Service Safari: Poke Bowl

For my Service Safari, I went to Poke Bowl located on 17th St by Union Square. Immediately before I walked inside the store, you could see touchpoints that were signages outside. They indicated the name of the restaurant, pictures of items they had, and specials. There was also a cute outdoor seeing area that was partially covered with umbrellas and was decorated with various types of plants. The weather was extremely nice so most of the outdoor seating was taken. I went during dinnertime so there were a decent amount of people in line when I stepped in and saw that there was a line formed. The restaurant was also a fast-casual style restaurant so every worker was behind the counter. It was very easy to identify where the line started as they had a roped-off area of the store. In the roped area, there were signs also stating that you could order online and skip the line. Especially since it was a long line due to it being dinner time, I could see why this touchpoint was extremely useful and informative as it indicated that there was a more convenient way to get food. The menu hanging above the serving area indicated that you could make your own bowl or buy a bowl that had the ingredients pre-selected. It also listed all the ingredients that were available. In addition, I had the option to choose what size I wanted my bowl to be. The style of the food being prepared was a production line style and I chose to choose my own ingredients so I dictated to the workers behind the glass what I wanted. The production line started at the bottom of the bowl up: base, protein, toppings, sauce, crunch topping. At the end of the line was the cashier and also behind her was a drinks case. Overall, the process took about 7 minutes, with most of the time being me waiting in line. In terms of touchpoints in regards to the decor of the store, at every table, there was a small sign promoting a new item and a section of the store where you could grab utensils, napkins, and throw out your trash. The theme of the store was Hawaiian-themed as well to go along with the origins of Poke.

One touchpoint that I think requires the biggest improvement is the menu. The overall layout was somewhat hard to understand and it might confuse a customer when trying to order. Even though the ingredients were listed on the menu, I didn’t look up at it once when deciding since it would require me to keep changing my eye level. Instead, I and other customers I observed, just pointed at what we wanted. If someone didn't know what something was, they would just ask the worker for clarification rather than trying to compare it with something on the ingredient list. There were also stickers on the glass with the ingredients again so having it up on the hanging menu was a bit redundant to the experience.