· Who: Through these five additional interviews, I learned a few important things. The main one that came up in three of the interviews is that students with a car (i.e. the ones who would have a problem finding parking at this Publix) also have the option of going to one of the various other Publix supermarkets within driving distance. They could also go to Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Lucky’s, or a different supermarket to buy their groceries. The presence of so many substitutes for this Publix may present a problem for my valet service idea. One interviewee put it well when she said, “If someone is willing to pay to park their car at this Publix, they are also probably willing to drive a few extra minutes to go to a grocery store that has ample parking.” This limits the “who” of my opportunity by a lot more than I initially realized. One of the other people I interviewed is an employee of this Publix, so he does not have the option of going somewhere else. However, he said that he would consider using valet on a temporary basis, but he would likely bring up the parking problem to his manager and hope for a more permanent solution that did not cost him additional money each time he went to work. The fifth person I interviewed is the parent of a UF student. Her daughter has a car, but she is very busy with school and other commitments so this Publix’s location is much more convenient than any of the other supermarkets in Gainesville since she lives close to it. The parent said that she would give her daughter a few extra dollars for a valet service if her daughter thought it would be helpful. Overall, exploring the “who” on a deeper level has made me reconsider this idea. People with cars who shop at this Publix or frequent this Starbucks are also the ones who have the most substitutes available to them, and they are the only ones who would be in my market.
· What: Despite the many other options available, the problem remains that there is not enough parking at this Publix location. For whatever reason, people continue to go to this Publix even though finding car parking can take time.
· Why: The “why” could just be that there is no employee parking lot, and that would solve the issue. However, that would be difficult for an outsider to capitalize on since Publix management would be in charge of finding or building a separate employee parking lot. People inside the market go to this Publix out of convenience while people outside the market go to other supermarkets because they do not want to deal with parking there.
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Beatriz,
ReplyDeleteI think that by conducting these interviews, you were able to gain some great insight on your solution to the lack of parking at the Publix near campus. I agree with some of the people that you interviews in that, as a student who has a car, I usually drive to a further Publix or Trader Joe's instead of going to the one near campus.