Whole Foods Marketplace Observation Report

For this practicum, I acted as a sociologist at the Whole Foods Market in the Upper Kirby area from 3:00pm to 3:30 pm. I sat down at a small table near the bar, overlooking a large portion of the back end of the market. I could see the produce section, the bar, the beer displays and about half of the self-serve/to-go order food. After analyzing my observation and recounting on my experience, I can attest that the appropriate behavior was greatly encouraged by the process of civil inattention. Almost all of the customers recognized each other’s existence with a brief blank-faced glance. The customer would then quickly turn their heads away, gesturing that they had no interest for further interaction. Oddly, even customers within very close …show more content…
For example, I concluded that the two men at the bar were colleagues. They sat a bar stool away each other and barely engaged in eye contact as they spoke. Also, I concluded based on the demographics of the Upper Kirby area and the cost of the cars within the parking lot that the majoring of the store’s customers were members of the upper-middle/upper-class. Therefore, the social norm of social exclusion, being stuck-up as the middle/lower class would call, was at play in the store. Displaying emotions and casual, friendly conversation were not acceptable behavior. During my time as the sociologists, I had become accustomed to the stale, quiet, and reserved attitudes of everyone. So much so, that I was utterly shocked when the Mexican American men displayed emotions of happiness and a genuine interest, relative to our nonexistence relationship, of how my day was. Also, the not acceptable behavior was seen when the customer showed no interest in interacting with the happy employee. Regarding my observations, I can interpret with caution a difference between social norms in the upper-middle/upper-class American men versus the upper-middle/upper-class Non-American