While I was contemplating to come up with a bad design, this idea of a toilet-restaurant popped out in my mind. It has been disgusting me since the first time I saw the news about this restaurant. Therefore, I would like to present this ‘crappy’ restaurant to you.
It is a restaurant in Taiwan that serve food out of toilet bowls and the whole restaurant is themed 'toilet'.
Picture taken from http://www.boingboing.net/2005/06/30/crappy-restaurant.html and google images
User Reactions
While some of you might think it’s a novel idea or a fun thing to dine there, a lot of customers are turned down by the thought of dining shit-like food out of a toilet bowl. Here are a few feedback I gather from online forums:
“........... OH C R A P !!!........
.... well someone had to say it!! and yukkkkkkk... i wouldnt want to eat there.. just the idea alone of eating out of toiletshaped dishes... ewwwwww!!!!!!..........”
“I bet more than one person has tried the chocolate ice cream and yelled out "ewww...this tastes like sh!t!!!"
Impressions on the brand
From my interviews to a few of my friends give a mixed reaction. Some have the brand image of it as fun and cool idea for a dining place where they wouldn’t mind trying it out once. Others said looking at the pictures along disgust them, especially the ice-creams in the toilet bowl, and think that it’s a crappy idea.
My reflection on the product
Functionality/ Usability
It is just a restaurant that claims to have good food. People can go in to dine and maybe they have good services.
Aesthetics/ Sensorial design
I think the main problem is on the restaurant’s sensorial design. It might seems innovative yet at the same time very ironic. According Patrick W. Jordon’s Hierarchy of consumer needs, pleasure is the highest level of consumer values. But in this case, I don’t think the toilet design brings pleasure to the diners at the restaurant.
Hedonic Quality
In terms of branding, the restaurant is trying hard to portray it as a hip and innovative place for the fun-seekers. While I believe that this branding strategy might impress a niche of consumers, the question is in ‘customer loyalty’. I personally do not feel that the restaurant can maintain a long-term loyalty from the customers if they want to brand themselves as innovative. The restaurant will need to define their value proposition and convince the customers why they have come back to the restaurant.
My reflection on user reactions
Although I was totally turned down with the idea of eating out of a toilet bowl, I also appreciate the different individual preferences – those who think it is fun to dine there. However, I believe a good user experience design is to attract the majority in the bell consumer bell-curve not those from the edge of the curve.
One possibility of the sustainability of its business despite the controversial outlook is that the setting somehow provokes uses with challenge. It is too bad that the achievement of daring to eat the restaurant gives diners satisfaction of accomplishment. That is how the restaurant sustain the customers' loyalty.
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