Cultural Theory and Res Studio

Welcome back, New media.

Long summer, but either way, on to business.

My first blog for the semester is to be written for a coffee shop. Timothy’s coffee shop, that is. During my first lecture, a lot of discussions took place, one of which was about studying the atmosphere of establishments using certain methods. The assignment: venture forth and snoop out a coffee place. The catch: only one place per group. Having the usual spots taken, I led my group to a Timothy’s I knew wouldn’t be chosen as another group’s destination. I was right, of course, but for the wrong reasons. See, I knew this place wouldn’t be popular, but damn, that was apparently the popular thought for everyone in College and Yonge street, Toronto. When we arrived, it was lunch time. The smell of sweet pastries and teas mixed in with the absence of customers (or servers). Oops. The assignment has been to study the norms or the establishment. The norm for this particular establishment was apparently cleaning the tumbleweed off the floor. Oh well. We finished the assignment and headed back. To our dismay, the opportunity for answering questions was blocked by the lack of answers. However, one particular question could easily be answered: “If there was one thing you would improve about this coffee shop, what would it be?”

Ding ding ding. You know what I would change about this coffee shop? LOCATION. SIGNAGE. How did I know this coffee place existed? There is a Dollarama down the hallway. That’s it. No signs. No references. No stories. So what would I do to help the place out? Put a sign outside the building. Put a sign on the window. Put a sign SOMEWHERE. Even my group had no idea where I was taking them. Whispers of a murder mystery ensued during the walk. It figured. It is then reasonable that my answer remains so. A coffee place cannot provide their valuable service (I’m sure. Caffeine free here.) without people to serve. People flock because they know a good place when they see one, and remember the event. Unfortunately for Timothy’s coffee on College and Yonge, that see-to-be factor doesn’t hit home.