Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas are incredibly smart and their keen understanding of the software business is surprising but pretty clear from this article. I actually knew that already because the company I used to work for helped build software for them and Grant and Nick spoke at our company event. They blew us all away.
I think this was just before or right after they had launched Next. Their description of the reservation ticketing system and the variable pricing model seemed awesome then. Glad to see it worked out so well.
But what really made an impression on me was Grant's discussion of the similarity of software user experience design and his own dining experience design. He talked about how he's not just making food but controlling an entire experience for the diner. That includes the interesting centerpieces on the table that are used in the meal, the narrow entrance hall to the restaurant, the use of smoke and smell to evoke memories. I'm completely sure the user experience of the reservation system is a piece he considers a part of the overall dining experience. Whether or not actual conversion numbers are there to justify investing in it, I bet these guys consider it one of the intangibles that make their restaurants the best fine dining experiences in the country.
One of the stories that sticks out for me was Grant's explanation of the trickiness involved in not having tablecloths. At the time, he said, fine dining meant white tablecloths. But he didn't want there to be tablecloths at Alinea. So he got rid of them. But the problem was water rings. When cold water was placed on the stone tables, rings of condensation formed. He said they solved the problem by finding the precise temperature at which the water was chilled but not cold enough to form condensation rings on the table and they keep it at exactly that temperature in the kitchen.
Something about that story says to me that he understands that the quality of the experience lies in the substance and not the decoration. I haven't actually used the reservation system. I went to Alinea before it was used there and I haven't been to Next. So I don't know if it's ugly but I doubt it sucks. Because these guys understand and care about user experience of all forms to a surprising degree.