An Interview

Due to illness, I was unable to get out and find someone in my field to interview, instead, I thought back to an interview I conducted last year for a college class. 

The assignment was to interview someone from 'a different culture,' that being defined as someone who has lived in one different country for 3/4ths of their life or someone over the age of 75. I went with the latter option. I had the privilege of interviewing a Mrs. Lois Reed, a member of my grandmother's church who I had met in passing at a church function.

Most of the questions I asked her had to do with how things were when she was growing up. 'What was integration like,' etc. While not directly related to my mentorship, her interview helped me understand the values of a specific demographic of potential customers. 

For instance, she said family was valued more when she was younger than it is now. In that same line, she noted that people used to have dinner parties where all their friends and family would come over and have a good time. She still holds parties quite frequently, not very elaborate, but the camaraderie is still the same. 

She also said one of the biggest things she noticed was language these days is so much coarser than when she was growing up. (Something I also abhor.)She said while she was working, she had a 'Bad Word Jar' in her office. Anyone that said a bad word in her office had to pay her. She said there was even one person that would give her $3 at the beginning of meetings because who knew they would swear and knew they would have to pay. 

Fashion was a very obvious difference. She said when she entered the workforce, women weren't allowed to wear slacks. She said she wore dresses and heels for a great deal of her working career. She also mentioned she had a hard time understanding the fashion trends of today. (Me too, Lois, me too.)

All of these things, along with a myriad of other things we talked about, help me understand how I can better serve the demographic similar to Mrs. Reed. From these things I know that when serving customers like Mrs. Reed, I should keep in mind they like to entertain, I should not swear, (like I would in the first place) and should keep my dress modest (like I wouldn't do that anyway). 

Interviewing Mrs. Reed was such a privilege and so enjoyable. I learned so much from her and will always have fond memories of our time together. If you ever have the opportunity to interview someone of an older generation, do it. You won't regret it.