Three ingredients for an innovative dining experience

Since I arrived in China, I've had the chance to sample some wonderful restaurant end-to-end dining experiences. In this article, I share my experiences to introduce three key business takeaways for customer-centric brands both within the restaurant hospitality sector and beyond.

1. A few small bites of empathy

On a sunny afternoon, a friend and I decided to visit Tan she (炭舍), a well-known Charcoal fire pot restaurant located in Zhuhai, South China. Once we were seated, I was surprised to find a black rubber band and a transparent zip-lock bag laid out on the table. When we quizzed the waiter about these items, he explained that the elastic band was intended to help customers tie up long hair, whilst the zip lock bag functioned as temporary phone protection to prevent oily fingerprints. How peculiar and interesting! After all, many of us would not even think twice about how many milli-seconds are consumed brushing hair away from our faces, nor the fact that we might have to reach for a napkin before answering a phone call. The ability to solve problems that users have not even considered to be problems yet is an obsessively empathetic branch of UX that belongs in every customer-facing experience.

2. A handful of experience-leaders

One of my fondest dining experiences in China actually came about through an unexpected visit to a quaint seafood hotpot restaurant located in the outskirts of the city. Instead of being handed menus, we were given fishing nets and shown how to scoop live seafood straight out of the water tanks and cook them at our table. Transforming the user's role from mere sitting spectator to active participator or even the leader of their own dining experience is an effective customer strategy that can go a long way in driving brand memorability and consumer loyalty. Furthermore, this 'job promotion' actually goes one step further in encouraging customers to narrate much more compelling and persuasive stories when they reflect upon the experience to themselves and more importantly to others. Experience leaders make great brand evangelists!

3. Rapport-built Relationships

Whilst this dining experience did not take place in China, it feels wrong to exclude global Italian restaurant chain, Vapianos, who have also taken a customer-centred approach to re-inventing the typical dining experience. At their popular London branches, every customer has the pleasure of seeing their food being prepared and cooked right before their eyes. It truly is your bowl of pasta made exactly the way you like it - 'Less salt please, more chilli thanks!'. It is a strange borderline between a humbling romance and an ego-centric spotlight show but what both analogies have in common is that you, the user, are at the heart of it. It is a one-on-one experience between you and the chef. He may ask about your day at work possibly followed by small talk about the weather (so British!) but it keeps me coming back there every week. As time passes, you begin to develop a rapport with the people that cook your food because they are not hidden away in the kitchen anymore - they are the attraction.

Summary

So, what can be learned from these three case studies? Well, in a way it tells us what we probably already knew: Experience matters. Fjord's key meta-trend for 2019 reveals that in today's economy of social likes and follows, the key value that many people today are searching for is relevance.

People, globally, are trying to find out why they are relevant and to find those anchors which make them feel relevant in the world.

- Mark Curtis, Chief Client Officer at Fjord

The power that people of significance once possessed to bestow this sense of value has been transferred over to products of significance and the experiences that make us feel significant. From Alexa knowing your favourite song to Microsoft Outlook remembering your flight time - being seen, heard, and appreciated is one of the highest forms of social capital today. In a world where it is becoming increasingly difficult to stand out, it is no surprise that increasingly more consumers seek personal experiences that make them feel important, unique and seen.

Whilst I am not suggesting that artificially intelligent, customer-tracking robots will ultimately shape the future of restaurant dining, I do believe that the future will be based upon stories. Story-telling is becoming increasingly essential in the customer experience space and there is no doubt that A.I and machine learning can help us to tell better stories that are personalised to individuals' lives. Although, I would also like to believe in more subtle, analogue ways of designing this empathetic feeling of being known, recognised and relevant. So, I would like to conclude with a question: How might we design services and experiences that truly appreciate people moving forward? With dedicated time and research, I hope to further unpack this topic as I progress into the final year of my design studies.

Thank you for reading,

Simbiat x

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From June to September 2019, I am working as a Product Designer in China, whilst also continuing to perfect my Mandarin proficiency at the Chinese Royal Language School. Any free time I have left, I have dedicated to writing this blog so thank you so much for taking the time to read it! I continue to learn more everyday and would strongly welcome any feedback. Please feel free to leave a comment below or reach out via the contact form.

Warmest regards,

Simbi