It's About the Experience

I just returned from an amazing weekend in New Orleans. I live only six hours from the world famous city and have been for the past 9 years and pathetically, this was my first trip. At Catch Your Limit we have a lot of people who are very passionate about this city. Tom and Melissa got engaged there, so it's probably Tom's favorite city on this planet. Gayle loves Chicory coffee, jazz and Cajun cooking.

So of course before I left I sent out an email asking everyone for suggestions on "MUST DO" sort of things and places to eat. The one place consistent among everyone's suggestion was Cafe Du Monde. So naturally I went there, because everyone suggested it and because it's one of those places that after you return from New Orleans, people ask you, "Did you go to Cafe Du Monde?" Since I don't like to explain myself I figured it'd be easier to just try it out.

Let me tell you something about Cafe Du Monde, it sucks. All they serve is weak piss coffee and beignets (actually a fancy word for a donut/elephant ear/fair food). The service is terrible as they're extremely busy because everyone who goes to New Orleans gets told you must go to "Cafe Du Monde."

The one and only great thing about Cafe Du Monde is the powdered sugar. Not eating it but getting in a major powdered sugar fight with your companions. We left Du Monde, powder coating our faces, arms and all over our clothes, soaking wet from the water that got tossed into the fight along with the powdered sugar. I do not believe our behavior was the norm or encouraged.

So when I left Cafe Du Monde I thought, "Why do people like this place so much? What is it that makes people think this is a great place to send people who have a limited amount of time in New Orleans? Why do some places become loved despite being extraordinary in one way or another while others are forgotten?"

I can only think that the people I know who suggested Cafe Du Monde had a great time there because of the people they were with. It was the whole experience, what they did before, the time of day, the weather, the whole setup leading to their visit. The conversation as they were waiting for their piss coffee was probably delightful, they were excited about something or had just left a great meal or bought a beautiful piece of art at Jackson Square. Perhaps they'd just had their fortune told and were happy to hear they'd live longer and with greater fortune than they'd thought.

Ultimately it makes me wonder how much control we have over the experience of our customer? We can do everything or nothing to make the experience fantastic but we can't control the mindset, attitude and experiences leading up to them walking through our door. Perhaps the reason everyone seems to love Cafe Du Monde is because it's in New Orleans, in a wonderful part of the city and it just so happens that people in New Orleans are having a great time, they are enjoying being there and the Cafe just happens to be perfectly positioned to take advantage of it.

><(("> Jeffy