For my ethnographic study I chose to examine the life at Moe’s restaurant located one block from my home and where I used to work. The main focus of my study is to compare the norms of the employees when the manager is there and when he is gone. As defined in Sociology: A Brief Introduction, by John J Macionis, a norm is “an established standard of behavior maintained by a society”. How does the employees’ behavior change when the manager is there watching them compared to when she leaves someone else in charge while she is gone. Although the norms of the employees are the main focus of this paper, so are hierarchy and gender roles also play huge roles at Moe’s.…
The Cheesecake Factory, I once believed that the establishment would be a bakery that primarily sold cheesecakes, sweets and such. Although, I’ve never heard much about the restaurant, or what it actually was other than people are familiar with the establishment and only comment on the cheesecakes. Yet, I had not known that that was the place I was dining in, I only believed under presumption of its name that we were going to eat at some other random place when I walked through the doors of the restaurant. Now the reason I say random was the fact that this place was not like how I imagined the praiseworthy Cheesecake Factory to be at all. My expectations of this place was exactly how Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory felt and as colorful as Tim Burton’s remake of Alice in Wonderland was.…
I couldn’t communicate very well with people because I would doubt myself wondering if I said the right thing. I would stutter, and it made me scared of public speaking. I didn’t really knew how to write a properly, or how to use punctuations and grammar. so I asked my teachers to help me to write better and learn more vocabulary, I would get tested on vocabulary, and ask for help when I needed them…
As a Chinese-American, my family expected me to help out at the restaurant while maintaining straight A's in school. But, it wasn't easy; every day, I would report to the restaurant after school and immediately start working. Inside the kitchen, I would pack all the orders into aluminum containers, place them into a brown bag, and insert packets of sauces and utensils. Burns and cuts were common due to the terrible and tearable aluminum containers. Outside at the front desk, I would answer the seemingly endless ringing phones. In many instances, customers had to wait either on the phone or at the front desk for me to find their orders on the computer, even after they showed me where it was on the menu. During lunch hours, the pressure was even…
Chick-Fil-A, East Wichita; Today is my childs birthday. Where did he want to go for his birthday lunch? His choice was Chick-Fil-A. We ate lunch at your establishment, and after that, my child went to play in the playground. A child younger than mine was also playing in the playground, running around with a leather belt! That was Okay with the adults the child was with, whom were sitting right outside the playground, at the table next to the playground door. They let him keep running around around with the leather belt, and swinging it around, while he was playing. Unprovoked by my child at all, the younger child with the leather belt, ends up Hitting my son on the Head, With the leather belt, Five times! It happened up in the tunnels, out of my sight, but I could hear my child yelling to the other…
I can not easily try new types of food. Actually, I do not like to eat something that I have never tasted before. However, I had an experience with my family at Shake Shack restaurant. My family challenged me to try a cheeseburger. I thought a lot because it is a kind of junk food and I do not like that kind of food. Then I accepted the challenge to change my idea about food. My first experience in eating cheeseburger was amazing.…
To tell my story, I have to set the scene. It was the summer of 2014, the Thursday before school started actually. I had not seen familiar faces in a while so, I was ready to get back. I did not realize it yet, but taking a job at Whataburger would be the biggest (only) mistake I ever made.…
I think the one thing I hate the most is having to say no when someone is in need of my help, and they understand why I have to say no in the first place, I think it’s the fact that they need me for something and they can’t except no for an answer. I think now that I’m older I don’t take it that hard anymore, and do what I can when I’m able to help…
I have, in my fourteen years growing up, matured in being able to talk to people I'm not familiar with. The way I've broken these fears is simply by having to face them. One great example comes to mind. In the summer of last year, I bought a new four-wheeler or ATV. My father surely helped, but he decided not to make any of the phone calls to the seller. Therefore I was forced to call the man up if I wanted this new machine. I remember the first time I had to call him. My father was about to leave for dinner with his friends. He was going to leave at 7:00 right after he finished mowing the lawn. So I sat in our office pacing the floor, and moving my eyes from the clock to the phone and back. As 7:00 was approaching I became more and more anxious for this new four-wheeler meant the world to me. Finally, with a sudden burst of courage, I grabbed the phone, dialed the number and waited. As the phone rang, so did my heart beat and I waited for the man to pick up. When he did, my voice was a little shaky and gasping, but as I talked to the seller, who turned out to be younger and very polite, I realized what a fool I've been for being afraid to talk to unfamiliar people on the phone. By the end of our conversation…
When I was just six, my parents bought the restaurant that my mother had been working at as a waitress. The previous owners were getting very old and did not want to put their employees out of work by closing it, so my parents stepped up. My father had a full time civil service job so my mother handled most of the business and managing affairs. My father would also help out every evening after coming home from his day job. We all spent most of our waking hours downstairs helping. We even lived in the apartments upstairs. My two brothers, my parents and myself all managed to live somewhat peacefully in just those three rooms. I remember being sort of…
To start with, I was nervous as it is; going to a restaurant and eating with my bare hands. I had no clue what to expect, but I had an idea that many people were going to stare at me. It was in the evening, on a Saturday. The thought of what others might think of me, made me think twice about breaking this norm. When I walked into Olive Garden, people were eating and having their little conversation among their group. While the…
If there was anybody who loved their job it was you. It had always been a passion of yours to cook, ever since you were young you would be making cookies and other kinds of sweet treats, it wasn't until you were older you discovered you were actually really good at it.…
One month my uncle needed to go to India so he asked me if I can help run the gas station with my grandfather. The gas station also needed an extra cashier to run things so I agreed to be one. I worked from Monday through Thursday from 6 a.m. to 2p.m. I remember not liking waking up that early and I didn't have my own car so I had to get a ride with my uncle, who left his house around 5a.m. So then I had to wake up even earlier. The only things I liked about the job was that I wouldn't get taxed, I got paid in cash. Another good thing about the job was that my uncle told me that I can eat anything from the store but eating the products is bad for the store. I didn't think about whether it was bad for the store or not. I just kept eating. I think I got fat from eating so much junk food.…
I learned how to bond with all the employees of the Travel Agency staffs. We are like a big family helping each other in order to finish a very stressful day and finalized the bookings of the customers.…
I become an unpaid shop assistant in the store when I was eight. Mum required my brother and me to watch the store for her by turns.…