Sunday, January 31, 2016

Customer Interviews No. 1

Fish hawk, Florida is a little community right outside of Tampa that has most everything you would find in a small city; grocery stores, banks, doctor offices, homes, parks, nature trails, water parks, some restaurants and so on. However, I often wonder to myself where all of the 'healthy' options are. Being a plant-based eater, I find it very difficult to find places to enjoy in this community that offer plant-based, vegan, healthy foods. It seems that unless I go to a grocery store myself and put some ingredients together, I am so out of luck. With this personal unmet need, I can't help but believe there may be others out there that would consider the restaurant options in this area as an unmet need for them as well. Whether one is Vegan, Vegetarian, or just wants some healthier options, I feel this is truly an unmet need in the Tampa bay area, particularly in the community of Fish hawk.
With this idea,  I spend sometime in the local park over the weekend, observing some active people enjoying the outdoors and time with their family. I interview five people to try and uncover if this truly is an unmet need in their area!

Fish Hawk Marathon 


Questions being asked in interviews: 


  • Do you prefer to go out to a restaurant to eat or cook at home? Why?
  • Where is your favorite place to eat in this area?
  • What makes the restaurant your favorite? 
  • What types of cuisine is typically your favorite? 


(Videos will be uploaded later)

Interviews

1. Fish hawk Resident, Christine
  • Do you prefer to go out to a restaurant to eat or cook at home? Why?
    • "I like to go out to eat most of the time, I like to be out and about and not have to worry about cooking at home." 
  • Where is your favorite place to eat in this area?
    • "I normally drive to Brandon or Tampa to find a restaurant because the options are limited in this area. One of my favorite restaurants is Bone Fish Grill" 
  • What makes the restaurant your favorite? 
    • "They have a good menu... some healthy options that taste good and great specials!"
  • What types of cuisine is typically your favorite? 
    • "I eat mostly seafood and Italian foods."

2. Fish hawk Resident, Austin
  • Do you prefer to go out to a restaurant to eat or cook at home? Why?
    • "I prefer eating at home...there aren't many foods in this area that are healthy, mostly fast food places, etc."
  • Where is your favorite place to eat in this area?
    • "That is a tough one... The Brunchery sometimes for breakfast with my buddies I would say is my favorite."
  • What makes the restaurant your favorite? 
    • "I like to eat healthy and workout, they have good breakfast options...Omelets and stuff for breakfast."
  • What types of cuisine is typically your favorite? 
    • "I like all types of foods, although I try to eat healthy as much as possible."

3. Fish hawk Resident, Josh
  • Do you prefer to go out to a restaurant to eat or cook at home? Why?
    • "I prefer to eat at home because I save money and know what's in my food."
  • Where is your favorite place to eat in this area?
    • "I don't really have one."
  • What types of cuisine is typically your favorite? 
    • "Anything  really, Italian, Chinese...I am not picky!"

4. Fish hawk Resident, Lynn
  • Do you prefer to go out to a restaurant to eat or cook at home? Why?
    • "I like to meet with my friends from church at Panera bread or Chilis. That is just where we all have been going the last couple years..."
  • Where is your favorite place to eat in this area?
    • "If it's just myself, I like to go to the fresh market and get some healthy prepared foods."
  • What types of cuisine is typically your favorite to eat? 
    • "I really try to eat healthy... I eat a lot of salads and vegetables."

5. Fish hawk Resident, Michael
  • Do you prefer to go out to a restaurant to eat or cook at home? Why?
    • "I like to go out to eat, just wish there were more options in this area"
  • Where is your favorite place to eat in this area?
    • "I like the Sushi restaurant over by Stein mart. 
  • What makes the restaurant your favorite? 
    • "I have always been a sushi lover"
  • What types of cuisine is typically your favorite? 
    • "Sushi, but I would like to see some more healthier options to change it up."


Reflection

I realized from this assignment and interviews that there are many who do crave healthier options in the community of Fish hawk. Many of the people I spoke with seemed to leave the community for better food options but wish they had more options in their area. Without specifically asking about a plant-based restaurant, I learned that people are open-minded in this area and want to be more health-conscious. 

4 comments:

  1. Hey Rebecca,

    I really enjoyed reading through your blog this morning as I drank my coffee. Healthier food seems to be trending these days and I feel you are on to something here. Especially if it hasn't been established in your market yet. Our generation has been the reason why sales at McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, etc. have been declining. I am excited to see your actual videos so I intend to check back next week. The premise of my interviews was sort of similar. I too would like to cater to healthier food options. Check out my interviews. I'm sure they are somewhat entertaining.

    http://richardjeffries.blogspot.com/2016/01/customer-interviews-no-1.html

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  2. I think the questions you asked were straightforward and open-ended. I also saw a similar opportunity, but focused my efforts on college students here at UF who eat out, specifically in the midtown area. I really enjoy the idea of healthy alternatives that you don't have to spend too much money or time on them. For the first round of interviews I kept my questions very basic, but for our second round of interviews, I was going to branch out and ask similar things that you have- like favorite types of cuisines and what not. The opportunity I see is a healthy food truck behind midtown with lots of variety.

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  3. Hello Rebecca,
    your post was very interesting. I really enjoyed all of the questions you chose and how specific you were. I did not do this assignment but i'm glad I stumbled upon your blog because I love how you approached it. Maybe next time you can interview different people outside of the Fish Hawk community. It would be interesting to see what kind of feedback you receive. Overall it was a great post! Great job!

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  4. Hi Rebecca, I enjoyed reading your interviews! I really liked the concept you had of seeing if there was an unmet need for healthier food in the town. You asked good questions, though I would have liked to see some questions a bit more specific to healthy food or vegetarian options. Besides that though, I found it well done. If there is a large untapped market in town for people who like to dine out healthy, that would create a big opportunity for an aspiring entrepreneur to create such an establishment! Anyways, good work!

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