Ethnology of a Donuts Store

Professor Andrea Jurjević

ENG 103

10/16/18

Mini ethnology

Opening the door, a wave of warm air and the smell of coffee and donuts blast through. Inside there are a few people eating donuts and chatting on the right, and a large display case full of warm and delicious donuts. Behind the display is a sign saying, “The Best Doughnuts in Georgia According to Buzzfeed and Yelp.” A sweet Asian lady who owns the store is welcoming everybody. Sweet Apple Donuts has a warm atmosphere, delicious donuts, excellent customer service to create a strong and welcoming community.

Being a family-oriented donut store, Sweet Apple Donuts has plenty of decorations inside to make the store inviting. The display case is a large three piece table with a curved glass display. The case fills up the entire right side of the store. Inside it is pedestals and trays, full of donuts of different colors. The wall on the left is covered with pictures of customers and the owner together holding donuts. Beneath these pictures is a comfy red bench that runs the entire length of the wall. Next to the bench are a few tables and chairs. The tables are a half circle that is simple and plastic and the chairs are very plain but have a pattern on the back. Both the chairs and the tables are a plain and plastic white. This is in contrast to the colorful and decorated walls around the store. On the wall behind the display case, there is a menu, surrounded by multiple large clipart donuts painted on the wall. On another wall by the bathroom is a plaque that proudly advertises that they have the best donuts in Georgia. The interior decorations all help to give the customers a very warm and inviting mood. The mood is further boosted by the music they played, which is chill coffeehouse-style music. Finally, the smell of the store, which is a rich smell of sugar and bread from the donuts and a little bit of coffee, is very comforting. This all came together to make the store very inviting and friendly to everyone. It has an environment for family and friends to chat in, as well as students to study in.

On top of having a warm environment, a donut store need to have great donuts. Sweet Apple Donuts offers a wide variety of dunts, ranging from plain glazed donuts to muscle donuts to apple fritters. They make fresh donuts every morning and are making more through the early morning, so early customers can get piping hot donuts. The donuts are very delicious and as such has been rated the number one donut store in Georiga by both Buzzfeed and Yelp. The donuts they offer come in a large variety, with something for everyone's taste. They have all the classics like glazed, chocolate, donut holes, and more. They also make very good special donuts such as maple bacon, or Reese’s Peanut Butter. All the different types and flavors of donuts keep true to the origin of donuts, as donuts come from a very diverse background, according to the Smithsonian, donuts come from “Dutch immigrants, Russian exiles, French bakers, Irving Berlin, Clark Gable and a certain number of Native Americans”(Taylor). The only type of donut they do not have are filled donuts. Even people who aren't a fan of donuts normally enjoy a donut from sweet apple donuts, since they offer such diverse flavors of donuts. Accompanying the tasty donuts is flavorful coffee. They offer many different types of coffee. They serve coffee such as Lattes, Americanos, and Macciatos. Accompanying these types of coffee are numerous flavors that can be added. There are the normal syrups, like mocha and caramel, as well as unique flavors like almond mocha and pumpkin pie. The diverse types of coffee is also another point that drags people into the store. The donuts and coffee bring in many people into the warm and open place that Sweet Apple Donuts is.

The main reason so many people continue to go to Sweet Apple donuts is not just the pleasant atmosphere or the delightful food, but rather the customer service that ties it all together. The owner of the store is a sweet Asian lady who makes all the donuts and coffee, as well as runs the store. Her name is Soo-Jin, but everyone calls her Jin. Jin and her son, Vincent run the store together without any other employees. This means that whenever someone goes to the store, they will always see these two working away. This alone does not make great customer service. The real reason the customer service is so amazing is because of Jin. Whenever someone enters the store, the first thing they receive is a welcome and a smile form Jin. Jin is always talking to the customer. While someone orders she will talk with them. The more familiar she is with the customers, the more she will talk and joke with them. When there is no one ordering food, she will walk around and chat and laugh with the various customers sitting and enjoying their food. There is never a time that someone is not smiling or laughing at Sweet Apple Donuts. In a research paper in the Journal of Business Logistics, it states that “higher customer service levels did lead to higher profits”(Dresner and Xu 12). This shows that not only does the better customer service draw in customers, but it also leads to more profits. One customer said the reason they always go to Sweet Apple Donuts is that they have “The superior product and customer service you can only dream of.” This is an excellent way to describe the customer service since there is no other store that has service on the level that Sweet Apple Donuts has. Not only does Jin talk and laugh with customers, but she also gives customers free donuts just because she wants to. This all makes everyone who goes there feel welcome, satisfied, and most importantly happy.