Customer Interviews No. 1

I decided to ask people what they thought about a bakery opening in Gainesville. I don't know of any bakeries close to campus that sell homemade bakery goods, let alone any that pertain to those with certain dietary needs, such as gluten allergies or diabetes. 

I followed the steps that Professor Pryor discussed with us in class and asked people what they thought of Gigi's Cupcakes, a cupcake shop on Archer Rd., and if they thought there was anything they could improve on. Whether the thought of anything to improve on on their own, I asked them if they'd like to see them expand their bakery goods and recipes and if that would affect them, of if they wouldn't really care and just like it the way it is now. Here is what they had to say:

*Some people preferred to be interviewed without their faces being recorded, so I have cropped out their face for their liking.

What I learned from this experience was that even though I originally thought this would be very beneficial and a great idea, and though many people I interviewed didn't disagree with the idea, no on seemed very enthusiastic and I think that if Gigi's Cupcakes or anyone else spent money and time in opening a homemade bakery that was available to people with dietary restrictions, I think it would likely fail as a business. There's nothing super new about the idea and I discovered Gigi's does in fact serve gluten-free cupcakes, however they don't serve anything besides cupcakes. I think the few amount of people that would love a gluten-free or sugar-free bakery shop would not be enough to keep the shop open and in business. From the five people I interviewed alone, only one followed a gluten-free diet. Only two other people said they knew people affected from diabetes, and those friends may not even live in Gainesville. So this idea only has 1 out of 5 customers, which means it most likely wouldn't be successful.

Something I learned from interviewing people is that it's hard to get honest feedback because it's hard for people to imagine your vision with them. You can say "so what if this were to happen and be available" all you want, but the issue is that the can't really ever fully visualize this idea without seeing something. I think this could be better avoided if you bring pictures or a business plan to show customers to get better feedback because they would have a better vision of what they're saying yes or no, dislike or like, to.