Q&A with Drew Hochenberger
Editor’s note: Nancy Cox is the founder/principal at Research Story Consulting, LLC, Kansas City, Mo., with over 30 years of experience in effective writing and research methodologies. She holds a Master of Liberal Arts in business admin and management, and a Bachelor of Science in journalism. Find Cox on LinkedIn.
In this ongoing series with research thought leaders, discover how the research community plays and how that plays out in their work life. In the Venn diagram of work and play, what happens when they overlap?
Drew Hochenberger is a senior research manager at GMR Marketing in Charlotte, N.C. She holds a Bachelor of Science in business advertising from the University of South Florida. Hochenberger has over a decade of insights and analytics experience spanning the client- and supplier-side, including HSN and Lowes Foods. Off the clock, she applies her research to a different system: local coffee shops, where she’s earned “regular” status – order memorized, no questions asked.
Hello Drew Hochenberger, Senior Research Manager, GMR Marketing
What is the “play” in your life?
I explore and evaluate coffee shops. For an introverted, type A personality like me, this play feels a bit adventurous. I’ve visited about 70 in the past six years since moving to Charlotte, N.C. – a city with no shortage of local coffee shops.
I keep a running ranking on my phone with categories for best coffee, best service, best work vibe, best taste of culture and most unique – like those with handwritten notes on the walls. From that list, I’ve created my own Google Map, “The Coffee Shop Experience Map.” I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do with my map yet; it’s part of my play to build this tool that I’m using. I’m no influencer. I don’t post reviews; it’s just for myself.
Each coffee shop has its own unique vibe – an owner’s vision brought to life. I’ll sometimes talk to the owners and hear “I really want this to be a space for musicians” or an all-day place that serves coffee in the morning, cocktails at night. One owner shared with me that he worked in pharmaceutical sales for a while, and it was not fulfilling, so he started a coffee shop.
By having these conversations, I can understand the culture and look of their place through the lens of their background. Sometimes, I get invited into the story – an owner who noticed I was a workday regular asked me where the outlets should go as he was building out expansion plans that included a bar top. Moments like that make the experience feel collaborative.
I always order the same drink – a half-caf, half-sweet, iced mocha with oat milk. It sounds complex but it tastes simple. Having one consistent beverage constrains the variables for evaluating the coffee experience. Just like a researcher, right? There are definitely taste variances and I haven’t cracked the formula to why some just don’t hit the mark, while some do.
I go a few mornings a week, depending on whether I’m working or recharging. My go-tos during the week have a working environment. I may choose a different type of coffee shop on Saturdays, if I’m not working, budgeting or journaling. In that case, maybe I’ll choose a shop that is not work friendly but it’s near a walking trail or a park so I can grab my drink then go on a walk or run.
How has this play influenced your work?
The work overlap is natural since during the week I’m going there to do work. With my ear pods in, coffee shops sharpen my focus by giving me a protected time and place. I work from home, so I appreciate that at the coffee shop there’s no laundry beeping at me.
Saturday mornings at the coffee shop are my growth time. As nerdy as it sounds, I really do love market research. On Saturdays, I will read the latest market research articles to make me a better researcher. I’m at the coffee shop with my iced coffee, a Quirk’s print magazine and a highlighter. Or a nonfiction book. I’m a 10-steps-to-do-it-better gal. During the week, by the time I’m done with work, I don’t really have time or mental space left to read about the latest case studies or best practices so this is my growth time.
Coffee shops also fuel my curiosity as an “unpaid anthropologist,” I like to say. We researchers talk about the human experience – in coffee shops, you hear it. I’m not intrusive – I always have something in front of me and I’m not staring. I’m not listening to full stories, just moments. Someone is crying. Two people are having the best time ever laughing. I hear about people’s friendships, career changes, heartbreaks or dreams.
There’s authenticity in these spaces where people meet up and catch up – these third spaces. One moment that sticks out was overhearing a few women catching up on their lives and then talking about a recent cultural headline – and I felt relief. Their perspective differed from what I’d been seeing in the media, and it was a reminder that everyday conversations often hold more nuance than the dominant narrative. It made me think about how many perspectives exist beyond what we’re typically shown. Hearing others’ conversations in coffee shops keeps me grounded in human stories.
Environments matter. Both work and play at a coffee shop is an immersive experience. The senses of the coffee shop itself – the smell, the sound of the grinding, the taste, hearing the hustle and bustle. You can immerse yourself in your work or your growth.
When I travel, I use coffee shops as a cultural barometer for the area. The risk is that since I don’t know anything about the area, I default to the top-rated coffee shops. As we know though, online ratings are not always reliable. When I’m disappointed, I think maybe they were rating the service, but surely not the coffee. Oh, the risk of 1 to 5 rating scales! But that gap – unmet need maybe? – was my spark to create my own coffee shop experience map.
What advice would you give readers interested in your area of play?
If you want to branch out to a coffee shop other than your regular spot – which might be your home – pick a day and think about what you’re going to do that day. That’s your first filter. Are you going to a coffee shop to read or journal or maybe catch up on some work? Use that filter in your search – such as best coffee shop for working. Or maybe your filter is simply best tasting coffee near me!
Plan to stay about 30 minutes. Long enough to get the vibe without it feeling like a four-hour work session. Bring something with you – work, something to read, etc. Also, bring a little bit of your normal ritual by ordering your drink of choice, what you drink at your regular coffee shop or at home. Tip – if you don’t see that drink on the menu, tell the person taking your order, “This is what I normally drink. What do you have for me?” Coffee shops have magicians that can make you something close or maybe even better.
You don’t have to walk away with anything deep. There’s no measure of success. This is play! You’re simply tapping into your curiosity in a different way.
You never know what a coffee shop exploration will fuel. For my husband, it turned into developing his own preferences. When we met, he only drank black coffee at home. Now he’s ordering lattes and has opinions about where we go.