Viewing Starbucks

Ethnography is a method of reporting on culture.  It has two parts.   The first part is a record of observation.  This involves literally viewing and recording what is seen.  The second part  is a description of what is seen through the lens of theory.  For this ethnography I have selected a Starbucks Coffee.   This is a free standing building located in a shopping center.  There are other commercial buildings located in this complex.  This study was conducted at 2:45 PM on Monday July 25^th. 

Part I

What follows is a description of the room and the people that are moving in the space.  The room is  rectangular space of  about 40’ X 30’.  One side has a counter that runs the length of the room.  It is about 8’feet away from one of the long walls.  There is space behind the counter for people to move.  The floor is one color, brown.  It is composed of 12” tiles.  The front of the counter is a blond wood color. 

Moving behind the counter are 3 young men.  They are dressed in black clothes with green aprons.  One man has a white long sleeve shirt.  He also wears a green apron.  There is a pastry display counter with deserts and breakfast pastries.  Below there are bottles of water, fruit juice and pre-packaged sandwiches, plastic containers of fruit and containers of yogurt with granola.    There is a sign in front of the pastry counter that says ‘Bistro Boxes.’   In front of the counter are 3 baskets of varying heights filled with packaged coffee, and pre-packaged snacks. The room has windows on 2 walls.  One window wall looks out to the street.  The shades are ½ way down.  The other window looks out on an arcade and a parking lot.  The entrance door is in the parking lot window wall.  There is an air conditioner over the door.  Mounted on the glass next to the exterior door are signs indicating that there is no smoking in this business.  There is a sign advertising opportunities for employment at the Starbucks.  There is a cylinder shaped trash can next to the door. 

            The clear glass of the window is decorated with a frosted pattern so the view of the parking lot is partially obstructed.   The walls of this Starbucks are painted a medium grey green.  There is a washed oak wainscoting around the room.  The wall behind the counter has some shelving.   Packages of coffee are neatly lined on these shelves.  These packages have the Starbucks logo on them.  There are also shelves that contain glasses.  There is a sign identifying these as ‘Plastic Tumblers.’ 

            The cash registers (there are two) are obstructed from view by small displays of packaged cookies, instant coffee, small cards, and packaged nuts.  There is a platter of bananas.        

            There is furniture in this room.  Near the front door are 4 leather chairs.  There are small tables between them.  There is a person sitting in each chair.  Each person has a lap top computer.  One of the men is resting the computer on his knee.  One man has placed his computer on a table and the other 2 men are holding their computer in their laps.  One man is wearing ear phones and is tapping on his computer. 

            There are 2 men sitting at the tables near the door.  Each man is hitting the keys  on his computer.  I can see that each computer is a Mac lap top.   One is black and one is white.  One man is black and one man is white.  The white man is continually moving his knee up and down.  He has his head in his hand.  

            Two Asian ladies talk to the man behind the counter.  They then stand near a wall.  They are dressed casually in pants with a sleeveless blouse.  One woman has her hair pulled back.  The other has her hair down.  When they sit down at the table they lean in, talk and laugh.  They sip at their cups. 

            Behind the counter on young man writes something on the cups as people talk to him.  There is a woman with blond hair talking to the man at the counter. .  She is older, wearing a long turquoise skirt.  She turns around smiling and is now standing by the wall.   There is a young man and a young woman sitting at  a table together.  They are both looking down at their own I Pads.  They look up exchange words, laugh and then continue to look down at their devices. 

            More people enter.  They stand in line to talk to the young man who writes on the cups.  As people wait in line they don’t stand still.  They talk or look around. 

            One man leaves the leather chair and a young black woman reserves his space for herself by placing her notebook on the chair, then returns to the line. 

            The air conditioning is on.  I can feel the cool air on my feet.  I am wearing sandals.  A man enters wearing a brown suit.  He is talking on his cell phone.  He talks to the young man behind the counter and moves into a small group of people forming at the end of the counter. 

            A small boy has come in with a women and an older boy.  He has a tall iced drink with whipped cream in front of him.  Behind him are 2 teenage girls.  They laugh then talk to the young man in black. 

            There is music playing.  The music has an upbeat rhythm.  It is an undistinguishable tune.   There is a sign on the back wall that says at the top, “Starbucks: Shared Planet…..”    There is more, but I can’t read it. 

            A man approaches me and asks to borrow my pen….he writes something on a card and he thanks me.   

            Part II  

            Viewing this through the lens of Baudelaire, Baker reports that ‘crucial of modernism is….the  flaneur.  A flaneur, or stroller walks….. spaces of  the modern city experiencing the complexity, disturbances and confusions of the streets with their shops, displays, images and variety of persons.’  (Barker pg 183)  Further,  Featherstone adds  this ‘directs us towards the way in which the urban landscape has become aestheticized and enchanted through architecture, billboards, shop displays, advertisements, packages, street signs, etc.’  (Barker pg 183)         

            As the patron of Starbucks enters the environment he recognizes but can view the surroundings with a certain calm detachment. 

            Also, "identity projects and the aestheticization of daily life are linked together within consumer culture through the creation of lifestyles centered on the consumption of aesthetic objects and signs.  This is linked to a relative shift in importance in society from production to consumption."  (Barker pg 203)    For Baudrillard "commodities have sign values that confer prestige and signify values that confer prestige and signify social value, status and power."  (Barker 207)

            The mass marketing of Starbucks coffee  is aimed at the consumer, while masked in a non-threatening  surrounding. Regarding a postmodern environment Habermas has said, "the public organized itself and where public opinion is formed."  Also, "the increased commodification of everyday life by giant corporations transform people from rational citizens to consumers." (Barker 199) Thus,  people are comfortable and buy more coffee. 
             The patron can enter Starbucks, and stay in Starbucks to work or read.  Patrons are confronted with predictable behavior of other patrons.  "Identities are both unstable and temporarily stabilized by social practice and regular predictable behavior." (Barker 225)  The single patron becomes part of a family, part of a group.  "Collective identitiy exists, that it is 'a whole' expressed through symbolic rreprresentation." (Barker 227)   Thus,  the uniformity of signs, furniture and advertising adds to the comfort of the custormer. 

Baker, Chris. 2008, Cultural Studies, Theory & Practice, 3^rd Edition, Sage Publications