Each place in the modern context is ruled by its own norms, some of which aren’t

established but just exist naturally. These norms can exist both formally and

informally and are the foundation to the fluid functioning of a given environment. The

detailed study of such norms and values is known as micro ethnography. Micro

ethnography is concept that is naturally ingrained in our subconscious thinking and is

something that we experience in our everyday lives. Everyone makes observations

when introduced to a new environment, out of a need to fit in and accustom

themselves with the environment, which is what leads to the foundation of an

acceptable and stable society. Fast food restaurants, in particular, are third spaces

which have noticeably distinguished norms which are essential to be followed for a

pleasurable dining and serving experience for everyone. This essay will explore the

norms that I identified in a fast-food restaurant called ‘Sheetz’ and explore the

ethnicity of the people in that restaurant.

To provide a clear idea of my understanding of the perspective of my observations it

is essential to first establish the time at which I made my observations. I made my

observations at two in the night, which is a time when most of the world is asleep

and the restaurant is relatively unsaturated by customers. The time explicitly

impacted my observations of the demographics of the people in the restaurant and

the reason I chose to make my observations at this time was because Sheetz is one

of the few fast-food restaurants that runs 24/7 and the customer demographics are

noticeably different during late hours at night than peak afternoon hours.

The population of people at Sheetz was divided into two groups, the workers and the

customers. The workers were probably aged between twenty to thirty are the male to
female worker ratio was roughly the same. The workers belonged to ethnicities from

all over the world such as Chinese, Indians, African Americans etc. but were

restricted to visually represent their ethnic belonging through their clothing as the first

formal norm which I noticed was that they wore similar uniforms which had the

Sheetz logo on it. This was one of the most prominently noticeable norms of the

restaurant and it probably exists as a symbol of the workers’ identity as Sheetz

employees and helps customers distinguish workers from other customers. Having a

uniform also symbolizes a sense of equality in a workplace and implies that no

worker is superior to the other and each of whom must be equally respected. On the

other hand, there was no such norm customers for whom It was normal to enter

wearing any clothing of their will, which is expected from a third space such as a

restaurant which is a platform for people to rest and socialize with the freedom of

self-expression.

Another formal norm that I noticed was the line rule at counters. The customers were

expected to communicate their order through a self-order kiosk which displayed the

restaurant’s menu and allowed customers to choose what they want from it. The

kiosk would then print a receipt which the customers took to a checkout counter to

pay for their order. The norm, however, was that as the customers approached the

checkout counter, they were supposed to stand in a line which worked on a first

come first served basis. This norm allowed the whole process of paying for your

order run smoothly and in an orderly manner without any chaos. It also allowed

workers to have a criterion for who to tend to first which was the first come first

served sequence of the line. The reason this was a formal norm and not an informal

one was because that was a sign which explicitly said that “Line starts here”,
whereas most places where there is a counter it is a commonly known informal norm

to make a line to avoid chaos. The line system is crucial during peak hours when the

restaurant is filled with customers, however, was not a top priority at the time I made

my observations since at this time there were only a few customers at the restaurant.

The customers at Sheet at the time I made my observations were mostly college

students. The customer crowd at time was most probably dominated by college

students since we tend to have relatively easier schedules and are not required to

wake up early in the morning in most cases, which is evidenced by the fact that a

report by Mattress Advisors found that thirty five percent of students reported staying

up until around 3 a.m. at least one night every week 1. I noticed that they often

violated an informal norm of not making too much noise when in dining third space

and I could see that the minority of the customers who weren’t college students were

visibly uncomfortable by the noise.

All in all, the Sheetz demographic at two in the night was divided into two groups:

customers and workers. There were both formal and informal norms for each group

which were the core for the restaurant’s fluid functioning and helped establish Sheetz

as a third space.

1
Bullock, Loren. “College Student Sleep Statistics 2023: Mattress Advisor.” 2023 | Mattress Advisor, 28 Apr. 2022,
https://www.mattressadvisor.com/college-sleep-statistics/#:~:text=35%25%20of%20students%20report%20staying,loss%20and%20drop
%20a%20class.
Works cited:

Bullock, Loren. “College Student Sleep Statistics 2023: Mattress Advisor.” 2023 | Mattress
Advisor, 28 Apr. 2022,
https://www.mattressadvisor.com/college-sleep-statistics/#:~:text=35%25%20of
%20students%20report%20staying,loss%20and%20drop%20a%20class.