen in the upscale area, wealthier people and visitors who can afford plate prices of upwards of 30$. Then the lower level restaurant attracts tourists, the blue collar after work crowd, appetizer and drink crowd. Most locals know the difference between the two restaurants and able to immediately tell the hostess which restaurant they would like. Tourists or first time patrons are usually asked which restaurant they would prefer and then pick accordingly. Sometimes, however, a patron will say "two for silver dollar" and the hostess (a pretty, peppy young girl hired for her smile and ability to filter the restaurant and control of the flow) is forced to passive aggressively explain based solely on appearance of the customer that they probably can not afford the restaurant they chose. 

In short: a hostess is hired to be very pretty and very polite. She is also hired to kindly explain to people the class system of the restaurant. It is part of the hostesses duty to maintain the appearance of the upscale dining room and those who eat there. Do they look like they can't afford the food? Do they speak another language? Do they have young children with them. Try and get them into the casual dining room. (Of course if a customer insists on the dining area we will seat them accordingly, but we do our best to field them)

This separation and classification of who is allowed to eat where is a fundamental aspect of how the restaurant functions on the basic and grandeur level, as well as giving the hostess the idea of superiority and mindset of judgment. This is not a commentary on the hostesses: it is a comment on what is expected of them, and the way they are forced to judge and look down upon people based solely on appearance. This can be used as a microcosm for classification issues we see in every day society and current affairs. 

Operating within a skewed paradigm of economic and social privilege that you may or may not fit into, the staff of silver dollar have already effectively judged, classified, and formed a perception of how we must treat you as patron and how this you will likely treat us: all before you've even gotten past the door.

Pain and Gain

I walk in on a busy Friday afternoon; more specifically around 12:00 P.M. the activity center seems to be the most busy at this time. However my first time walking in I see different rooms, a weight room, cardio room, basketball courts, swimming pools, and an indoor track. I walk into the room I was most drawn to with sounds of weights clinging, people grunting, sweat dripping down the hardworking people, and the determined look on everyone's face in their to improve their bodies one way or another. The first thing I notice while there is so many different types of work ethic, and charisma of the people in there.

I notice a variety of different people there of all sizes. Such as muscular, tall, short, chubby, skinny, and average. I observed numerous students of different ethnicity's, most were either in groups of 3-6 people working out at a time. There were a majority of males in the weight area, some females using the weights as well. Most likely because the majority of females were in the cardio room; which I will go into more detail on the next blog post. I rarely saw people in the weight room working out by themselves while I was there. However the students working out by themselves had a different drive that those working in groups didn't appear to have. A drive that had the attitude that said " no matter what happens I'm going to be better than everyone else, I'm not afraid of pushing my body to the limit to achieve that new max". I was personally motivated by this drive that the lone weight lifters had; because I personally can relate to this drive that motivates them.

However the drive that motivated the students lifting in groups was similar but different. For instance the motivation they had appeared to be each other in the group. They all appeared to be close friends or acquaintances that took their workouts very seriously. Their speech they would use to motivate the person lifting is "come on bro you got this" or "Push It! Push It! there you go! One More!". I couldn't decide which motivated me more, the lone lifters or those lifting in groups. However the similarities between both groups appeared to have one common thing, to improve everything about themselves through hard work, dedication, and motivation.

One person we will refer to as skeletor really caught my attention. He was one of the smallest skinniest people I have ever seen in my life, easily weighed about 100lb. Not to be harsh or anything but this guy was skinny hence the name. However despite his size, he appeared to have a drive I never experienced in a person so small. As a matter of fact his lifts he was doing was as strong as the muscular people that lift in the gym; maybe even stronger than some. His squat max was impressive which was 275lb, dead lift was 345lb. He was struggling with his bench max however, and working out alone he didn't have a lifting partner. With the bar mid air he was struggling to lift the 245lb weight. I rush over to help him but as I begin to put my hand on the bar to help him lift he screams at me telling me not to touch the weight. I listen and shortly after watch in amazement him lifting the heavy weight all the way up. I couldn't believe what I just witnessed, it really made me have a different outlook of work ethic through different types of people, that I began to ask myself, "Does the size of the person have more of an effect on how hard a person works?". 

One other minor aspect that I noticed among the lifters was that the majority of them were listening to music. The music wasn't just quiet, you could actually hear the music blaring through the headphones, it was loud enough to make the person listening go deaf. The different groups of people appeared to listen to different genres; such as Rock, Hip- Hop, and Rap mostly. The white population seemed to be drawn more towards the Rock Genre, and Hispanic, and African population appeared to be drawn more towards the Hip-Hop and Rap Genre; just based on what I observed that day. Could the difference in culture have an affect on what type of music an individual listens to?

Sorority Surrender

The house is full.

A loud chanting arises.
As the second knock has taken place and girls are ready for the race. 

I see a rainbow of dresses flashing before my eyes.

One by one the potential members are taken aside. 

The room is lit but so much seems so dim. 

A quiet stillness takes over the room

She's the alpha omega, the queen bee, the leader of them all. 

From head to toe we see perfection.
A sort of quiet confidence each girl wants to hold, but can't. 

She begins to stutter and we see the crown fall. 

This crown is not visible but in a context we see as royalty. 

This perfect masterpiece has faulted.
What once was perfection became imperfect. 

There was this appreciation we all had for her stutter. 

She was just as nervous as the girls around me. 

Across the table was a handprint left by sweaty hands. 

She was average. 

I wondered if what they wanted was average, or if anybody for that matter wanted average. 

She seemed medium. 

Not too tall, not too short. 

Not too fat, not too skinny.

The clock was ticking as the chanting arose again.

As conversations came to and end so did the topics. 

Out of the corner of my eye I notice boredom. 

Her shoulders drawn down as she sinks into her designers. 

What once seemed alive began to fade. 

She seemed closed in as her arms began to cross.
Letting an unwelcoming vibe settle in. 

I found myself ready. 

But not like before. 

Once ready to enter, and now... ready to leave. 

The potential members are sent off with a hug, as the loud chanting arises and the race is done. 

But this house, the one that seemed full, Is empty.