Monday, February 23, 2009

A Crowded Food Court

In my ethonography, I studied the table layout in the Commons Food Court.

From the many times I have eaten and watched tv in the Commons, I know that it can be very crowded, especially during meal times. I wanted to find out if there was a better way of laying out the tables and tvs.

I focused my study on what I consider the main area, which is the largest section, with 21 tables, and a tv at one end.

My study was performed from about 4:30 to 5. I left as it became increasingly crowded, and I realized that I could not continue to monitor all the comings and goings of everyone in the room.

When I initially sat down, I noticed that the tables were already fairly close together - far enough apart to allow easy navigation, but close enough that any closer would likely create a very crowded feeling among the tables. Because of this, it was apparent to me that the maximum number of tables was already reached. The only recommendation I could make as a result would be to lower the number of tables, but although it was not very crowded during my study, I know that the Commons regularly fills up during meal times.

One recommendation I feel I could make was to switch the tvs. I only noticed a couple of people of that many people there watching the tv. There is a tv in the room on the other side of the restaurant area. The room is smaller, but more people go to that room for watching tv. The tv in there is large, but old and the picture is grainy, it is difficult to watch. If the tvs were switched, it would give the other room a better tv to watch, and their would still be background noise in the main section.

To make recommendations on the table layout, I would need to spend more time watching the other sections in the Commons, and with more people to keep better track of people as the arrive and leave.

1 comment:

  1. Heh, I suppose people will glance at the tv every once in a while, during their meal. I know i do that myself. Also, it prob depends on the content thats being displayed. It'll be interesting to see if that change if they had a 60" HDTV on playing sports or something.

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