Iteration No. 1 - Interview with Mark Stine, college student at UF.
Q: So Mark, do you feel like Gainesville has enough late night food options for people like students that have been out partying or in studying all night?
A: "I feel like there are plenty of places open late at mid until like 3 plus there's always places like McDonald's so there are places to get food late."
Q: Are you satisfied with the quality of food that are currently available?
A: "Yeah I mean there's nothing that is supposed to be healthy or anything but if I'm trying to snag a bite at 4 in the morning, I'm usually not worried about the health consequences."
Q: Do you feel like a place that would deliver food that late would be beneficial?
A: "Yeah for sure, that is the only bad thing about all the options right now that are available. None of them deliver and services like UberEats is super expensive. A place that is delivering food that late would be solid."
Q: How often are you hungry that late and want to get food?
A: "I am someone who stays up pretty late so it happens a decent amount honestly. I'm probably making a late night fast food run a few times a month."
Q: Why do you find yourself craving food that late at night most of the time?
A: "Its almost always on a night we've been drinking or out late. You just get hungry after slamming a few drinks man."
Iteration No. 2 - Interview with Devin Doyle, college student at UF
Q: Do you feel like Gainesville has enough late night food options for people like students that have been out partying or in studying all night?
A: "Yeah absolutely. There's Gumby's, a bunch of fast food, places like Pizza by the Slice and Flaccos"
Q: Are you satisfied with the quality of food that are currently available?
A: "I would say so. I am not very health conscious but I also feel like someone who cared that much about what they ate would not be eating that late anyway"
Q: Do you feel like a place that would deliver food that late would be beneficial?
A: "I guess so but plenty of places deliver and there is always stuff like Uber Eats and BiteSquad that will pick up food for you so there is always options."
Q: How often are you hungry that late and want to get food?
A: "Its very rare, I can only think of a handful of times over the course of three years of being in college. I'm usually someone who will eat dinner by like 8pm and call it a night by midnight so I almost never get food that late. "
Q: What do you do on the rare occasions when you do get hungry late?
A: "Just fast food or I order a pizza but it is so rare that it almost never happens"
Q: Would you say you are happy with the options you have right now for late night dining?
A: "I mean sure, I don't have a problem with the options that are there. I don't need more."
Iteration No. 3 - Interview with Meryl Linkler, nurse at Shands that works the night shift
Q: Do you feel like Gainesville has enough late night food options for people like students that have been out partying or in studying all night?
A: "I'm sure there are plenty of places that serve food that late. I work from 7 to 7 though so by the time I get out of work in the morning, everywhere is open"
Q: Are you satisfied with the quality of food that are currently available?
A: "Nothing that is open that late at night will be serving quality food so no but I am also not someone who will eat things like that either"
Q: Do you feel like a place that would deliver food that late would be beneficial?
A: "I know that people working the night shift sometimes get hungry around 4-5 in the morning. No where delivers then though so the vending machine or anything you bring from home are your only options since you cannot clock out for a burger run. So somewhere that delivers would be nice I suppose"
Q: How often are you hungry that late and want to get food?
A: "I like to bring something from home when I work just because I prefer home cooked food. I am not really someone who likes eating out a lot."
Q: What would you do if you forgot to bring something from one evening?
A: "Well if it was still early on in the shift like before 10, I know that the cafeteria is still open so that would be what I do. I wouldn't really order anything to get delivered"
Q: Would you say you are happy with the options you have right now for late night dining?
A: "Yeah I really do prefer to keep it light at night and just bring in a snack or a sandwich. I personally don't need anymore options."
Reflection and Summary:
When I interviewed Mark, I felt more optimistic about the opportunity because he seemed like the target consumer, a college student that is up late and does enjoy eating out late at night. However, the interview with Devin and Meryl made me realize that the demand for food that late at night is very low, which explains why there are not more establishments open that late. What really surprised me was that no one cared about the healthy quality of the food that is being offered right now. People seem to accept that if you are eating that late at night, the quality of food is not as important. So having a healthy food establishment late at night that delivers probably would not be the best business idea in a place like Gainesville. I feel like only 25% of my opportunity is there now because there always will be a small portion of people that will want to get food that late. However, I don't know if that customer base is big enough to keep a restaurant open for 24 hours. I believe the opportunity is less accurate than what I initially thought was there. I am a believer that entrepreneurs should always adapt to customer feedback because that is what will increase customers. By catering to their feedback, an organization shows a commitment to changing and improving, which customers tend to appreciate.
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