The Setting
The observation took place at a local sandwich store. The procedure for ordering food at a store was similar to the Subway sandwich shops. In other words, customers line up and are paired with a sandwich clerk. The customer and the clerk move down the counter in unison, in an assembly-line like fashion, with the customer directing the clerk on what to put on and in the sandwich. The sandwiches are then bagged and forwarded to the cashier. The cashier calls the customer’s name, which is written on the bag, to collect the payment. Accordingly, there is plenty of customer-service interaction. The time of the observation was around 1:00 PM, and so there was consistent but not heavy customer traffic. This particular store was quite small. I was seated at a booth directly across from the counter and so could hear all of the conversations quite clearly. There were three sandwich counter clerks working that day, including a young Asian female, a young white Caucasian, and a twenty-something Caucasian or Hispanic male.
The Conversations
Conversation 1
A thirtyish Caucasian male dressed in a white oxford shirt and tan khakis pants was paired with the female Asian counter clerk.
1. Clerk: Good afternoon sir, may I have your name?
2. Customer: Kerwin
3. Clerk: (As she is writing down customer’s name on the sandwich bag) OK Kerwin, what can I get for you today.
4. Customer: Wow! You even spelled my name right?
5. Clerk: Oh yeah!
6. Customer: Yeah! It seems that most people mix up Kerwin for Kermit, for some reason. You know like Kermit the Frog. Or maybe you’re a little too young for that?
7. Clerk: Eh hunh! Sure, the muppet character, right? I think there’s new TV show about them on now.
8. Customer: Really, maybe I’m a little too old for that. Anyway, I’ll have the Italian.
Conversation 2
An African American male with a checkered button down shirt and dress jeans, named David is paired with the young, Caucasian male counter clerk.
1. Clerk: What kind of bread do you want, David?
2. Customer: What options do you have?
3. Clerk: Well we have Italian, French, Wheat, Multi-grain, Sourdough
4. Customer: Is there a difference between Italian and French bread?
5. Clerk: Well, actually there really is a big difference. The key difference is in the preparation. With Italian bread, the yeast is allowed a longer time to rise. So when it bakes it comes out with a thinner crust and a moister interior. So, in my opinion, Italian bread is the best type for sandwich as it is easier to bite into and holds the sauce better.
6. Customer: Are you serious!?! I had no idea. Just thought it was a marketing gimmick. Is this something you have to know for the job.
7. Clerk: Not at all. I’m actually studying for a culinary degree.
8. Customer: In, let me guess, baking, right
9. Clerk: Well actually the formal term is baking and pastry arts but yeah, baking.
10. Customer: Well, Italian it is for me then.
Conversation 3
A young Caucasian woman wearing a red skirt, stripped shirt and a blue jean jacket is paired with the third counter clerk. She has long brownish hair that pushed out of her face by a pair of sunglasses that are pushed up over her eyes and rest on her forehead.
1. Clerk: So Amanda, that’s honey mustard, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper?
2. Customer: and mayo
3. Clerk: Mayo you got it. Anything else?
4. Clerk 2: (The Asian counter clerk leans over and says to the customer) I love your glasses?
5. Customer: Why, thank you.
6. Clerk: (Pointing to clerk 2) she just loves sunglasses. I think she must have three pairs
7. Customer: A girl can never have too many sunglasses.
8. Clerk: Just don’t tell my girlfriend
9. Customer: Does she have too many?
10. Clerk: No, but if she heard what you said she might think to buy some more. So will there be anything else?
11. Customer: No.
Uptake Analysis
In the first conversation the were two opportunities uptakes. The first occurred when Kerwin (unlike the counter clerk I am not sure of the spelling) responded that the clerk had spelt his name correctly. The clerk however, did not really offer an uptake to the comment. More than like clerk did not offer an uptake to that because she might have thought it was an insult. For example, perhaps she though that the customer was commenting on the fact that she was Asian and maybe English was not her first language or that she was not American. The second opportunity occurred when the customer mentioned that she might be too young to remember the Kermit the Frog. The clerk offered the uptake of describing how she knew about the character and that he was currently in a TV series.
In the second conversation the opportunity for an uptake occurred when the customer asked the difference between French and Italian bread. The clerk responded in an extremely detailed manner that surprised the customer, who was forced to ask how the clerk knew so much. The clerk then offered another uptake through his response about culinary school. A third, opportunity occurred when the customer guessed that the clerk was studying baking; to which the clerk responded about the formal name of the degree being baking and pastry arts.
In the third and final conversation, Clerk 2 provided the opportunity for an uptake why commenting on the customer’s sunglasses. The first clerk than used that chance offer an uptake to the customer when he mentioned Clerk 2’s love of sunglasses. The customer continued the conversation by mentioning how “a girl can never have too many sunglasses”. The conversation continues until the clerk seem to cut off any more opportunity for uptake by asking again if the customer wanting anything else. Here the most likely reason to cut off the conversation was perhaps because the clerk felt that the access rituals were becoming too friendly especially if his girlfriend was Clerk 2 or someone else in the store that could overhear their conversation such as a boss or supervisor.
