In Pursuit of an Interview

I love going to Dunkin' Donuts. There's something about opening that door and walking into a place full of fresh donut-y smells that never ceases to excite me. So when it came time for the man-on-the-street interview assignment, I knew where I wanted to go for my interview.

I planned to talk to one of the employees at an area Dunkin' Donuts about what it's like to work there. Have they been serving the same guy the same type of donut and coffee every day for a decade? Do the employees eat bagels for lunch every day? And do they really throw out all those donuts just before closing time?

I thought I'd have a better chance of getting the interview if I went when the store wasn’t busy. But there's "not busy," and there's "really, really not busy." When I showed up shortly before 10 p.m. on Saturday night, there was only one woman behind the counter.

She was camera-shy.

And she didn’t speak much English.

I was faced with the same problem Sunday afternoon when I took my Flip camera to a Baskin-Robbins: One woman behind the counter, and not much English.

I had even less luck at the grocery next door. No language barrier, but the man I interviewed answered most of my questions in about three words.

I finally got my interview just two minutes from my house, standing outside a pizza restaurant in the shopping center I've visited five times this week alone.

I'm convinced that when it comes to catching an interview, close to home is best.