21 replies to this topic

[Jean]

Dear Members,

I would like to know if there are any instances when a particular sound, smell, sight etc had any positive or negative impact on you. Like when I get the taste or smell oats, it reminds me of my school days…..Even some perfumes create sensory experience …..

Do any of you have or felt any similar sensory experience??

[a_andhika]

Dear J,

I havent find the scientific literature yet, but it works well on me... Sensory do bring up some memories to me, and I guess to almost everyone. Thats how the brain works, record memories and all the things surround it. SOunds and smells works most well on me. When I listen to John Mayer's songs (Room for Square album), I remember my college era. A particular floor sanitizer odor brings up my childhood memories. And many more...

But the weird thing is... I dunno but sometimes... When I listen to a song, it reminds me to some old memories, even the song itself just created at present! Maybe some lyrics and tone from that song is similar from what I heard at past. A self-consciousness record I guess..


Regards,


Arya

PS: Right now I am struggling to fix my MP3 earphone, and neglecting my office work... D**n.. I just want to hear a music

[AS NUR]

Dear Members,

I would like to know if there are any instances when a particular sound, smell, sight etc had any positive or negative impact on you. Like when I get the taste or smell oats, it reminds me of my school days…..Even some perfumes create sensory experience …..

Do any of you have or felt any similar sensory experience??

IMEX... in term of food product... i can state that the product is too sweet or too bitter according to my sensory test.. that because of my experiences to sensory test the product for 2 years.. that test make my mind remind the sweet taste and bitter test...

[Jean]

Dear Arya & As Nur,



Thanks for your comments. I agree with you Arya with regards to music, some music appease the mind when one is stressed or obsessed even. The sounds of waterfalls or waves do create a feeling of some kind of healing to ones mind…I wonder how the brains are wired to these, moreover music stimulates the brains.

I agree As Nur, even with the taste buds, can spice up your body and mind- the greens and fresh veggies especially stimulates a healthy mind.



This is one of the activities for the month which I will have to conduct for my staff. This focuses on the ways how we can use our 5 senses to provide a positive experience for the guests. Like for e.g. the smell from a restaurant or the sight of fresh flowers in the reception etc…We will have to get our senses ready to find out the negative & positive senses in our areas and then work towards the improvement.

[AS NUR]

Dear Arya & As Nur,



Thanks for your comments. I agree with you Arya with regards to music, some music appease the mind when one is stressed or obsessed even. The sounds of waterfalls or waves do create a feeling of some kind of healing to ones mind…I wonder how the brains are wired to these, moreover music stimulates the brains.

I agree As Nur, even with the taste buds, can spice up your body and mind- the greens and fresh veggies especially stimulates a healthy mind.



This is one of the activities for the month which I will have to conduct for my staff. This focuses on the ways how we can use our 5 senses to provide a positive experience for the guests. Like for e.g. the smell from a restaurant or the sight of fresh flowers in the reception etc…We will have to get our senses ready to find out the negative & positive senses in our areas and then work towards the improvement.

Dear J...

In sensory evaluation techniques, thats contain step to traine the panelist, the objective are to minimizing the extraneous variables, which may potentially bias the results..
YOu can see the procedure at ASTM or ISO....

[Hongyun]

I think Jean and As Nur are talking about different things?

True that it is best to minimize variables (no additional smell other than the intended, red lights to remove any association with certain food, no perfume allowed, etc...) during a sensory evaluation training session.

But when you are in the Hospitality Industry, it is your job to create nice and comfortable environments to the customer, so they enjoy their stay. One of the ways as mentioned by Jean, is through the 5 senses.

BTW, Jean, I ever hear from a supplier that one of their customers use a paint, incorporated with fragrance cyclodextrin, and the smell of fragrance was released slowly from the freshly coated wall for up to a year... Interesting... Maybe you can get a similar paint product with fragrances, so you don't have to keep spraying air refreshener every now and then.

[Jean]

Dear Hongyun,


Yes, you are right. Actually I was referring to what you were saying.

In the hospitality industry, we are training our staffs to look for both positive and negative experiences what a guest may experience and then work upon it using our 5 senses to improve guest satisfaction and comfort.

We have been doing this activity past one week for the negative sensory experience and have listed out few things. Now we are on the look out of positives for this week.

Thank you for the info on fragrance incorporated paints and will check it out here. This will be useful in front of house areas, maybe not the kitchens, as there are may be a chance for foods to be tainted.

[Simon]

They say if you are trying to sell your house you should have fresh coffee in the pot and bread baking in the oven when perspective buyers come to view. Of course you would also have fresh smelling linen and in the bathroom some nice floral smells (not too much of course). The purpose is to conjure good images and feelings in the buyers mind and to leave a mark. This could be the small difference when the buyer is remembering the homes visited and deciding which to purchase.

Because I love music sometimes when I hear a song it can give me strong feelings and for a brief moment I can be transported back to a long forgotten place in time.

[Jean]

Hi Simon,



Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts. You are right; the floral scents in the bathroom and the sight of fresh flowers too create a greater impact. The smell of freshly baked breads & coffee especially in the café and for the morning breakfast can create a comfortable experience. The light music is played in the restaurants, elevators and wash rooms. The dim lights or candle lights for dinner create a great ambiance and this includes the interiors which will create tempting views for brand essence. A home away from home is what most of the guests would expect….

[Simon]

Hi Simon,



Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts. You are right; the floral scents in the bathroom and the sight of fresh flowers too create a greater impact. The smell of freshly baked breads & coffee especially in the café and for the morning breakfast can create a comfortable experience. The light music is played in the restaurants, elevators and wash rooms. The dim lights or candle lights for dinner create a great ambiance and this includes the interiors which will create tempting views for brand essence. A home away from home is what most of the guests would expect….

It sounds great Jean. Maybe one day I can visit.

Regards,
Simon

[Penard]

Hi,

Some consumer services belonging to big companies follow every complaint; among them I can assess you that odour, feeling, appearance.. are really important and taken into consideration - don't forget that we also have, as we are all in charge of quality on IFSQN, to satisfy your consumer,

Regards,

Emmanuel

[Jean]

It sounds great Jean. Maybe one day I can visit.

Regards,
Simon

Dear Simon,



Sure you can check out on any nearest property.

[Jean]

Dear Penard,



Thanks for your reply and you are right, in many companies, there are even minute and small details taken care of well. The same is true in our chain. These do create a lot of impact and I am slowly realizing as most of the time it goes un-noticed as we look into bigger images and details. Anyway it's good to be in the shoes of a guest and look through their glasses to see the flaws which may go unnoticed by us as we are used to see the same things almost everyday..

[AL DSOUZA]

Dear J,
In response to your question , u must understand that there is a branch of study called
"Synthesia".
Synthesia deals with the connection between scent/flavour with colors & sounds. Sometime ago Discovery channel had carried a program on the same subject wherein a group very unique individuals experince something unique.
For ex: one lady , experience was with sound & colors & each sound note such F sharp was connected to red color or a B minor to pale yellow etc...
So when this lady hears music , she can experince colors.

There were similar explanation with a guy who had experinces with Music & taste, certain notes produced sweet, certain othyer produced bitter & so on.

In most humans, scent is very powerful in the sense it always evokes memories.

I hope explained a little.

-Al

[Jean]

Dear Al,


Thanks for your reply and bringing up a new term and this was in fact new to me. After a quick look in the IT, I believe ‘Synthesia’ is a neurological condition present in few people (1 in 23). I am not sure if I can relate this to improve the sensory experience in hospitality industry.

[Simon]

Not sure about Synthesia but it’s true that everyone has a preference for Visual, Auditory, or Kinesthetic. This is most often used when discussing preferred learning styles, but thinking about it if you respond to one of the three methods best for learning then this may transfer to other areas of life. If this is true then if you could identify a customers preferred style you could target stimuli to have the most positive effect. Of course I am dreaming a bit here as we are all different so you would need to cover all bases to maximise customer satisfaction for the group, but wait - there may at least be some pointers to age related, male and female preferences at this link: . http://school.family...hods/38519.html

It’s only a theory. Tell me if you think I’m cuckoo.

Regards,
Simon

[AS NUR]

Dear J

IMO...Cultural background can effect to sensory behaviour of people.. for example people from tropical country such as indonesia like flower color .. because in Indonesia we have much flowers with attracting color...
And People from China, if i am not mistake, Like Red Color because that represent of happiness...

So.. you have to observe what is the major of your customer.. and considering about cultural background your customer

[Jean]

Not sure about Synthesia but it’s true that everyone has a preference for Visual, Auditory, or Kinesthetic. This is most often used when discussing preferred learning styles, but thinking about it if you respond to one of the three methods best for learning then this may transfer to other areas of life. If this is true then if you could identify a customers preferred style you could target stimuli to have the most positive effect. Of course I am dreaming a bit here as we are all different so you would need to cover all bases to maximise customer satisfaction for the group, but wait - there may at least be some pointers to age related, male and female preferences at this link: . http://school.family...hods/38519.html

It’s only a theory. Tell me if you think I’m cuckoo.

Regards,
Simon

Dear Simon.



I agree with you that each and every individual have different learning styles. By getting to know a customer’s style can help in creating a extra touch. Thanks for the pointer and your theory- well appreciated.

The pointer regarding male & female preferences: - need to verify (Maybe true)



“During the late elementary years some students, primarily females, become auditory learners. Yet, many adults, especially males, maintain kinesthetic and tactual strengths throughout their lives.”

[Jean]

Dear As Nur,



Yes, you are right. We do take care in this regard to the best possible way. We have different theme nights ( to suit different ethnicity), promotions and even restaurants to suit and the décor, display, music and some traditional touches are added to bring in the true experience.

[Hongyun]

Dear J,
In response to your question , u must understand that there is a branch of study called
"Synthesia".
Synthesia deals with the connection between scent/flavour with colors & sounds. Sometime ago Discovery channel had carried a program on the same subject wherein a group very unique individuals experince something unique.
For ex: one lady , experience was with sound & colors & each sound note such F sharp was connected to red color or a B minor to pale yellow etc...
So when this lady hears music , she can experince colors.

There were similar explanation with a guy who had experinces with Music & taste, certain notes produced sweet, certain othyer produced bitter & so on.

In most humans, scent is very powerful in the sense it always evokes memories.

I hope explained a little.

-Al

Found a documentary on youtube.



Very interesting... being ablt to "taste" color...

Might make them a very interesting cook, like eating chicken with ice-cream and orange sauce...

[Hongyun]

Dear J,
In response to your question , u must understand that there is a branch of study called
"Synthesia".
Synthesia deals with the connection between scent/flavour with colors & sounds. Sometime ago Discovery channel had carried a program on the same subject wherein a group very unique individuals experince something unique.
For ex: one lady , experience was with sound & colors & each sound note such F sharp was connected to red color or a B minor to pale yellow etc...
So when this lady hears music , she can experince colors.

There were similar explanation with a guy who had experinces with Music & taste, certain notes produced sweet, certain othyer produced bitter & so on.

In most humans, scent is very powerful in the sense it always evokes memories.

I hope explained a little.

-Al

Found a documentary on youtube.



Very interesting... being able to "taste" color...

Might make them a very interesting cook, like eating chicken with ice-cream and orange sauce in this video...

Edited by Hongyun, 12 April 2009 - 03:09 AM.

[MRios]

For me it´s mostly smells that bring back memories. One of the biggest local bakeries has a production area in each of its stores. One whiff of bread baking and you find yourself buying lots more than what you intended to.
There´s a place that sells excellent burgers, but a friend will not buy them because she says that she can smell the desinfectant used in the bathroom all the way out to the tables.
And there´s also a study about how small children prefer to eat vegetables that are served in containers from a fast food restaurant. I know it worked for my nephew!
Places that sell ceviche (fish or other seafood marinated in lime, with tomato,onion, cilantro and mint) are usually very noisy. In some there are 2 or 3 mariachi bands playing simultaneously and its part of the accepted ambiance. Quite a far cry from the classical or instrumental music played at high end restaurants.