Micro Vantage
I have a grudge with this particular McDonald’s, because after a lengthy remodeling process the place is more customer unfriendly than any eatery I know. The coffee kiosk pointlessly sits next to the drive through. The entire remodeling was meant to underline this coffee offering which is overpriced and unworthy of the effort.
But it is the interior decor that has reduced the seating capacity and the footprint to a mere indoor patio. Seating for 25 is now seating for 13 or 14 people. High chairs that are awkward to get into and unpopular and the very last resort of any indoor diner are plentiful.
The curvilinear new age paneled wood with cutouts would seem to indicate some kind of design intelligence. The upcurving seats are incredibly uncomfortable, and from the expressions of the staff the floor is difficult to keep clean. In fact, a cleaning mop bucket dolly is feet away at all times, sprinkling the air with enjoyable aromas and bacteria.
The ketchup dispensers look flashy but waste a ton of stuff, and the dispenser of straws allows waste easily. The coffee house feeling and for-purchase Wi-Fi is supported by one (1) sngle outlet placed on the ceiling. So convenient for portable computing!
But, I digress. Because my legs are long and the molded benches upcurve uncomfortably, the only place I can sit is tiny mushroom chairs built for kids and a banquette where I can perch sideways and cant my knees longways so they don’t ache when I stand. I think a joint ache tablet dispenser outside this place would make millions$.
It’s a good bet whomever designed this place was 5′ 2″ and used to designing pho houses for Asian teenagers. The man pictured above is of just such a size, and he does enjoy staring through the cutout, and woe to anybody to catches his eye.
This metaphor of the unwelcome onlooker was mirrored briefly in my mind with the dynamics of photography. The layout of everyday life is before one, and some of us have elevated or cutout positions from which to observe. The person in the catbird seat may never realize the unique point of view at their disposal. Or they can take advantage of it and leverage its use for value.
The way the world looks from this vantage point is layered in unusual dimensions and uniquely visible. The way the perspective looks from the outside is a misleading inward-turning capsule. Both perspectives are valid.
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