Flashy only goes so far

I recently had dinner with 3 tech-savvy girlfriends at a high-tech restaurant where you can order food and drink, change the table’s look, play games and summon a waiter to pay the bill whenever you want using an interface projected onto the table. Theoretically, the restaurant reduces labour costs through automation, and customers get speedy service without much effort. Also, customers get to play with a cool interface while waiting.

The interface was similar to a Flash website with animated navigation. Each of us had a circular ‘trackpad’ area at our right (catering to the right-handed majority) which we used to control a red cursor to browse and order menu items, change the background colour or pattern of the whole table (so people sharing a table could impose their choices on each other) and play games like Solitaire (although we could not play games against each other, which would have been awesome).

Unfortunately for us, the customer experience did not live up to the hype, which is a shame because the concept is fun, innovative and customer-centric. The food was delicious (if slightly overpriced). However, the problem arose with service: while drinks, starters and main courses appeared within 10 minutes of ordering (each of us ordered dishes as we wanted them, and they arrived at our table separately), we waited 20 minutes for dessert before becoming impatient and worried. Without confirmation from a real person, we were unsure whether our electronic orders had disappeared into the ether or if the kitchen was just busy. It took us a while to flag down one of the few waiters, and dessert finally arrived another 10 minutes later.

Given the peak-end rule, it’s not surprising that problems at the end of the meal influenced our perceived customer experience much more than our delight at the beginning of the meal, highlighting the importance of the last interaction between companies and customers. A good concept needs to offer a consistent experience. Regardless of what channel the interaction is in, it must end as positively as it begins for it to be one that you wish to repeat, or better still, recommend to your friends.