I went out for a lovely dinner last night in a restaurant that is touted as one of the best that Brooklyn has to offer. Everything was fantastic: personable service, fresh, inventive food, decadent desserts, interesting wines--until I got my coffee. It tasted like the kind coffee you get at high school football games or in retirement homes---weak, watery and oddly burnt. I was so surprised that such an impressive restaurant would serve such sub-par coffee and left the place with a slightly bad taste in my mouth about the whole experience (burnt coffee taste aside).
On the walk home, I got into a discussion about experiences in general and what's more important: the first touchpoint or the ending? If my appetizer had been only OK, I probably could have been won over by the entree and dessert. Because my crappy coffee came at the end of a fine meal, I was a bit more forgiving than normal.
Clearly experiences need to be good from end-to-end, but what are people more likely to remember or take away? They always say that a first impression is the key moment to engage and influence people, but on the other hand, if the last part of an experience is less than great--isn't that what you're going to remember and takeaway, and (more troubling) pass onto others?
I'm interested to hear what you think in regards to experiences? Are you easily won over from the moment you're engaged or does the endnote of an experience really shape your opinion?
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