tHe RainForEst Cafe

Services Marketing Reading for this week reminded me of the Rainforest Cafe. The topic for the week focused on creating a service experience economy and the author used themed, entertainment businesses as examples of how successfully (or not) these businesses reach, create and leave a truly memorable experience with customers. The journal reading was such a pleasant read! So unlike some of the really boring pieces we had to read earlier on in the semester. Haha! This reading was truly entertaining... talking about how the economy seems to have evolved from industry, to services, and now to an experience-based one. The section on the Characteristics of Experiences and the 4 categories of experiences we can get as consumers also made me think through some of the more recent events i encountered, and places i visited. And from that section alone i realized i'm definitely more of a passive (than active), esthetic-seeking participant in lots of instances. Haha!

Anyways, because the author mentioned the Rainforest Cafe quite a bit, i was reminded of the outlet i visited back in SG. That was a really really long time ago though... must have been when they first opened at Liang Court in 00/01? I think i went there a couple of times... with peeps from PA/SEMIS. For dinner. Have never gone back there since... honestly, is it even still around in SG??? Themed dining places in SG never seem to last very long...... No matter.. even if its not available in SG anymore, i'll say it definitely left good impressions and memorable experiences for me. Heeee! Still remember the lower-level was where they had their merchandise for sale. The 2nd level was where you could dine. The place looked like a huge jungle (rainforest settings mah!). The background 'music' was the sounds of the rainforest, waterfalls, animals..... all really really nice! Honestly, i don't even remember much of its food expect the portions were huge! I guess that's another point the author of the article i read was trying to make - that sometimes in providing an experience, the actual product (food and beverage in the case of the Rainforest Cafe) is secondary to the actual service experience the customer has.

Oh wow! i just realize what i nerd i can be! This is actually an entry so like the reflective journals we have to do every week for tut.s!! Only far simpler and i can use my comfy conversational English to pen my thoughts down with. Haha!