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QUALITATIVE RESEARCH CONSULTANTS ASSOCIATION
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And that’s just a few of my stories, so
you can imagine the kinds of stories that
QRCA’s membership as a whole must
have. Actually, you don’t need to imagine
these stories about memorable respon-
dents because several QRCA members
have shared their stories right here…
Chelle Precht
once traveled to another
city to conduct a 100-person session held
at a hotel. A respondent walked in carry-
ing a baby gate. Not a baby, just a baby
gate. Chelle spoke with the clients and
research team, and no one was sure what
to do with her. Should they let her in the
session? Was she mentally unstable and
should be paid and sent home? To inves-
tigate further, Chelle talked with this
woman to discover that, until recently,
she had not left her house for several
years. She had begun venturing back out
a few months earlier, using the baby gate
to ease her way back into society—it was
a “security blanket” of sorts. After talking
with her for a few minutes, making sure
she had been involved with the outside
world enough to have a relevant opinion
for the research subject, Chelle let this
woman into the session.
Fast forward two months later: Chelle is
holding another session in the same mar-
ket, similar in nature, and the recruiting
screener included a six-month past partic-
ipation filter. Guess who came walking
into the hotel, recruited and now trying to
sign in, and guess what she was carrying?
That’s right, none other than Baby Gate
Lady. When Chelle confronted her, hop-
ing to find out if it was the field service or
the respondent who had cheated, the
respondent told Chelle that she was mis-
taken, she had not met her two months
ago at that earlier research session—the
respondent insisted that it had been her
twin sister! Chelle turned the woman
away without paying the incentive.
Rick Weitzer
recently did some
in-home ethnographies, including inter-
viewing a nice couple around 60 years
old in their quiet suburban ranch home.
The wife was involved in a prison-based
religious ministry where she met her
(now) husband, who was recently
released from prison after serving 28
years for murder. While she was a little
ditzy, her husband was a real sweet guy
who, afterward, proudly showed Rick
and his team his Harley motorcycle. It
turned out to be a great interview.
Allison Rak
once was doing a project
on urine. Yes, urine. She was recruiting
participants who have to deal with clean-
ing urine and needed some “extreme”
participants—those who deal with major
urine issues. Allison wasn’t quite sure
who these would be…people who own
bars? Housekeeping in hotels where pets
are allowed? Custodians in healthcare
settings? One of the participants was in
fact a small business owner who helps
people with “critter removal,” for exam-
ple if a raccoon gets into your attic. He
deals with all sorts of animals and has
many living with him.
When Allison and her research partner
arrived at his house, the respondent
asked, “Do you mind if we meet out-
side?” Initially reluctant, Allison was
quickly persuaded when the man
explained that one of his snakes had
escaped its cage and he had not yet
found it.
Years ago,
Karen Lynch
was moderat-
ing a series of groups with adolescent
boys. She used the easel liberally during
her groups so she kept standing up to
walk back and forth between the easel
and her chair. Each time she stood up,
she heard chortles behind her that occa-
sionally boiled over to outright laughter.
She was puzzled but plowed ahead with
the group—she knows a bunch of teen-
age boys need little excuse to laugh at
something. When she went to the back
room during the last five minutes of the
group to see if there were any further
questions, the clients were all smiles and
explained...one of the boys was beaming
a red laser pointer at Karen’s derriere at
every possible moment. Her white slacks
provided the perfect canvas for his antics.
A number of years ago,
Gary Dreyer
had an Elvis impersonator in full cos-
tume attend a group Gary was moderat-
ing. Elvis walked into the room and Gary
immediately received a note from the cli-
ents in the back hoping to exclude him,
but Gary spoke to the clients and argued
to let Elvis stay for at least a few minutes,
to see if he could contribute construc-
tively and not distract the other respon-
dents. The target respondents were heavy
hotel rewards players, and the Elvis
impersonator ended up being a perfect
fit (over 100 hotel nights in the last year).
He shared many valuable insights. Gary
played with his Elvis persona very effec-
tively to establish rapport with the other
respondents, and at the end of the group
they even got him to sing!
I
was thinking the other day about some of the respondents
I’ve met with over the years. Respondents who, in spite of
the blur of my meeting with literally tens of thousands of
participants over several decades, still manage to stand out
vividly in my mind. They said something funny or did
something strange or stood out in some really memorable way.
For example, I’ll always remember the two guys who quite literally
almost got into a fight during a focus group, or the woman who
totally freaked out every time I looked in her direction, or the
mother who brought her two-year-old and the kid climbed down
onto the floor and started dragging me under the table in the
middle of the group, or the three respondents who collectively set
off a chain of events that resulted in the evacuation of a high-rise
hotel, or the woman who came to our focus group straight from
her husband’s funeral, or...you get the idea.