Personal observation
Date: Friday, 25th January
12.30pm I met up with Huiting on to explain to her about the 7-day diary which I will need her help with and also just to catch up. We had lunch at a Japanese restaurant as she wanted to eat healthily before all the junk food during Chinese new year later on in the week. Huiting was dressed in a casual shirt and shorts, and blue flats. She was also carrying a Harrods shopping bag alongside her Agnès. b handbag.
12.40pm We were seated and browsed through the menu. Huiting flipped through every single page in the menu, contemplating whether to get an assortment of sushi or udon. She mentioned that she had craving for sushi but yet felt like drinking some hot soup instead. Eventually she settled on beef udon and we shared a portion of salmon avocado sushi roll. For drinks, she ordered a cup of hot green tea and mentioned she always drank this at Japanese restaurants.
12.55pm Our food came and Huiting tasted the soup first before trying the udon and meat. She also alternated periodically between having the sushi and her udon. She remarked that she couldn’t really taste the mayonnaise in the salmon avocado roll but the soup was flavorful and satisfied her soup craving. She particularly enjoyed the udon as according to her, it had the texture close to what she had in Shinjuku, Japan. We chatted about the happenings in our lives and also about church stuff. She also showed me what her Harrods bag contained- materials for children’s Sunday school in church the next day. She wanted to bring to church later to prepare them.
2pm Huiting suggested we head for dessert and we settled on Baskin-Robbins. At the counter, she looked through all the flavors and read the description for all of them before deciding to request sampling 3 flavors. She had a furrowed brow while sampling and eventually decided to go for Love Potion- chocolate ice cream mixed with white chocolate bits and raspberry fruit. We chatted more about her work and her plans for graduate studies that she was considering
2.40pm We then headed to church in her silver Toyota Camry. Huiting appeared to be a safe driver and she also signaled responsibly.
3pm In the short half hour before young adults fellowship started, Huiting busied herself with her Sunday school materials. She laid the craft and storybook out on the table and went quietly about preparing her lesson plan.
3.25pm Hutiing started packing up to prepare for fellowship which started at 3.30. Huiting was very methodical in the way she packed up, like an experienced teacher at work. Within 2-3 minutes, everything was packed neatly into her Harrods bag.
3.30pm Young adults fellowship started and Huiting participated actively, singing loudly and being helpful in group discussions.
5.30pm Young adults fellowship started and Huiting participated actively, singing loudly and being helpful in group discussions.
5.50pm At dinner, Huiting was involved in a long conversation with a friend and they both looked deep in thought. I observed that Huiting had a plate of fried hokkien mee and honeydew juice.
7.30pm Dinner was over and everyone parted ways. Huiting offered to give me a ride although we didn’t exactly stay near each other. I declined and encouraged her to reach home early to have an early rest instead. She smiled, nodded and waved goodbye.
“Books and the exercise mat are my best friends. I also love brainstorming for new ideas to help my students make the most out of their time spent during lessons.”
Tan Huiting, female, 31
Junior College Teacher
Brand user: Laurier
Do you track your period?
I usually know which part of the month that I have my period. It tends to get delayed when I am under stress, and will end earlier when I am facing stress.
What is your experience with Kotex like?
The surface of the pad is not as comfortable or smooth as Laurier’s. But it seems to fare well on the leakage function.
Do you use different brands for day and night? What are the brands?
Currently I’m using Laurier in the day and Sofy at night.
Do you have a regime during your menstrual cycle?
I avoid drinking cold drinks and try not drink too much water as well as I tend to feel bloated during my period. I force myself to exercise as I feel better about my body after exercising. I also take Panadol for the first 2-3 days as I tend to get menstrual cramps at around that time.
Who usually buys sanitary pads for you?
I buy them myself. I switch between brands often as I don’t believe in sticking to a same brand. I like to try out new things. Currently, Laurier ranks the highest on my list as I like the slim designs.
Huiting’s is an active individual who loves reading, exercising, and meeting up with friends. She is a fan of Charlotte Bronte and William Shakespeare and would reread their books at her leisure time. She is also a very caring person, and likes to meet up with her friends, ex-students and current students to catch up on their lives and listen to them. The well-being of others is very important to her and she often prioritizes the needs of others above her own. Dressing up to her is a luxury and dependent on her mood for the day. She likes dressing up but there is often no time for her to invest in shopping or putting on makeup.
Can you briefly recall and describe your first period?
To be honest, it was a really long time ago and I only remember feeling scared and shocked. I think I probably used tissue instead of using a pad as I did not know what to do.
What are the things you would do to prevent leakage (day/night)?
I change my pad once every 3-4 hours to prevent leakage and for hygiene purposes. I will visit the toilet more than usual to make sure that there is no leakage.
Brand Profile
Quality- seeking
Huiting places emphasis on quality. One of her focus when choosing sanitary pads is its functionality. She readily tests out new products in the market to see if they offer what the brand markets them to be. If the pad lives up to her expectations, it enters her mental list of ‘Go-to’ pads or pads that are safe bets when she cannot decide what to buy. If the pad does not meet her expectation, she will not buy that particular product line again. It will also result in a negative association with that particular brand.
Variety-seeking
Although quality is a key consideration, Huiting is still open to trying new brands and does not shy away from using a product line that has just been newly launched. A reason why she seeks different varieties of pads is because she has many clothes and hence believes that ‘there is a pad for every occasion’. For example, she mentioned that if she was in the ‘pants’ phase, she would prefer slim designs. If she was in the ‘dress’ phase, she was concerned about pad adhesion and leakage prevention. As such, she tries new products often and switches around different brands based on their product offering.
Brand Relationship
Casual Buddies
Huiting seems to be on the search for the best pad that suits her needs which varies depending on the occasions/phase of her life. She does not have any strong attachment to any brand in particular, as she judges based on the quality and suitability of products itself. If the product does not meet her needs, she does not hesitate to try a different product line or from another brand. Her preferences are built from strong positive personal experiences. A negative experience with a brand does not taint her perspective of other products from the same brand.
With respect to Kotex, she does not have a strong positive impression of the brand, only noting that it ‘seems to fare well on the leakage (prevention) function’.
According to Fournier’s Consumer-Brand Relationship Forms, Huiting’s relationship with Kotex can be classified as CASUAL BUDDIES, with the purchase decision based mainly on product attributes that suit her needs at that point of purchase, and with little commitment to the brand itself.
