I conducted my observations in four places. The first place was a five star hotel in my town. I went to the hotel at 10 pm when the hotel was not busy. It was also mid month, so there wasn’t an overflow of clients. The second conversation took place at a fast food restaurant in my neighborhood. I went to the eatery before noon when there were no many clients so that I could observe the waiters when they were not under pressure. The third observation was held in a convenience store in my neighborhood. Lastly, I held my fourth observation in a coffee shop very early in the morning before it got busy.
Conversation one
Waiter: Good afternoon. Table for two?
Customer: Yes please
Waiter: smoking or non-smoking?
Customer: Non-smoking
Waiter: Is it your anniversary sir?
Customer: Please take us to our table
Waiter: Follow me please
Conversation two
Attendant: the food you ordered has red meat in it. Would you like something else?
Attendant: you did sir, but you can order something else.
Attendant: Okay. Any other allergies that you made up?
Conversation three
Shop attendant: How can I help you?
Customer: two loaves please
Shop attendant: here you go
Customer: this is not the bread that I buy from this shop. Can I have my usual order?
Shop attendant: we don’t have any other loaves left. Just take what you got.
Customer: You can keep your loaf and your attitude
Conversation four
Attendant: Morning Mary. How are you this morning?
Customer: Same old same old john but I have had better days
Attendant: Here is your usual cup of coffee
Customer: Thank you John. Have a great day. I know I will
Attendant: Have a good one yourself
Detailed notes of my observation
The first conversation is between a waiter and a couple. The conversation takes place in a five star hotel. The attendants here are expected to be nice to their clients thus the respectable greetings. The clients in question are an elderly couple who seem to have come from an affluent lifestyle. Their responses are precise and courteous. They are used to such scenarios, and some even trained on how to respond. The conversation here is highly formal and respectable from both ends
The second conversation takes place in a fast food restaurant in the suburbs. The attendant is respectable at first. She is a middle aged woman. The client, on the other hand, is a teenager. He is stubborn and to some extent even rude to the attendant. At the end of the conversation, the attendant loses her cool and appears to be rude to the client.
In the third conversation, the customer is a man in his mid thirties. The shop attendant is a young man in his 20s. The shop attendant appears to be new in his job since he does not recognize the customers’ order. He also does not recognize the customer and appear to be rude to the customer. Leading me to conclude that; he must be new at his job.
In conversation four, the customer and the attendant seem to be well acquainted. They exchange greetings and hold idle talk like friends. The attendant does even ask the client for her order. It appears that the attendant has made the cl9ient cups of coffee before because he does not ask her for her order. The attendant is an old man in his fifties. While the customer is a young woman, the attendant appears to be fond of the customer as a father would be of his daughter.
Conversation analysis
In conversation one, the attendant and the customer do not hold idle talk. They maintain a client-attendant line of conversation. None of them diverges from the matter at hand. This in contrast with conversation four where the customer and the attendant hold a conversation like old friends. In conversation two and three, both the attendants are rude to their customers. However, there is a difference in that the attendant in conversation three begins the rude treatment. He is insensitive to the customer’s needs and responds with no respect. In contrast, the attendant in conversation results to rudeness when their patience is tested by the client. In all conversation in exception of conversations three, the attendants speak with respect to the customers as is expected in their line of work.
In conversation four, the customers offer an uptake to the attendants inquiry about their day. In contrast, in conversation three, the attendant does not offer an uptake to the customers uptake about their usual order. It appears the customer is a usual shopper but the attendant is new in the job thus their insensitive response. In conversation two, the customer and the attendant have no relationship beyond the business one thus no uptake. In conversation one, however, the customer does not offer an uptake. They must feel that it is not the place of the waiter to meddle in their private lives. They ignore the waiter’s question and ask to be led to a table.
