Last week I went to the bingo for the first time with a few of my classmates, the purpose of the outing was not solely to have a good night out, but was an educational assignment set by our design studies class.
The aim was to people watch, the theory being that as a designer I need to be aware of people's behaviour in different surroundings, "too often we tend to focus on objects while ignoring their effect, or how they are used."
So off we went with an open mind and open eyes.
First we had to register, which is free. They asked us to fill out a short form with the usual details, name, address, date of birth etc. however what I thought was slightly unusual was that in small print at the bottom of the form was a box to tick if you were a smoker. I have never seen this before, I am presuming it is connected to the smoking ban, I remember there was a lot of news at the time of bingo halls closing down due to it, so it must be important information to them.
While I was standing waiting to finish registering an older woman came up to the desk and informed the man serving that she had forgotten her glasses, he immediately drew out a whole drawer of spare glasses, all different styles and sizes for her to borrow, she started rummaging through trying on different pairs. This made me giggle; I have never seen a spare glasses service before. This surely tells me something not only about the age demographic at the bingo but also suggests that people here have a different attitude compared to other customers at other entertainment venues such as cinemas. People are not embarrassed to borrow what I presume to be lost property specs. I can't imagine many people feeling comfortable wearing someone else’s ill-fitting, unflattering glasses while you are out with your friends socializing. I wouldn’t anyway.
While I was being registered I was asked another couple of questions and was surprised that I was called me by my first name, I then noticed that everyone signing in beside me was also welcomed by name. Was this because they were regulars and the staff knew them? Or is it simply a corporate rule that the staff must read and use customer’s names from their membership card?
I think by the staff addressing customers by name it helps the customer feel a personal connection with the establishment and would surely make the customer feel more welcome and valued. This is a small but important gesture, as their main objective is for you to spend as much money as possible, something you would possibly be encouraged to do if you felt your presence was valued and would encourage repeated business.
Once I was all set with my membership card and dabber I made my way round to another desk buy my books. This is when it started to get confusing as I didn't know what games to play. I asked the woman serving me her opinion and she suggested as a beginner I play the electronic games but I wanted to stick to the traditional way of playing so she suggested I start on the 'early' book which was short and only 80p.
As we went through the doors and into the main hall we didn't know where to sit, if the game had already started, how we'd know if it had or when it would. We opted to sit quite near the back and close to the door. The hall was large and was decorated with bright and colourful features which gave it a holiday or hotel feel, this possibly creates an atmosphere of escapism for the customers.
There were numbers being called and flashing up on screen and we had no idea what for, looking around it wasn't that busy and people were still coming in so we just settled down and tried to work out how to play. It would have been really good if they put some instructions on the books as there was absolutely no indication of how to play anywhere, not even in our welcome pack. It struck me odd that the books didn’t have any Mecca Bingo branding on them at all as the rest of the building and material given to us was covered in it.
Looking around the hall the majority of people were female, and a lot of people on their own, there was also a fair number of men on their own, more than I thought there would be. No one really seemed to be chatting or mingling with each other, everyone was sparsely seated, one woman had a magazine and everyone seemed to have a drink of some sort on their table, wither it was tea, a can of coke or a pint. The majority of people were definitely over fifty and looked working class, everyone was white and dressed similar, very casual and comfortable, it was obvious people don’t make an effort to go to the bingo, not on a Wednesday anyway.
Wandering around the hall was a number of staff all of which wore name badges and t-shirts advertising upcoming events happening at the bingo. All the staff were quite young, under or in their thirties, and there seemed an equal amount of male and female staff. They came to check your card if you’d won and would pay out your winnings. I noticed that there wasn’t much interaction between the staff and the customers, many customers simply handed over their books without so much as a smile.
Other advertising material was placed on all the tables. It was obvious Mecca Bingo has a strong brand theme running throughout their chains, I felt that they mainly aim their marketing at woman, possibly playing to the female stereotype as all the colours used are pink and have lots of stock style photography of groups of females smiling and looking happy. This is slightly surprising when it’s obvious from the number that were there that they also have a large male customer base.
The game was about to begin, the lights went up, heads went down and dabbers were ready and poised, but I still wasn't 100% sure of all the rules, too late the numbers were flying at me. It was confusing and a bit of a blur, I kept missing numbers and I was nervous I might have to shout ‘house’. At the end of the first page there was an audible sigh as everyone in the room who had not won turned over their page, hopeful and ready for the second round. I soon got the hang of it and before I knew it the early book was over. Some of us decided to go back and get the main book, which was a bit more expensive.
During the break between the early and main book I decided to get a drink, spying the small bar in the corner of the hall next to a canteen style café, I braced myself for what I thought was going to be a very expensive glass of wine, however to my surprise it wasn’t, it was really cheap, the same with the food. Everything seemed very reasonably priced; you could get a main meal for under £4. I wondered if this is partly due to the smoking ban, do the bingo halls have to find new ways to draw people in and make money now customers can no longer smoke inside?
The lights went up for a second time and we started the second book, I had got the hang of it now and found myself getting quicker at finding the numbers on my page. Karen was the first and only person in our group to shout ‘house’, not once but twice in the same game! Everyone in our group started clapping and shouting as we were excited one of us had won, this was a huge comparison to other previous winners in the hall who seemed unexcited and flat when calling house. Other players in the hall also started clapping, they seemed amused and happy for us.
It was really interesting putting myself in a place where I had never been before and having to not only observe my own actions but of those around me too. It was an exciting experience as we all were unsure of what to do when everyone else seemed confident and used to the game and surroundings. It made me take a fresh look at how all the different elements of how a business is run comes together, from how the staff work and the branding is applied to how in turn that effects how the customers interact and behave.
Although we were slightly nervous and apprehensive about a night out at the bingo, we all had a really good time, and might even contemplate going back in the future.
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