Tuesday 14 September 2010

A Truly Remarkable Business - One Worth Talking About


Where there’s a great experience then there’s probably great care.


Just been to Dans le Noir - a truly remarkable restaurant in London (and Paris).


What makes it so special and worthy of mention?

  1. You eat and drink in the pitch darkness. And it really is dark.
  2. Serving people are blind or partially blind
  3. After the meal they tell you what you actually ate!

Just think about it.


The whole concept challenges how you ‘see’ flavours and textures and how you relate to your food. It is mind-blowing. You have to go. It is like no other restaurant. And the “blinded guides” have to care for you while you are totally outside your comfort zone.


The experience is wild and challenging. Spending a couple of hours without any sight makes you re-evaluate your fortune at being sighted, think about what it must be like to be blind, and messes with your palate. You have little idea what you are eating. Crazy. The experience lingers for days.


My point. Dans le Noir is a true experience. You don’t forget it. You tell everyone about it. Remarkable. A business. And it increases public awareness about blindness.


If only more businesses could offer a true experience.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

So what can we take away from this for our own business?

Unknown said...

The thing for me is that the EXPERIENCE is the thing. And we can change the standard experience to make it remarkable. Zig where people zag... be disrutive... stand out

Lesley Bees said...

Would one-to-one computer training work in the dark? Would be different anyway.

Fiona A said...

Why not?
But you'd need a screen to look at (and get some light from it)unless Craven was going to take that away.

Fi

Unknown said...

No screen! You can't have that.

RC

Anonymous said...

he disagrees at
http://offbeateats.blogspot.com/2009/03/guest-blog-dans-le-noir-clerkenwell_05.html

Unknown said...

I am not saying everyone should love the place although I think the quoted reviewer was incredible ungenerous.

RC

Accountant Now said...

I think Robert's right about CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.....it is what customers spend money for.

Robert of course cut his business teeth as a restaurateur....but I think RC is absolutely right. If one wants to succeed in business succeed in perfecting the CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE making in remarkable, memorable, and preferably with a taste for more.

I also share RC's view that the social dimension is a key attribute.

Jerry McG said...

see the next three of four posts to see the argument develop
esp
http://robert-craven.blogspot.com/2010/09/bold-pay-what-you-want-restaurant.html

Steve H said...

I am a good chess player and play 3/4 hours every day so perhaps 10/12 games per week.

Many years ago I played a blind player for the first time. I was DESTROYED. At my level I should never lose within 20/25 moves. With Jacques, I was dead in the water within 10/12 moves. It was a truly remarkable and humbling experience and one of the very few games I can remember from the 1970s.

Perhaps we should all spend a few hours as a deaf person or a blind person. As Robert says, we would experience a whole new wave of emotions.

Jerry McG said...

see the next three of four posts to see the argument develop
esp
http://robert-craven.blogspot.com/2010/09/bold-pay-what-you-want-restaurant.html

Accountant Now said...

I think Robert's right about CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.....it is what customers spend money for.

Robert of course cut his business teeth as a restaurateur....but I think RC is absolutely right. If one wants to succeed in business succeed in perfecting the CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE making in remarkable, memorable, and preferably with a taste for more.

I also share RC's view that the social dimension is a key attribute.

Lesley Bees said...

Would one-to-one computer training work in the dark? Would be different anyway.