For this assignment, I chose to do an ethnography study at a food truck event that is held at in Quincy every year. It was held on Saturday, September 26, 2015 from 12pm to 5pm. The event was held at a public park with about twenty different food trucks and a few vendors. People are allowed to bring their kids and pets to this event. The main purpose of this event is so that people can test out the different food trucks that are available in Boston, all in one space. They are also able to purchase beverages, such as beer and wine, in addition to food, and then sit in the open field to enjoy their meal.
The activity that I chose to study and focus on at this event was how people decided which food truck to buy food at. There were many different options such as Mediterranean food, seafood, Asian food, and also desserts. I wanted to understand what factors drove people to pick the particular food trucks that they had decided to purchase food at. Understanding these driving factors can maybe help lead to creating an application that will help make this decision a bit easier for attendees.
I was at this food truck event from 2:15pm to 4:30pm. The way that it’s set up is that people go through the front entrance of the park that leads to an open field. The left side of the field contains a small beer garden and the right side of the field contains all the food trucks. The food trucks were lined up in a semicircle in the back of the field. The very front of the field, on the other side of the trucks were some tents and tables where vendors sold their products. This set –up allowed attendees to easily view all the trucks vendors when they are in the middle of the field and also provides ample amount of grass space them to sit on. The weather during the time of this event was a bit chilly and windy, but it was very sunny.
While doing my observations, I sat in the middle of the open field so that I could easily view everything going on. Many of the attendees came with at least one other person or they came in a group. People who came in groups were mainly younger people or families with children. After people entered the field, the first thing that most people will do was either head straight for the beer garden or look at the blackboard that contained a list of all the food trucks. People would look at it, talk about it with the people they are with, and some even take pictures of it. After looking at the board, some start walking to the very first food truck to view their menu. Other people will head to a random truck. When people arrive in front of a truck, they would stand in front of it for a bit to look at the menu and chat with the people they are with before either waiting in line to order, talking to the cashier, or walking to the next truck. Once food is purchased at the truck, many will still continue browsing through to the next truck. Seemed like once at least everyone in the group has their own food item, they will then choose a spot on the grass to sit. The artifacts observed during these activities were cell phones for taking pictures of the blackboard, of the trucks, and also of their food. Wallets and money were used for paying the cashier. There were also plastic utensils, napkins, plastic containers and trays, and also the food itself held within the containers.
When I went to conduct my interview, I looked for someone who has just entered the park and walked over to their first truck to ask them how they decided on the particular truck they had chosen. The first interviewee was a black female in her late 20’s and she came with her boyfriend. She had chosen a truck called, Bon Me, an Asian fusion truck, somewhere on the other side of the park entrance. I asked her why she decided to pick this food truck to go to first. “I saw good reviews of the food here on Yelp … I’ve always wanted to try it but every time this truck comes by my work, the line is way too long.” She had previously seen and heard about the particular truck before and this event offered her the opportunity to finally try out their food without any time restrictions such as having to return to work by a certain time.
The second person I decided to interview was an Asian man in his early 30’s who came with another friend. They had chosen start looking at the very first truck called Plouf Plouf Gastronomie, a truck that serves French cuisine. When I asked the man why he chose this particular truck to go to first, he said that he wanted to go around to check out all the trucks first to see all his available options before making a decision since some of the trucks he has never heard of before.
After conducting this ethnography study. It is observed that attendees do not attend these kind of events on their own and come with at least one other person. When deciding on which food truck to purchase food at, there are a few factors that are taken into account. One factor is if the attendee has heard of the truck prior to attending the event. If they have heard good reviews about a truck before, they will more likely purchase food from the truck. This may be from prior experience, the internet, or from the friend(s) that they are attending the event with. Another factor depends on the options that are available. After browsing through all the available options, based on the person's taste, they will choose to purchase a plate from a truck that best fits their taste. Some other factors that may affect their decision is how much cash they have and the waiting time in the lines.
An application that I would find useful for this event would be a mobile app that displays all the food trucks that are available and the menu for each truck. This way, attendees can easily view all the food that is available before walking over to the truck. This will save them time from walking and will help them make quicker decisions with the people they are with.
The activity that I chose to study and focus on at this event was how people decided which food truck to buy food at. There were many different options such as Mediterranean food, seafood, Asian food, and also desserts. I wanted to understand what factors drove people to pick the particular food trucks that they had decided to purchase food at. Understanding these driving factors can maybe help lead to creating an application that will help make this decision a bit easier for attendees.
I was at this food truck event from 2:15pm to 4:30pm. The way that it’s set up is that people go through the front entrance of the park that leads to an open field. The left side of the field contains a small beer garden and the right side of the field contains all the food trucks. The food trucks were lined up in a semicircle in the back of the field. The very front of the field, on the other side of the trucks were some tents and tables where vendors sold their products. This set –up allowed attendees to easily view all the trucks vendors when they are in the middle of the field and also provides ample amount of grass space them to sit on. The weather during the time of this event was a bit chilly and windy, but it was very sunny.
While doing my observations, I sat in the middle of the open field so that I could easily view everything going on. Many of the attendees came with at least one other person or they came in a group. People who came in groups were mainly younger people or families with children. After people entered the field, the first thing that most people will do was either head straight for the beer garden or look at the blackboard that contained a list of all the food trucks. People would look at it, talk about it with the people they are with, and some even take pictures of it. After looking at the board, some start walking to the very first food truck to view their menu. Other people will head to a random truck. When people arrive in front of a truck, they would stand in front of it for a bit to look at the menu and chat with the people they are with before either waiting in line to order, talking to the cashier, or walking to the next truck. Once food is purchased at the truck, many will still continue browsing through to the next truck. Seemed like once at least everyone in the group has their own food item, they will then choose a spot on the grass to sit. The artifacts observed during these activities were cell phones for taking pictures of the blackboard, of the trucks, and also of their food. Wallets and money were used for paying the cashier. There were also plastic utensils, napkins, plastic containers and trays, and also the food itself held within the containers.
When I went to conduct my interview, I looked for someone who has just entered the park and walked over to their first truck to ask them how they decided on the particular truck they had chosen. The first interviewee was a black female in her late 20’s and she came with her boyfriend. She had chosen a truck called, Bon Me, an Asian fusion truck, somewhere on the other side of the park entrance. I asked her why she decided to pick this food truck to go to first. “I saw good reviews of the food here on Yelp … I’ve always wanted to try it but every time this truck comes by my work, the line is way too long.” She had previously seen and heard about the particular truck before and this event offered her the opportunity to finally try out their food without any time restrictions such as having to return to work by a certain time.
The second person I decided to interview was an Asian man in his early 30’s who came with another friend. They had chosen start looking at the very first truck called Plouf Plouf Gastronomie, a truck that serves French cuisine. When I asked the man why he chose this particular truck to go to first, he said that he wanted to go around to check out all the trucks first to see all his available options before making a decision since some of the trucks he has never heard of before.
After conducting this ethnography study. It is observed that attendees do not attend these kind of events on their own and come with at least one other person. When deciding on which food truck to purchase food at, there are a few factors that are taken into account. One factor is if the attendee has heard of the truck prior to attending the event. If they have heard good reviews about a truck before, they will more likely purchase food from the truck. This may be from prior experience, the internet, or from the friend(s) that they are attending the event with. Another factor depends on the options that are available. After browsing through all the available options, based on the person's taste, they will choose to purchase a plate from a truck that best fits their taste. Some other factors that may affect their decision is how much cash they have and the waiting time in the lines.
An application that I would find useful for this event would be a mobile app that displays all the food trucks that are available and the menu for each truck. This way, attendees can easily view all the food that is available before walking over to the truck. This will save them time from walking and will help them make quicker decisions with the people they are with.