Sociological Perspective on a Restaurant

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Table of Contents

The Case
Review of Literature
Hypothesis
Collecting and Analyzing Data
Conclusion
Works Cited

The Case

This research involved participant observation in a restaurant; the Marino restaurant. This local restaurant is a perfect place for observing interpersonal interactions in public places. The researcher visited the restaurant on three consecutive Saturday evenings and noted various significant demographics associated with this setting.

First, the restaurant plays slow classical music, which usually is ideal for a family dinner. The middle class and families frequent it, and it serves diverse local and foreign cuisines. Also, the type of lighting tends to be brighter, especially in the evenings, indicating that the place is more family oriented. The researcher observed that to get the waitress’s attention, one has to maintain prolonged eye contact or call out for the waiter. The patrons’ voice levels are usually low indicating that the conversations are intimate.

The seating pattern is typically a four-person per table arrangement. The employees’ demeanor is friendly, as each table is served by one waitress who ensures that customer’s needs are met. The menu served in this restaurant reflects the American culture; it includes local food items like steaks, soups, and hamburgers. Other norms observed by the researcher include the use of silverware and cutlery (knife and forks) by patrons instead of fingers and the preference of soda to beer.

Also, each patron puts a napkin on his or her lap before taking a meal, and the maximum allowable tip is set at 15 percent. In this restaurant, the staff attire matches the décor of the restaurant while the patrons’ attires change depending on the weather. Also, there is a bit of lousy phone etiquette among patrons, with many of them making calls from their tables.

Review of Literature

Most studies on eating out in a restaurant setting focus more on patron experience. Seong-Seop and Chong-Ki suggest several factors that influence customer preference of commercially prepared meals to home cooked meals. He argues that the restaurant, besides providing food, is a place of theatrical performance, and its atmosphere and quality of service have an appealing sensory experience (Iso-Ahola 51). Moreover, in American culture, eating out is often preferred by many, especially on weekends.

Griffin states that, in modern restaurants, the atmosphere, customer service and décor aim to enhance “customer responsibility and shape sociality” (5). Thus, restaurants are designed in such a way that they stimulate conversation and engagement between two people. Concerning social behavior in restaurants, Dirks and Rice argue that human performance is shaped by normative demands of the social or cultural context (43). Thus, eating out behavior is culture-specific; it reflects the culture of the clients.

Eating in a restaurant on Saturday nights has symbolic significance in the American context. Often, people eat out when it is necessary or out of pleasure. Previous research in Britain by Crompton and McKay suggested that dining out in restaurants is a common way social distinction is expressed in the society (427).

This shows that dining out has significant symbolic and social implications for certain groups, a scenario that makes it possible to assess the expression of social groupings in a given restaurant. Similar studies in the U.S. establish similar findings.

A study by Parret indicates that the frequency of dining out and the venues visited by many Americans reflect age, social class, income level, gender and region (492). On the other hand, studies on labor practices and commercial cooking, which are based on data obtained from interviews, ethnography, and observation, suggest that face-to-face relations influence the social behavior of the clientele.

Typically, the manner of delivery and service organization (self-service or formal) and the nature of customer-waiter interactions are essential aspects that shape social behavior in a restaurant (Parret 497). The feeling of satisfaction with the service and the dining experience impacts patron behavior during and after the dining event.

Cialdini and Goldstein have studied the roles of waiters and waitresses in restaurant settings. This study gives insights into the role of waiting in restaurant settings and how it affects the customers’ food choices and social behavior (Cialdini and Goldstein 43).

Issues related to eating out such as social divisions, the restaurant choice, and cultural as well as economic factors associated with dining out can be addressed using one or more social perspective (Levin 2). Based on the information gathered from the literature reviewed, the researcher assumes a structural functionalism perspective to explore socio-cultural issues in the context of the Marino’s restaurant.

Hypothesis

Eating out especially on weekends is a common practice among Americans. The characteristics of the restaurant often reflect the economic, social and cultural aspects of the patrons. From the décor of the restaurant, the type of conversations, the type of cuisine served to the demeanor of the staff. A restaurant often reflects the cultural, social and economic status of the patrons.

This study seeks to test the hypothesis that the social/human behaviors in the Marino’s restaurant correlate with the patrons’ social, cultural and economic status. The social factors (nature of conversations, phone etiquette, type of music, seating arrangements and cuisine choice) are the dependent variables. The independent variable, in this case, is the nature of the restaurant, i.e., its orientation.

A family oriented restaurant offers a service that is different from that offered by a date-oriented restaurant. Restaurant orientation determines the social behavior of the patrons frequenting the place. Conversely, social behaviors correlate with the restaurant’s orientation.

Collecting and Analyzing Data

The restaurant’s attributes reflect its social class and the characteristics of its patrons. As Parret writes, dining out in America correlates with the region, gender, social class and age (497). Similarly, the décor and other characteristics of the Marino restaurant appeal to middle-class households.

The patrons are mainly from the local area; they visit the restaurant to sample out the local and foreign cuisines and spend time with their families after a busy week. The music played is slower, providing a relaxing atmosphere that is ideal for a family outing. Parret would classify the restaurant as regional and appealing to a particular social class, i.e., families.

Waiting in restaurants and the interpersonal interaction between the waiter/waitress and the customer also influence behavior. As Crompton and McKay write, a customer’s gratification or discontent depends on how the waiters/waitresses interact with the customer (427).

In Marino, the serving staffs have a friendly demeanor and swiftly respond to the customer needs. However, the researcher observed that it is only through sustained eye contact that one can draw their attention. Crompton and McKay would attribute possible customer discontent to the difficulty to get waiter’s attention and the limited managerial involvement in customer affairs.

The Marino restaurant’s characteristics such as the type of music played, seating arrangement, the décor, and silverware as well as the drinks served (soda) correlate with the American culture of eating out. Cialdini and Goldstein state that a popular restaurant, besides offering a broad range of dishes that appeal to diverse customer tastes has an atmosphere that appeals to their sensory experience (43). Marino’s attributes appeal to families making the place a popular weekend dining place for families.

Conclusion

It is clear that several factors determine eating out by families in restaurants. In particular, the orientation of the restaurant (family or date orientation) influences the preference of patrons frequenting a particular site, especially on weekends.

Also, attributes of the restaurant such as the kind of music played, seating arrangements, décor, the nature of interpersonal interaction between the waiters/waitresses and the customers, and the cuisines served influence social interactions and human behavior in eating places.

Marino has attributes that appeal to families. It’s bright lighting, four-seat per table arrangement, major dishes served (hamburgers and steak), drinks (soda) make it an ideal family dining place.

From a structural functionalist perspective, the American culture dictates that once in a while, families eat out in a restaurant. This practice creates employment for the restaurant staff, suppliers and truck drivers who deliver the produce. Therefore, this practice is functional as it sustains the economy of American society. Also, the kind of music that Marino plays is functional; slow, classical music provides a relaxing atmosphere that is ideal for a family dinner.

In this study, the independent variable (restaurant orientation) correlates with the nature of conversations, staff service/interaction, phone etiquette, type of music, seating arrangement and cuisine served at Marino’s restaurant. Future studies should examine how restaurant orientation determines the social responsibility to pay bills, the age of waitresses and symbolism in a given restaurant setting.

Works Cited

Cialdini, Robin, and Noah J. Goldstein. “The science and practice of persuasion.” Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly 43.2 (2002): 40-50. Print.

Crompton, Jill, and Sally McKay. “Motives of visitors attending festival events.” Annals of Tourism Research 24.2 (1997): 425-439. Print.

Dirks, Don, and Stephen K. Rice. “Dining while black: Tipping as social artifact.” Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly 45.1 (2004): 30-47. Print.

Griffin, Erick. A First Look at Communication Theory. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies. 1997. Print.

Iso-Ahola, Simor. The psychology of leisure and recreation. New York: Prentice Hall. 1980. Print.

Levin, Jack. The Sociology of Boston’s Restaurants: Where Diversity and Good Food Meet. 2008. Web.

Parret, Matt. “An analysis of the determinants of tipping behavior: A laboratory experiment and evidence from restaurant tipping.” Southern Economic Journal 73. 2 (2006): 489-514. Print.

Seong-Seop, Kim, and Lee Chong-Ki. “Push and pull relationships.” Annals of Tourism Research 29.1 (2001): 257-260. Print.

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