1. Assignment 2: Observation Lab
Insights and Hidden Opportunities
By
Sushmita Mukherjee

2. DISCLAIMER
New York City is still not back to full function after Hurricane Sandy. Lots of my
favorite stores are still closed. The subways are barely working, and it is hard
to move around the city. Plus, because the Public Schools are closed the entire
week, I am having to watch my 7-year-old daughter while I work, and thus
have much less freedom in terms of visiting stores and taking photos.
So, I am first going to present my insights from a few businesses near my work
that I was able to visit today, and then present my recollections from
businesses I love, using pictures taken off the Internet.

3. Businesses in my neighborhood
(Upper East Side, Manhattan, NYC)
Visited on 11/01/2012, after they
reopened post-Hurricane Sandy

4. Mélange: A Mediterranean deli and grocery
Those baklavas seen through the window are sure hard to ignore!
The storekeepers, father/son team from Lebanon, are friendly, know many of the
customers by name, and are proud of what they sell! All salads, sandwiches and
platters are home-made – everything is fresh and yummy! Their door is almost
always open, and you feel invited when you walk in…

5. The neighborhood flower store
Beautiful fresh (and dried) flowers and plants – inviting displays right on the street –
enticing you to go in and check out the store! Their door is almost always open,
except when the weather is really awful. Again, the salespeople are knowledgeable,
will tell you how to care for the plants, and proud of the quality of what they sell.
And sure enough, I often buy my plants from here, although they are often more
expensive than other flower stores in the neighborhood.

6. Yogurtland: a brand-new frozen yogurt place
This store is part of a frozen yogurt revolution sweeping through Manhattan! Many
flavors (typically 16 – two flavors per station – you can choose either one, or a
swirl)… You get a cup, take what you want, how much you want, and put your own
topping as you like it. Needs very little manpower, people like it because they feel in
charge… plus, it is easier to deal with the guilt of indulgence by saying, “oh, I’ll only
take a little bit…” Parents are happy because the children can have a snack and
not gorge themselves. A good antidote to the “super-size” culture!!

7. City drugs: beautiful drug store with no customers
This store has surprised me ever since it opened a few months ago. It is a relatively large retail space (by
Manhattan standards), extremely neat and super-well organized. Medicines (mostly vitamins and supplements),
are beautifully displayed in lighted cabinets with a modern, almost museum-like aesthetic.
So, when it first opened, I went inside, and found that most of the supplements were actually cheaper
(department store-type) brands, that true health-food aficionados will scoff at. The girl (only one) in the store did
not know anything about vitamins and supplements, and did not seem to care! Over the past few months, I have
walked by the store almost daily. There have hardly been any potential customers, and I have never seen anyone
purchase something there! And that is saying a lot, since there are 3 large hospitals blocks from this store!
This is so much unlike my favorite health-food store just a few blocks away – stocked floor to ceiling with a
hodge-podge of stuff – so much so that regulars like me go straight to the register and ask to be directed to what
I need. And more often than not, the knowledgeable owners will tell me about a related new product that just
came on the market, or the super-fresh supply of chia seeds that just came in – just in case I might need some. I
often leave that store with more than I had gone in to buy, and feeling happy for having spent the money!
Something to say about salespeople who are proud of what they sell, and care about their stuff and their
customers.

8. Some of my all-time favorite
businesses that I could not access
for this assignment because of
transport problems etc. post-
Hurricane Sandy
Photos from Google images

9. L’Occitane en Provence
Even before you enter the store, you smell the lavender – right outside on the
sidewalk. Products are rather expensive, but most often worth the price. Plus, there
are always “carry-on” sizes or gift sets, that even an academic like me can afford!
The salespeople are friendly and knowledgeable. They come up to you almost at
once (unless they are really busy or it is holiday season) and ask if you need help.
If you say no, they leave you alone to browse for as long as you want, but are
available should you have questions. Plus, they often have special rewards or free
“mini-spa” events in their stores, advertising their seasonal or flagship or new
products. I almost always leave this store happier than when I went in! If you can’t
take a vacation to French countryside, this is the second best!

10. Apple store: all things geek
If there is a heaven on earth, it is here, it is
here, it is here.
- Mughal emperor, Jahangir, when
he first set his eyes on the valley of Kashmir in India
(and repeated, in utter
seriousness, by this hopeless geek in Manhattan)

11. Whole foods: a feast for all senses
There is new life in the soil for every man. There is healing in the trees for
tired minds and for our overburdened spirits, there is strength in the hills, if
only we will lift up our eyes. Remember that nature is your great restorer.
- Calvin Coolidge

12. Insights and Hidden Opportunities
The most important factors for a business to be successful:
 Salespeople are knowledgeable about their products
 They sincerely believe that their products are the best to be
had in that class
 They care about their customers and try to get to know them
 Customers can trust honest advice from the salesperson, and
do not feel pressured to buy
 The display, while surely important in attracting potential
customers, eventually does not translate into a sale without the
above factors