October 13th, 2008 - McDonald's on East Michigan Ave
11:28am Same McDonald's that I observed last time but this time I am going to observe the parking lot and Drive-thru activity. The weather is nice, warm and sunny.
11:32am As I pull in I notice the parking lot is pretty full. I drive in and try to find a spot that I can back into and will give me a good view of the drive-thru traffic and those that come in and out of the McDonald's too.
It is definitely warm outside so I roll my window a little bit and I notice that I can kind of here people placing their drive-thru orders.
11:37amThe drive-thru is busy, much more steady than the traffic parking and going into the restaurant.
An older couple parks and goes in.
I can hear a younger man in a pick-up truck at the drive-thru placing his order. He picks some stuff off of the dollar menu, a couple cheeseburgers and a pop.
11:42am The Drive-thru is thinning out, I can't see anymore vehicles. The last one has pulled around the building, to the pick-up window.
11:45am A middle-age lady in a blk Charger pulls up and orders a coffee drink.
A young lady in a Volkswagen pulls through and orders a meal.
Traffic starts picking up. It is a much more diverse crowd than I saw when I observed inside the restaurant.
A lot of guys come through in pick-up trucks
11:52am Drive-thru moves at a quick pace. There are no back ups or long wait periods.
A group of women park and go into the restaurant. All appear to be in their mid thirties. No one is extremely small but no one appears to be largely overweight either.
Another woman pulls up driving a large delivery truck and parks. She heads inside too.
11:56am A middle-aged guys comes out with a huge drink cup. He must have supersized his meal.
The drive-thru is starting to fill up again.
Quite a dew older people are parking and going into and coming out of the restaurant like I observed last time.
12:02pm I notice no older people in the drive-thru lane so far.
Interesting: A couple of people in the drive-thru are using the trash can provided to throw out other fast food bags and cups. They must frequent drive-thru's often?
I haven't noticed anyone who is noticeably over weight coming or going into McDonald's so far.
12:04pm The lady driving the delivery truck is exiting the McDonald's with a food bag, no drink. She chose to go inside to order rather than the driv thru.
12:05pm She is still sitting there, now with her window rolled down. She chose to eat outside in her vehicle rather than inside. Maybe b/c the weather is so nice?
12:06pm A middle age guys shows up on a bike, slim build. Going inside to eat it appears. Another guy pulls up on a moped. Trying to conserve gas?
Another wave of cars arrive, all go to the drive-thru. 8 cars at once!!! Now another one. The line is all the way around the building.
The line is moving pretty quickly but more people keep coming.
12:09pm So far everyone in line appears to be between the ages of 25-45 . About equal- half are women and the other half in line are men. Everyone is alone in their vehicles, maybe that is why they are going through the drive-thru?
12:11pm You can tell its lunch time, the cars keep pouring and all head to the drive-thru. One car does park and an older couple gets out, they appear to be in their 70's.
All of the men in the drive-thru right now look over weight: big bellies and all are older
12:13pm Just noticed my first older couple in the drive-thru. Very old and little. Totally cute! Although not sure if he should be driving, he can barely see over the steering wheel!!!
Haven't seen anyone with kids in the drive-thru line. They probably are all inside b/c of the play land area. The drive-thru line is packed now and is all the way at the entrance.
12:17pmSome creepy guys in a van notice me from the drive-thru line. Won't quite staring!!
Line is finally starting to slow down. The parking lot is slow, very few cars.
2 older men emerge from the restaurant carrying large cups. Everyone that leaves it seems, takes their drinks with them.
12:20pm Two vehicles pull in- one goes for the drive-thru (an older man) the other parks ( an older woman with her daughter, maybe?)
Another kid pulls in and heads for the drive-thru. I would totally have to say that 4 out of 5 cars opt for the drive-thru rather than park and go in.
12:23pm A big semi pulls in and heads for the back of the parking lot and parks
Whew! It is getting warm in my car, I role the window down more.
You sure can smell that greasy fast food!!
12:25pm A business man pulls in and parks to go inside and then another pulls in and heads for the drive-thru. Both are slim and well built.
12:28pmActivity is up and down here but it is always fairly steady. The parking lot has a speed bump that I just now notice. Anyone going thru the drive-thru has to drive over it. They definitely have to repaint the parking lines, you can barely see them
12:31pmI decide to pack up, the traffic through here has slowed down.
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3 comments:
I like the way your fieldnotes are so detailed, and you sometimes throw in questions. I would have never thought to sit outside and watch the drive thru. Smart thinking!
Really interesting fieldnotes!! I wonder why so many guys in pick-up trucks go through...
You've noticed so many fascinating details and asked great questions!! I am sorry you got stared at by a creepy guy! Great job taking such detailed notes again - this is so interesting to read about!
Full credit
Keri, I like the way you take your fieldnotes. You descibe everything so well, I feel like I am in the car with you watching. There are a lot of different types of trucks that go through the drive thru. I loved your humor in the little old man/woman story, the part about seeing over the steering wheel. Way to cute! I understand the take the drink with you thing cause I do that too. I am curious about the obease factor now?
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