China Star (Fast Food?) Restaurant advertising “buffet, all you can eat at 12:30 P.M.
Environment: Entering the restaurant, greeted by neat and clean appearing man with glasses who asks, “Just one?” I respond, “Yes, and I would like a booth, please.” I feel like “booths” are more conducive to the assignment, provide a sense of closeness of one. Greeter, host, guides me into one of three sections of the restaurant, this center section appears to the “lunch” hour section. I slide into the booth. On the wall above me is a large poster in glass of the Great Wall of China, I always liked this photograph, have seen it elsewhere in books. On the table are condiments, napkins – that’s it? Nothing advertising desert, wow! Too used to eating at Olive Garden where they’re pushing food, especially desert at you.
Response: I look around, take out my notebook, immediately begin to write the above observations/thoughts. A waitress approaches, very slim, dressed in black and white attire, Asian, hair must be long, it’s tied back, “Drink” she asks in heavily accented voice. Iced tea, no sugar, I reply. She waves towards the buffet area. I’m still writing what I observe, her facial expression; it suggests that she thinks I’m strange? “I’d like to order off the menu,” I respond. Her eyes widen (I’m still writing), “Yes,” she smiles and brings me a menu, then disappears. I scan the menu, look up, people are looking at me as they eat their meals. I have a sense that they’re suspicious of me, since they’re all buffet connoisseurs, I decide by their piled plates. Most of the individuals seated in the lunch area are obese, at least four individuals suffering morbid obesity. Looking around, there are at least six eating disorders, and one in the making as the mother is actually forcing a plump toddler to eat, even though the child is clearly not wanting to do that. Both the mom and the person presumably to be grandma are obese, the grandma morbidly so. Their plates are piled high, and there is a stack of what was presumably the first trip to the buffet. The child is fussing, not wanting the food that mom is forcing her to take, turning its head, and mom fails or refuses to read the child’s signals of having enough. I’m watching, and they look at me with an almost hostile look which suggests I mind my own business. it’s easy to be fascinated by the feeding frenzy going on around me. I have never done this before. I sense embarrassment, not for my observations because it is a public place; but for them, unable to resist the disorders from which they suffer and which is manifesting itself by a display of public gluttony.
All You Can Eat Buffet Observation Study
Introduction
Choosing an “all you can eat” buffet as the environment for my observation study arises out of recent attention drawn to those types of eating places when two men, both morbidly obese, were allegedly treated badly by the restaurant’s owner and staff for eating too much (WWLTV.com, 2008, found online at: http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl010208tpbuffetfight__.1c12476.html, retrieved 29 January 2008). What, the question in this case arises, is the customer protocol or rules for eating in an “all you can eat” buffet? How would the staff or manager of such a place convey those rules; would they use verbal instructions, body language of approval or disapproval? In the case that had originally drawn the public’s attention to the subject, the two gentlemen, regular patrons of the restaurant, claimed a verbal exchange had occurred, and that the restaurant staff had been verbally insulting, abusive, in their remarks to the customers (WWLTV.com, 2008). The observation exercise assignment here provided the opportunity to conduct a brief study of “all you can eat” buffets, and to perhaps answer these questions by observing behaviors.
The Study of Observation in All You Can Eat Buffet Environment
The first thing that must be noted when conducting an observation study where one is writing continuously, making observations, writing notes; is that the observer quickly becomes the observed. In this “all you can eat” environment, an observer is the social deviant, because individuals whom, as observed on this occasion, suffer maladies manifesting in eating disorders, gather to accommodate the malady through overeating. By the responses of individuals, who expressed their disapproval with physical facial expressions of annoyance, perhaps even anger; observing the behavior of overeating is not acceptable in this social setting. Thus, in this setting, where individuals are perhaps hyper-sensitive about being observed as obese individuals overeating, the observer is demonstrating a socially deviant behavior.
In this setting, the restaurant staff persons, who actually are observers of a different sort, wait staff, refilling drinks, but taking orders off the menu is the exception, and not the rule; are largely ignored by the customers. The staff does not engage the patrons, responding only to visual signs of an empty glass. The staff also responds to customer behaviors in eating, delivering non-verbal messages of approval or disapproval of eating behavior. For instance, in those cases where the customer’s first trip to the buffet results in excessive eating patterns of overloading a plate, and multiple plates on the first trip to the buffet. In these instances, perhaps because the customer has already used two plates, the wait staff will very casually walk by the customer’s table and place a customer bill on the table, smile, ask if they would like another drink, then walk away. The wait staff, although delivering the non-verbal message by way of the bill, is courteous and ignores the customer’s overeating malady.
Unfortunately, in most cases, the customers fail to adhere to the subtle suggestion of the restaurant staff that the customer might have eaten enough, because most disregard the suggestive bill, and make another trip, in less than an hour, to the buffet where they, once again, pile a plate with food stuff. In these instances, the restaurant staff does not approach or offer reprimand. However, in observing the wait staff, their facial expressions would suggest a sense of amazement, rather than disgust, at the ability of some of the morbidly obese customers to overeat. The wait staff is very good at masking their disapproval, if any of them had a sense of disapproval.
Individual Table Focus
It was difficult not to focus on the table where there was a mother, grandmother, and a child eating. The grandmother, relatively young, estimated by this observer to be mid to late forties; her daughter (in-law), estimated by this observer to be early to mid twenties; and a female toddler, about two years old whose physique was quite robust. The child had a plate in front of her, with a varied selection of food stuff, and the appearance of the food indicated that the child had tasted several choices on the plate, leaving the vegetables untouched. The mother, apparently not satisfied with the child’s inattention to the remaining food, and who was herself eating, was forcing the child to eat more food, selected from the mother’s plate, and from food groups other than vegetable. The child resisted the mother’s efforts, and the mother physically held the child’s face and forced her eat. All the while, the grandmother was remarking, “She needs to eat more.”
The mother and grandmother chose to ignore the child’s protests in being forced to eat more, and continued to force the child to eat. The mother and daughter were transferring their own eating disorders to the child, and this was nothing short of child abuse going on in a public setting, but was overlooked because of the environment comprised of individuals who for the most part manifested a like-kind of malady that drove the mother and grandmother to force feed the child.
The mother and grandmother responded to being observed by facial expressions of disapproval, but these were short lived, and both women became more focused on their plates and the child, ignoring that they were being observed. This was an amazing defense mechanism, a false consciousness, which that allowed them to continue manifesting their disorder in a public setting. It was difficult not to experience a sense of empathy for the child, who would no doubt become a product of habitus, or a product of her environment. She is a young child whose own destiny has been sidetracked by her mother’s and grandmother’s overeating maladies.
Today, the term “McDonaldization” has been applied to the system and syndromes revolving around the fast food industry (Cohen, R. And Kennedy, P. 2000, Global Sociology, MacMillan, London, p. 378). However, the hypothesis that is presented here, as a result of this observation study, is that a whole new “all you can eat” system and syndrome exists, separate and apart from the McDonaldization identified and defined in prior studies. Further comparative study and observations involving both settings would prove to support, or, not support this hypothesis.
Reference List
Henslin, J.M., (DATE), Essentials of Sociology a Down to Earth Approach by. Henslin 7th Edition, (PUBLISHER).
Cohen, R. And Kennedy, P. 2000, Global Sociology, MacMillan, London.
WWLTV.com, 2008, found online at: http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl010208tpbuffetfight__.1c12476.html, retrieved 29 January 2008.
Get Professional Assignment Help Cheaply
Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?
Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.
Why Choose Our Academic Writing Service?
- Plagiarism free papers
- Timely delivery
- Any deadline
- Skilled, Experienced Native English Writers
- Subject-relevant academic writer
- Adherence to paper instructions
- Ability to tackle bulk assignments
- Reasonable prices
- 24/7 Customer Support
- Get superb grades consistently
Online Academic Help With Different Subjects
Literature
Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.
Finance
Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.
Computer science
Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!
Psychology
While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.
Engineering
Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.
Nursing
In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.
Sociology
Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.
Business
We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!
Statistics
We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.
Law
Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.
What discipline/subjects do you deal in?
We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.
Are your writers competent enough to handle my paper?
Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.
What if I don’t like the paper?
There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.
Reasons being:
- When assigning your order, we match the paper’s discipline with the writer’s field/specialization. Since all our writers are graduates, we match the paper’s subject with the field the writer studied. For instance, if it’s a nursing paper, only a nursing graduate and writer will handle it. Furthermore, all our writers have academic writing experience and top-notch research skills.
- We have a quality assurance that reviews the paper before it gets to you. As such, we ensure that you get a paper that meets the required standard and will most definitely make the grade.
In the event that you don’t like your paper:
- The writer will revise the paper up to your pleasing. You have unlimited revisions. You simply need to highlight what specifically you don’t like about the paper, and the writer will make the amendments. The paper will be revised until you are satisfied. Revisions are free of charge
- We will have a different writer write the paper from scratch.
- Last resort, if the above does not work, we will refund your money.
Will the professor find out I didn’t write the paper myself?
Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.
What if the paper is plagiarized?
We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.
When will I get my paper?
You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.
Will anyone find out that I used your services?
We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.
How our Assignment Help Service Works
1. Place an order
You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.
2. Pay for the order
Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.
3. Track the progress
You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.
4. Download the paper
The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.
PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET A PERFECT SCORE!!!
