Thursday, July 18, 2013

Jen's interviews...sorry no pictures :( NEXT TIME hopefully

Interview: 1
Date: 7/17/2013
Name: Leslie D.
Age: 28
Gender: Female
Employer/Industry: Georgetown University
Occupation: Works at GU Law (unsure of position)
Income: Educated Guess of 50k/year
Residence: NW DC
Ethnicity: Hispanic

This was my first interview.  I had no idea where to start but then it just came to me.  I started asking Leslie what her day was like, down to the specifics, and then about her routines.  I followed up with inquiries, such as, “tell me more about your beauty routine.” “At what other times do you use this beauty routine?”  After the first few questions, the conversation flowed.  I learned that Leslie finds it inconvenient to go to the gym during the day because she has to “re-do” herself.  Upon asking her to elaborate and explain ways that would encourage her to go to the gym during the day, I learned that she would pay for a Beauty Bar style concept, if it were attached to her gym and relatively quick.  I encouraged her to talk about her “going out” routine and her girls night routines.  However, she responded with short answers that did not indicate any problems we could offer her solutions to. 

Interview: 2
Date: 7/19/2013
Name: Temple M.
Age: 49
Gender: Female
Employer/Industry: Government
Occupation: Human Resources
Income: 70k/year
Residence: Prince Georges County Maryland
Ethnicity: African American

My first question generated the following:  Temple enjoys cooking creatively, tasting food and trying to figure out the ingredients.  She gets her hair done every week.  This is her relaxation and girl talk time.  She goes every Thursday and enjoys seeing the regular Thursday patrons.  She gets her nails done regularly.  She is HR for her church.  At this point I redirect her back to her nails and ask her why she enjoys getting her nails done.  Her response was that this is “my time.”  It’s the time she listens to “juice,” catches up on all the gossip and finds out what is going on in the TV shows she missed.  I asked her why she doesn't do her hair and nails on the same day and she responded because of time.  I also asked her what would make her salon experience better and she confirmed speed is important.  I then asked her what her thoughts were on salons that could “do it all” in one place.  She said if it could be done fast that would be great.  She expressed that she dislikes waiting for her shampoo person, then her stylist, and then her eye brown waxing person.  She currently spends $50 a week for her hair cut and $54 a week for her nails (mani/pedi).  She expressed interest in threading (vice waxing) but they do not offer the service in her shop.

I then tried to move the conversation towards events and asked her if she ever participated or was part of a wedding.  She elaborated on her wedding experience; confirming she had her nails, hair and makeup done over a series of days.  I asked her about her thoughts about doing it all in the same day and she said she enjoyed it over a series of days.  But, if she were to travel into a new city for the wedding, she would prefer it all in one day.  The last wedding she was in, the venue was 30 minutes from the salon, and they got dressed at the brides house.  She confirmed it would be more fun if they all got ready together in the same location.   This is when I told her about our concept.  She immediately responded saying that she could see her daughter using this type of service for different types of events, not just weddings.  She also asked about pricing and package deals; She told a story about her experience with renting out a sex toy shop wither girlfriends, and how they could choose packages for classes that are taught at the shop.  She expressed a lot of interest in package deals. 

Interview: 3
Date: 7/19/2013
Name: Amanda R.
Age: 21
Gender: Female
Employer/Industry: Government
Occupation: Human Resources
Income: 45k/year
Residence: Vienna, Virginia
Ethnicity: Caucasian

Amanda was a bit more difficult to get information out of.  First she shared that she enjoys cooking and baking.  She does not go out a lot because she just moved to the area and isn’t making a lot of money yet.  She does her own hair and doesn’t trust many people with it.  In college, she would get ready with her 4 roommates and they would ask each other what “looks good” referring to their outfits of choice.  They would also share and compare clothes, shoes, jewelry, etc.  Because she was more difficult to solicit information out of, I jumped in rather early with the Beauty Bar concept.  I thought for sure she wouldn't be interested, but, she actually responded positively.  She liked the one stop shop idea as long as it is with friends.  She would pay for a social experience such as the one we would offer.  She wouldn't mind if other groups were in the same facility/room as her unless it was a very special occasion such as a wedding.  She talked about getting her younger sister a gift card for prom.  I asked her a few more direct questions that resulted from my first two interviews.  I asked her about her work out routine and why she doesn't work out during the middle of the work day.  She confirmed that her beauty routine is too complicated to have to do in the middle of the day.  However, she would pay for a service that did her hair and makeup after a workout if it would faster than her routine.

Interview: 4
Date: 7/19/2013
Name: Kate A.
Age: 30
Gender: Female
Employer/Industry: Government
Occupation: Foreign Service Officer
Income: 75k/year
Residence: Washington, DC
Ethnicity: Caucasian

Upon asking Kate about her day and daily routine, I learned that Kate enjoys working out, going to dinner or to see a movie with friends, dancing when possible.  She gets ready before she goes to work and before she “goes out” dancing.  Her typical routine before she goes out is turning the music on for motivation, showering, finding something to wear (usually trying on multiple outfits and asking her roommate if they are ok), and the typical beauty routine to her hair and face.  She has been in weddings before where she helped plan the weddings and event was a hair stylist for one of the weddings she was in.  She went to get her nails done with her sister and in another wedding with all the girls in the party.  Currently she will get her nails done every couple months but only if she goes with a friend or more.  When getting ready for work, she tries to make her routine as quick as possible.  She only works out in the morning or evening because of the hassle of getting put back together during the day and the traffic she would hit when leaving work at a later hour.  She would work out during the day if she had a faster routine or had more flexible hours without the traffic issue.  Her biggest upsets in the day are traffic, work, and controlling her food intake.  In order to relax she works out.  “Endorphins are real.”  She also hangs out with friends.  She wouldn't increase her visits to the salon because it is too expensive. 

At this point, I revealed the Beauty Bar concept.  She said she liked the idea.  When asked if she would pay for it, she said it depended on the price.  I asked her how much would she be willing to pay and her response was $50.


My findings/common themes:  Most people would pay for faster service to improve their quality of life; such as faster gym time.  When presented with the group/event ideas, there was expression in having music played and low cost package deals.  Everyone appreciated the drinks concept and also the potential transportation services.  

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