The space
The Foo Bar Cafe outlet in Gandhinagar was chosen. The cafe sported the same youthful look that every FBC outlet does. Glass walls on three sides, interiors bathed in warm lights and the store itself being at a level raised above the street gave it the personality of an exciting place of "affordable luxury". The strong fragrance of coffee in the air was unmissable upon entering inside. The familiar couches with coffee colored upholstery dotted the inner periphery of the cafe. A few circular tables occupied the space in the middle without affecting the spaciousness of the place. The counter, where the staff members worked lied straight in front of the entrance, and away from most of customer seating area. The entrance to the counter was narrow and was marked by a metal plaque that said "Trespassers will wash plates." On the other end of the counter, farthest from the customers, were the noisiest machines and the washing sinks.
The people
Obtaining permission to conduct the study required going through a frustrating and a long process. For four days, I was referred to increasing managerial ranks till I finally talked to the Western Regional Manager in Mumbai to obtain the permission. No written replies to my text messages and emails were ever sent. My persistence and patience paid off and the go-ahead came in the form of a phone call to me. During that phase, what started as a humble classroom project, started to feel like an UNESCO project of historical importance. It must be mentioned that I was allowed to enter the counter area, a place where "outsiders can not be allowed", under a strange condition that I'm "not visible to the customers." As a justification for that condition, I was informed about the "image of counter area that customers have".
On my first visit to the cafe, I met Mr. Ashwin Kumar who was dressed in a neat FBC shirt. He manages this particular cafe and holds the position of a Management Trainee. When not at the cafe, he is at the Ahmedabad office attending meetings. He is "used to standing", but when he is not standing in the counter area he sits at the table with a lone chair, next to the counter entrance. Upon enquiring about his daily activities he mentioned checking the daily and weekly inventory as the first thing. "The critical inventory like milk and coffee should not run dry" is what he says. He checks emails from the company on his phone and the laptop. He also checks the sales reports at the end of the day before closing the cafe. He has worked in the hotel industry for the last 6 years and is very keen on keeping himself updated with latest happenings in this industry. He is also actively working to start his own chain of fast food restaurants.
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The Foo Bar Cafe outlet in Gandhinagar was chosen. The cafe sported the same youthful look that every FBC outlet does. Glass walls on three sides, interiors bathed in warm lights and the store itself being at a level raised above the street gave it the personality of an exciting place of "affordable luxury". The strong fragrance of coffee in the air was unmissable upon entering the spacious place. The cafe was managed by Mr. Ashwin Kumar. Other than him, are 6 other members of the staff. All employees at the cafe understood that they portray the image of the cafe and that it must be maintained to the standards that the company has created for itself.
Other than Mr. Ashwin are 6 members of the staff. Bhushan, Venkat and Satish were the ones who I talked to, the most. Other than them were Jayesh, Baldev and Vikas. Contrary to my expectation of the staff members being equal in their jobs, I was told that "sabke kaam seniority se bate hote hai." Satish handled the merchandise and sometimes prepared coffee and felt like a senior wise man to me. He talked the least, and his replies to my questions were usually short and to the point. Bhushan used to handle the cash register and took orders from customers. To me, he felt like the public face of the group. He talked the most. Jayesh prepared coffee and the snacks and did not talk much, neither to me, nor to the other staff members. He was also the most educated one amongst the staff members having dropped out of a B.Com. Degree course. Venkat had a stylish haircut but it remained concealed most of the times under his cap. He sometimes prepared coffee and along with Vikas, was mainly responsible for serving the customer orders. Vikas had joined recently as a trainee and was also responsible for cleaning the tables and the kitchen equipment. Baldev, who could not hear and speak, had been recruited at FBC through an NGO that works with deaf and dumb people. He was given the "HK work" (House keeping work) of cleaning the floors and the restrooms. He often cracked jokes using sign language and the other staff members laughed on them.
All staff members understood that they portray the "image of the company" and that it must be maintained to the standards that the company has created. It was this sense that made them check their uniforms, belts, caps and the tucked-in shirts every now and then.
A day at the cafe
The day at the cafe is supposed to start at 8 in the morning, but 8:15 is usually when it actually does. "Subah itna strict nahi hota hai time ka. 10-15 minute thik hai." is what Venkat says about the opening time. The cafe appears to be closed from outside, for the shutters are still down and the neighboring shops are closed, too. There are two staff members inside who have just arrived. The day starts for them, by "angutha lagana", which is getting their fingerprint scanned to record attendance. The air conditioner, the lights and the food display unit are turned on. The task of "saaf safai" is then carried out, which includes cleaning the furniture, floors, equipment and the cutlery. The count of cutlery items and coffee mugs is checked during this process. Cutlery and coffee mugs are cleaned and arranged on a shelf in order of their sizes. A waste bag is placed inside all three dustbins. The cap is an essential part of the uniform, but is left at the cafe before leaving and taking breaks. The staff members wear it as soon as they enter the counter area. The brewing machine that is used for preparing coffee makes a peculiar increasing sound like "Shhhh-tuk" and is powered by two concealed industrial boilers that must be filled to their capacity at the start of the day. The "badhti hui awaaz" of the water filling in them is used by the staff members to judge when the filling tap needs to be shut off.
Two people from the inventory team pull the shutters half way up, and enter to hand over three cartons of inventory. They are usually in a hurry and leave within a minute or less. They leave behind them the sealed cartons that are numbered in order of the "zarurat" of the items it contains. The same order is followed while emptying them into their designated shelves and cabinets. The food items are taken out of the refrigerators and along with new inventory, displayed in the counters. The order in which they are kept matters because old items must be sold first, and are therefore placed at the outer side of the display unit. Music and the TV are turned on. At around 9, when the cafe is "taka tak", ready for customers, the sign at the entrance door is flipped over to show that they are open for customers.
The mornings are usually silent, and the music plays at a low volume. The earliest customers, I'm told, are brokers from nearby offices who usually come to discuss their business. Other customers who visit the cafe are students from nearby colleges, or "corporate customers" who are people from offices at Infocity. All staff members can judge the customer's "type" by the way they dress, enter the cafe, and talk. Most customers come in groups. Brokers and corporate customer who have come for a meeting, generally order hot coffees for every member in the group, whereas couples who have come to spend time with each other, share a cold coffee. The staff member at the cash register takes the order. Based on the typeof customers, he suggests add ons and snacks. Customers are given the bill and a token that must be kept on the table for the server to identify their order. Rude or dissatisfied customers if any must be "handled properly without ego".
A printed copy of the ordered items is stuck to the back glass of food display unit and a token is kept next to them on a metal top. The token kept on the metal top makes a distinct sound and the bill is stuck with what looks to me like a slap. Unless the manager is around, there is no direct verbal communication between the staff members regarding the orders. "Apne aap sunai de jaata hai jab order aata hai." is what they say about knowing when a new order has been placed. The "apne aap sunai de jaata" part was later attributed to the sounds that things produce when they are kept on surfaces, which tells them about whose turn it is to handle the part of the order.
Aurally, the work happening in the counter area was in stark contrast with my idea of a FBC kitchen. Cabinet doors are slammed shut. Ice cubes make a loud rattling sound, when the small aluminum shovel is waded through them in the ice machine to pick them out. The coffee mugs produce a bell like ring when kept on the saucer. The blenders, although enclosed in sound-reducing cabinets, make a subtantial amount of noise when they are in operation. These sounds, however loud they may sound inside, miraculously seem to be easily ignored when you are outside the kitchen counter. "Awaaz to ho hi jaati hai jaldi jaldi mein. [...] Pata chalta hai ki ek jan ka kaam ho gaya hai, ab aage waale ki baari hai." is what they say when asked about the sound of keeping things.
Espresso is used as the base for preparing all coffee drinks. There is a strong emphasis on numbers and time at this stage. 6 grams of coffee beans, (measured through a portafilter) are grounded to make an espresso shot. The brewing machine, is used to "force steam" through the grounded coffee to create a "rich espresso shot". "Timing pe sab hota hai" is what I was told when talking about the recipes. The company has "timing guidelines" to make the "sahi coffee" that must be followed. The manager sees the guidelines as a way to reduce wastage while bringing out the right flavor. Milk is warmed and frothed, using steam, to 98 degrees Celsius. It is usually done in three steps that remind me of the two focussing knobs of a microscope. The first step, that corresponds to rough focussing, makes the milk frothy and fills the mug up to close to the top. The second and the third steps are like fine focussing, to get the mug filled to the "standard quantity". For cold coffees, ice is blended with espresso, and it is supposed to be done for 30 seconds. "Agar kam kiya toh sahi se nahi banegi coffee, aur zyaada kiya toh paani ho jaaega" is what Bhushan tells about the process. There are no timers, and thus "naye log" count the time mentally while working. The experienced ones know how much the coffee is blended by listening to the changing sound of blending - "Awaaz jaise badhti hai, us se samajh aa jaata hai. Time aur experience se aata hai yeh" in Bhushan's words. Items in an order must be prepared and served in batches of two. "Company ka niyam hai" is what Satish tells me about it, and Mr. Ashwin elaborates saying that "Iss se coffee ka sahi temperature maintain rehta hai." Orders that are ready to be served are kept on the other side of the counter, and the server comes out and serves the order at the right table according to the token number.
The other shift starts from 2PM. Up to 6 PM is when members from both shifts are together. Shifts are of 10 hours with a break of one hour. When there is "no big inventory loading" in the cafe, the manager visits the Ahmedabad office first and comes to the cafe at around 3PM and stays back till closing.
The noise in the cafe starts increasing after 4PM when more customers start visting. That's when the staff members have to increase the music volume. On asking, I was told, "Log badh jaate hai, awaaz hoti hai zyaada, toh badhana padta hai volume. [...] Customer apne liye aaya hai, agar dusro ki baato se disturb hoga, toh woh chale jaaega." For the first few days, I felt that the sound of the music might be important to the staff members. I was proved wrong when I was told, "Gaane toh company decide karti hai, hum sunte nahi hai zyaada. Cafe mein awaaz ke saath gaane ka volume badhana padta hai. Company ka niyam hai" and I realized that "customers ki awaaz" when they are talking in the cafe is what matters to the staff members more than the songs.
A regular day ends at 11PM when all customers have left. Shutters are lowered to avoid "tension" if the police is patrolling. The cafe now becomes silent. There is occassional banter amongst the staff members. On pointing it out the silence to Mr. Ashwin he tells me how the change in "awaaz" in the cafe throughout the day tells him about sales in the day, and that a "shaant" day at the cafe means no "mann mein shaanti." The sales reports and used and remaining inventory is checked. Instructions are given to the networked inventory control center for special requests, if any. The staff members clean the used cutlery, arrange them according to size and store the foods that are still "fresh" in the refrigerator. Order, again is important here. Vegetarian foods are kept on the top shelves in the refrigerator, because if the order is reversed, non-vegetarian food bits falling on vegetarian food while keeping will create a "religion issue." Other food items have to be thrown away along with other waste in a community dustbin away from the cafe.
The staff members decide amongst themselves and inform Mr. Ashwin about who will be taking the morning shift the next day. The caps are taken off, fingerprints are scanned again on the attendance machine, and the cafe is now locked and closed for the day. The staff members head to their homes in their bikes.
My interpretation and insights
When I started my study, I had a strong sense of familiarity with the Foo Bar Cafe cafes, which was also visible in my choice of certain words in the transcripts. This familiar image of FBC was challenged and changed when I interacted with them as a non-customer. I realised that when you visit a cafe as a customer, you tend to not notice a vast number of things.
There is a strong and clear sense of separation in the employees with respect to themselves and "bahar ke log" or outsiders. This distinction starts at the entrance of the counter area. The fact that a mockingly worded plaque marks the entrance is a testimony to this. During my initial days, I could draw parallels between the counter area and a secret research lab. The fact that I had to call up someone in Mumbai, to get permission to access the counter area in a cafe, 500kms away in Gandhinagar, showed how closely guarded the company keeps its processes.
There existed a sense of "The Company" being something on top of the employees. I found it shocking when I compared my perception of how the staff members perceive The Company, to Ingsoc from Orwell's 1984. It felt like an entity that that had no defined face, but had built an image for itself, and strongly imposed its rules, guidelines and policies on its staff members.
This Company was very particular about its image portrayed to its customers. It required the store shutters to be lowered when its staff members were busy dressing up the cafe. The neatness in the cafe, music that was played, the coffees that customers ordered, the couches that they sat on, and the fragrance of coffee that they smelt, all were very clearly defined by the company. All five senses fully utilized to create the experience that the company desired!
Order in arrangement was a significant theme that emerged. Duties of the staff members are divided according to order of their seniority. Kitchen equipment is arranged in order of the noise that they produce. The noisiest machines are kept farthest away from the customers. Cutlery and coffee mugs are arranged in order of size for easy accessibility and visibility. Inventory boxes are numbered and opened in order of the requirement of things that they contained. Food items are arranged in the display unit in order of their expiry dates. Recipes demanded that a certain order be followed in preparation of the drinks. Therefore, there existed sounds that held meaning because they represented some order or sequence.
The sound related to order (sequences) that was most important to the social group was the sound of keeping things. It helps them know, at a given moment, the stage in which an order is and whose turn it is to process it.
Sound of things being kept, I feel, was like names - the identity of the person in a way. Just as one would react to their name being called out, the staff members here react to the sound that marks the beginning of the stage of an order that they have to act upon. Everyone in the team had a particular thing whose sound identified the start of his role in the process of completing an order.
The other significant sound pattern is "badhti hui awaaz." Sounds that increase with time or change with time help the staff members in performing their functions. The company has timing guidelines that must be followed while preparing and serving an order. Ice must be blended for 30 seconds when a cold coffee is being prepared to get it right. Since there are no timers to time the blending duration, the change of sound that the blender produces while blending, tells them when is the right time to stop blending. Knowing when the sound of the blender has changed to just the right level, helps them create the perfect coffee and a satisfied customer.
In the course of a day, the way sounds from the customers in the cafe change, represents the sales. The noise in the cafe is at low levels in the morning when the cafe opens. It reaches its peak in the evening when the cafe is the busiest. It then reduces again in the night. Upon reflecting on the way sounds changed throughout the day, the manager gets an idea of the business in the day. A silent day at the cafe is not appreciated and ends with worries about not getting enough business. Getting low business in turn, affects the employees' chances of getting transferred.
Therefore, sounds that increase with time are linked to peace of mind at a professional and personal level. Such sounds are like rulers or yardsticks that measure conformance to standards and expectations of the company from the employees.
The cafe itself is like a large coffee mug that contains the flavor of the company. The employees and their work are the ingredients of this coffee. They mix with each other, in the right order and proportions, to create the right coffee. One may see it as only a mug of coffee from the outside, but it must be experienced completely from the inside to know what it is.