tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355305052024-02-19T14:33:10.414+08:00PsychObserverA blog about customer experience and observing people... with a Hong Kong / China flavor.Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-1913062554373353992006-12-31T17:04:00.000+08:002006-12-31T17:15:11.657+08:00Blog Address ChangedHi all,<br /><br />New Year... New face...<br />You can now access this blog at <a href="http://psychobserver.com/">http://psychobserver.com</a>.<br /><br />I transfered all past posts.<br /><br />Happy New Year!<br />新年快乐!Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-7119478427076116512006-12-25T14:44:00.000+08:002006-12-25T14:54:56.427+08:00Honeymoon Domestic ConsultantFrom <a href="http://www.chinesepod.com/">ChinesePod.com</a> (A great website to learn Mandarin) is an interesting look at a phenomenon that is spreading in China... I would say especially in Shanghai. Young Chinese couples are getting married, but have no clue whatsoever as to how to take care of themselves, so their parents "offer" them a kind of domestic helper/consultant (蜜月阿姨) to make sure they won't ... well starve to death for example, or put their pet in the washing machine, who knows...<br /><br />You can listen to the 3 minutes dialog below to know a bit more:<br /><br /><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="190"><tbody><tr><td width="15%"><br /></td><td align="center" height="25" valign="middle" width="70%"><span style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:9;" >街语19 The Word on the Street is 蜜月阿姨 (mìyuè āyí)</span></td><td width="15%"><br /></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" align="center"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" height="70" width="190"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="flashvars" value="podlink=http://media.libsyn.com/media/hanyuwang1/chinesepod448_G19_20061221.mp3"><param name="movie" value="http://www.chinesepod.com/flash/Player1.swf"><param name="quality" value="high"><embed src="http://www.chinesepod.com/flash/Player1.swf" wmode="transparent" flashvars="podlink=http://media.libsyn.com/media/hanyuwang1/chinesepod448_G19_20061221.mp3" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" height="70" width="190"></embed></object><br /></td></tr><tr><td><br /></td><td align="center" valign="top"> <a href="http://www.chinesepod.com/"><span style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:9;" >Visit <b>ChinesePod.com</b></span></a> </td><td><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Merry Christmas! And happy festive season!<br />圣诞快乐!Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-86254469422675763522006-12-23T19:19:00.000+08:002006-12-23T19:34:46.573+08:00"Better Living - Product Design Contributes" Expo<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/142/330784844_dd4c7b4765.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/142/330784844_dd4c7b4765.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />The <a href="http://www.heritagemuseum.gov.hk/english/main.asp">Hong Kong heritage museum</a> has organized a 6 months or so product design exhibition as part of the government initiative to promote Hong Kong as a design platform for Asia. All the exhibitors are Hong Kong designers or companies (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12752322@N00/sets/72157594434385338/">See Pictures</a> on Flickr).<br /><br />It is interesting to see that most well-known Hong Kong designers have set up their own consultancy or design their own products on a small scale and in relatively low risk categories. Indeed the exhibition has a lot of "gift & Premium" types of products.<br /><br />Still, the TTI Group area is very interesting, with a wide range of products displayed and much efforts spent on highlighting the design process behind each of these. To me, that should be the spirit of the whole exhibition and is the best way to promote design and push people to get more involved.<br /><br />I was very disappointed at the Philips Design booth. Nothing much to see there. It seems they tried to build an "experience" booth with too much atmosphere and very little content.Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-75182769693710579712006-12-22T16:18:00.000+08:002006-12-22T16:28:45.296+08:00Interactive FloorsThere are more and more interactive floors appearing all over town in Hong Kong. These things even though they do not work perfectly are a great way to entertain people and make them interact with their surroundings. And kids especially love it...<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qCTYrNm1oTk"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qCTYrNm1oTk" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-50556558163169484202006-12-22T15:51:00.000+08:002006-12-22T16:02:03.257+08:00Few Links - 22 Dec. 2006The usual three links on three topics that have nothing to do with one another:<br /><br /><ol><li>From BusinessWeek is an article about "<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/dec2006/gb20061215_816544.htm">China's Innovation Barriers</a>". My thought on this: Looking at China's rapid evolution in the past decades, why would being innovative be much of a problem? China has overcome much larger problems already.</li><li>From BusinessWeek again is an article about "<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/dec2006/gb20061221_409143.htm">Matsushita's Green Strategy</a>". A lot of interesting figures about Japanese companies in this article. The biggest take-away is that being greener is really a huge commitment and investment that does not bring return right away, so companies had better start quick.</li><li>Posted on Experientia Blog "<a href="http://www.experientia.com/blog/">Putting People First</a>" is an article about Usability called "<a href="http://www.gotomedia.com/gotoreport/december2006/usability2.0.html">Introducing Usability 2.0</a>". I really hate that 2.0 craze, but having done Usability Testing and writing reports sometimes even after a Web site had been launched, I totally identify with the writer. Great read.<br /></li></ol>Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-56854040370433416102006-12-19T14:35:00.000+08:002006-12-19T15:02:46.697+08:00Home Coffee Experience<span lang="EN-US">Starbucks reinvented the coffee shop and is covering the whole world with its successful ventures. Another company is now aggressively targeting other untapped locations were coffee is consumed. This company is <a href="http://www.nespresso.com">Nespresso</a> and already showed impressive growth providing coffee to small and medium size corporations as well as to individuals.<o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p>While strolling around in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">, I encountered one of their shop targeted to individua</span><span lang="EN-US">ls. Everything is done to make the experience feel like a luxury one. The design of the machines is very well finished and their usage is a breeze. The staff wears suits and stands being neatly decorated desks. Change the product and this could be a Louis Vuitton shop.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://static.flickr.com/140/326890619_ebcb469c4c.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://static.flickr.com/140/326890619_ebcb469c4c.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">If we move to </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Hong Kong</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">, Nespresso does not have its own shop and is selling its machines mainly through high-end supermarkets (on top of aggressively developing its business segment). With most people in </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Hong Kong</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> heading outside of their apartments for meals, especially breakfast, the approach of focusing on business, while developing some kind of exposure through supermarket chains should show great results. It is great to see a company doing its homework.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p>Starbucks could have brought great coffee experience outside of its stores, but it seems that another coffee company identified this great opportunity first and developed a very compelling experience to grow this under-developed market</span>.<br /></p>Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-51179028542195483802006-12-17T16:14:00.000+08:002006-12-17T16:18:31.452+08:00Forcing Change Through Bad Experience<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Yesterday night the BBC was announcing the start of a new 8km tram line in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:City><span lang="EN-US">. With green grass surrounding the trains, this seems like a great move towards making the city more environment friendly, but it is actually the latest in a move by the city to curb downtown traffic by making it a hell to drive around. All roads now include bus lanes or other tricks that reduced by half the number of lanes available for common drivers. The city seems to hope that by making driving the most frustrating experience ever, people will use alternative means of transportation.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p><span style="font-weight: bold;">What a terrible way to treat its own population!</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p>Public transportation in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:City><span lang="EN-US"> is very far from perfect when compared with cities like </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Hong Kong</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">. The metro is dirty and plagued by strikes and delays. Buses are unsafe. Is the city really providing an equally convenient alternative to the car? Not really… It also fails to realize the importance of the car for French people in general. Driving a car in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">France</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> is a statement of freedom and independence. A forced removal of this can only angry people more. It will not make them abandon their car.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p>So apart from increased traffic jams, Paris now also has way more motorcycles speeding between cars and leading to more crashes, as more and more less-experienced two-wheel drivers get on the road. Looking at </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US"></span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">solutions like </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">London</span></st1:place></st1:City><span lang="EN-US"> implementation of a toll fee could lead to better results. Unfortunately, a fee, as I was discussing with a French friend, is not an egalitarian solution as it will affect poorer people more… Isn’t </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">France</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> quest to be the most egalitarian country in the world affecting its own relevance to the world in the end?</span> </p>Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-50369419838913479302006-12-17T15:14:00.000+08:002006-12-17T15:37:10.645+08:00Few Links - 17 Dec. 2006Below are three links about very different topics...<br /><br /><ol><li>From <a href="http://www.portigal.com/blog/">All This ChittahChattah</a> by Steve Portigal is a post called "<a href="http://www.portigal.com/blog/signal-to-noise/#respond">Signal To Noise</a>". It deals with the appropriateness of online advertising by highlighting a funny example. Highly relevant to any companies investing in online advertising: Don't forget Context!<br /></li><li>From <a href="http://www.adverblog.com/">Adverblog</a> is a link to an <a href="http://www.turnitalloff.com/play.htm">edugame </a>aimed at making people realize how important it is to save energy in the office. As mentioned in Adverblog, the game is far from perfect, but it still provides some information in an entertaining way. Worth checking...</li><li>From <a href="http://www.zonaeuropa.com/weblog.htm">EasthSouthWestNorth</a> is a post about the <a href="http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20061216_1.htm">Hong Kong Ferry Terminal Clock</a> that is to be demolished. It raises the issue of conserving the Hong Kong cultural heritage and how it is best done. I find it very interesting as it deals with the very definition of cultural heritage and how it can be shared in a meaningful way with outside people. I recently brought visitors to the newly built <a href="http://www.np360.com.hk/html/eng/np360_exp/village_index.html">Ngong Ping Village</a> and to see the Symphony of Lights... Both disgraces to Hong Kong culture if you ask me. Especially the Ngong Ping village which is supposed to be dedicated to Buddhism and includes French food, Starbucks and dumb shows that are absolutely not educational.</li></ol>Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-6986267041506354752006-12-14T10:00:00.000+08:002006-12-14T10:19:57.123+08:00"Mr. Egg... Please Show Me Your ID!"It is not one day in Hong Kong without getting a warning on TV about poisonous food. Sometimes it is fish, sometimes vegetable or some other fake products, and they all come from China. As a result a brand new market opportunity has been created for "certified good" food. China even created the "Edible Farm Product" label that they grant to brands with strict quality control of their production.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://static.flickr.com/126/320126719_46c880bd0f.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://static.flickr.com/126/320126719_46c880bd0f.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>While I was at the Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo, I chatted for a while with Mr. Tony Sin the project director of <a href="http://www.deqingyuan.hk/">De Qing Yuan</a> (Website only in Chinese) a Beijing company that is entering the Hong Kong market. Armed with the Chinese Green Food label and a strict process control, they aim at introducing their product - eggs - in Hong Kong by positioning them as the safe option to other brands. Their pricing would be in between normal eggs and "organic" eggs.<br /><br />Another difference with these eggs will be that the date of production instead of some expiry date will be stamped on the egg itself. Those expiry dates really mean nothing to me as they are so remote in the future (at least in Hong Kong supermarkets), but having the production date on the egg could be scary depending on the speed at which the supermarket can empty its shelves. Although I got used to seeing these expiry date, I don't know what would be my reaction to seeing eggs with a production date long in the past...<br /><br />In short, there is huge market opportunity here, but isn't it a bit scary that maybe not long from now, while shopping, we will have to choose from the following two sections:<br /><br />1. Reasonable price, BUT EAT AT YOUR OWN RISK<br />2. MORE EXPENSIVE, but safe to eatNicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-5282999047536124392006-12-12T11:24:00.000+08:002006-12-12T11:36:55.103+08:0041st Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12752322@N00/sets/72157594416206881/"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://static.flickr.com/131/320119139_9aea4c918f.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>The expo is definitely not what I expected. With a name like that I expected some kind of display of Hong Kong best brands that would promote themselves. Nope Nope... The expo is actually a gigantic market where you can buy whatever you want from brands that are or not from Hong Kong. Food is the main item, but products span from beauty stuff and Chinese medicine to clothing and furniture (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12752322@N00/sets/72157594416206881/">photo album</a> on Flickr).<br /><br />The expo is still interesting to understand what makes Hong Kong consumers buy...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rule #1:</span> Product demonstration always attract crowds<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rule #2:</span> Display discounts all over your booth<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rule #3:</span> Get a loudspeaker louder than your neighbor's<br /><br />Or...<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://static.flickr.com/138/320122631_211a7c1ccb.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://static.flickr.com/138/320122631_211a7c1ccb.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>Get ready for a looonnnnggggg day<br /></div>Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-60438424233084996162006-12-09T17:39:00.000+08:002006-12-09T17:44:38.324+08:00TED Talks: Twists of the Mind<span lang="EN-US">I know I wrote that the next few posts would be about cultural differences between France and Hong Kong, but as a good French person I only define rules so that I can have the pleasure to break them… ;o)<o:p></o:p><br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal"><a target="_blank" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=m_shermer"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 224px; height: 167px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRuGJNcGnTqKYM9EEWRdDwo69GVC49hGYtPGdrArTRI4SRY2qOGQHCdeVS88UGZw4KO_lpGdrFEeLlWOrIny6s3vrbTcmZy9Sp0uqyS4gmC9kddCJWYzCMaMbfY0cvPkktsu_ang/s320/michael-shermer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5006459763977047778" border="0" /></a><span lang="EN-US">So, here is another TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Talk <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=m_shermer">video</a>. This one is by Michael Shermer, founder/publisher of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.skeptic.com/">Skeptic Magazine</a>, and author of several books, including <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/People-Believe-Weird-Things-Pseudoscience/dp/0805070893/?tag2=wwwtedcom-20">Why People Believe Weird Things</a>. It was recorded in February 2006 and last around 18 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p>Apart from the fact that you will get a good laugh watching this video, there is one very important point I found there about priming. Priming is roughly preparing the mind to what it will encounter. The result is that the mind will focus its attention on one thing, while actually other factors should be taken into account. Priming can result in total bias if not taken into account.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p>Imagine you are discussing with the creative director of the advertising company you are working with. He (or she) explains you the concept of the ad they made and shows you the storyboard. You find it great. You produce that and it is a total failure because people just don’t get the concept… The very fact that the creative director explained you the concept before showing the storyboard induced a bias that you should be aware of. This may sound trivial, but it happens everyday. It is just like asking participants to rate a product in a focus group after telling them how “this product has so many cool features”.<o:p></o:p></span> </p>Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-85401596232973292812006-12-08T16:32:00.000+08:002006-12-08T16:36:57.116+08:00Making the Green Light “Greener”<span lang="EN-US">Back in </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Hong Kong</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> after two weeks in my home country, </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">France</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">, I can start blogging again. And for a short while I will blog about differences; differences between </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">France</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> and </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Hong Kong</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><br /></o:p></span><span lang="EN-US"><br />As a first post, I will focus on traffic lights. It is the first time that it struck me, but traffic lights are rather different in some aspects between France and Hong Kong. The main difference I found is that the French green is not as “green” as the </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Hong Kong</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> green… Let me explain...<br /><br /></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p>Say you are pedestrian in </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Hong Kong</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> waiting to cross the road. When the light turns green, you can cross without any worry. No car can come at you as all traffic lights for cars are red. Not so in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">France</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">. When the same pedestrian crosses the road, cars will be coming from other sides of the crossroad and will be patiently waiting, or most probably trying to find a way through the pedestrians, while you are crossing. This makes crossing the road a much more stressful experience. A very small difference you would say…<br /><br /></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p>Well if we believe what Malcolm Gladwell writes in “The Tipping Point”, small environment cues are very important and can greatly affect people’s behavior. In his book, he goes on explaining how removing graffiti in the </span><st1:state><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">New York</span></st1:place></st1:State><span lang="EN-US"> subway helped decrease crime. Well, could it be that in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:City><span lang="EN-US">, making green lights “greener” could help decrease the stress and frustration the population faces everyday there? Everybody who visits me in </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Hong Kong</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> finds that despite the crowd the place seems more relaxing than others… maybe European cities could learn from these small things that can make a city nicer to live in.</span>Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-22239620440402057662006-11-16T12:00:00.000+08:002006-11-16T12:46:25.578+08:00Few links - 16 Sept. 2006<ol><li><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/nov2006/id20061116_885827.htm">The onliness of Strong Brands</a> is a BusinessWeek article about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Zag-Number-Strategy-High-Performance-Brands/dp/0321426770/sr=8-1/qid=1163651406/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-4822790-7748157?ie=UTF8&s=books">ZAG</a>, a new book from Marty Neumeier. The book talks about the "onliness" of brands, meaning their uniqueness. It emphasize the need to create <span style="font-weight: bold;">unique experiences</span> as opposed to <span style="font-weight: bold;">best experiences</span>, arguing that best experiences leads to following common practices and fail to differentiate the brand. The article also emphasizes the need to link brands with long-term trends to create a bridge with customers, as well as be critical towards results from market research that sometimes fail to identify a killer product.</li><br /><li>(Links in French) <a href="http://www.wat.tv/">WAT.TV</a> is an online platform launch by French TF1 (The channel number 1 in France). In LeMonde, leading French newspaper, the article entitled "<a href="http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-651865,36-834936,0.html?xtor=RSS-3208">TF1 fait de la television avec du Web</a>" (TF1 does TV using the Internet) discusses the new strategy employed by the channel to bridge traditional TV programming with the Web. The online platform allows the community to share pictures, videos, text and so on. On a weekly basis, the channel will choose a selection of short videos that they will broadcast late at night on their main channel. The authors of the videos receive Euro 100 for that. I find the approach pretty nice, but I wonder if a significant community can really emerge around a TV channel... it seems too restrictive to me.</li><br /><li>The last link is to the <a href="http://www.sonyericsson.com/product/walkmantvc1/video/WMP_broadband.html">SonyEricsson ad</a> that is showing right now on Hong Kong TV. The ad is very neat and nicely done... but at the end the phone rings and a guy says: "Hello...". Am I the only one who wants to complete the sentence with "Moto"? Every time I see the ad I think about Motorola more than SonyEricsson...</li></ol>Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-59617190520612813202006-11-15T17:49:00.000+08:002006-11-15T18:08:13.295+08:00When Will They Get It?Around 2 months ago, my Internet connection stopped working. It took me plenty of courage to get myself to go through the PCCW hotline and solve my problem (I usually prefer going to a store rather than trying Call Centers). As I was on the phone, the support person told me my Now Broadband TV subscription was almost over and that he could propose me some good deals to renew it. He said he would call back two days later.<br /><br />Time passed...<br /><br />... and passed...<br /><br />And two days ago I decided, seeing one of these PCCW Now booths in the street to go and check for myself. I discovered that my contract was already over and that they just had continued to charge the service as usual. Well, I consider myself lucky that they did not start charging more without telling me, so that's fine.<br /><br />Then the guy started to enumerate the different options I had to renew. Of course all of them were forcing me sign a new contract for 12 to 18 months, even though I have been a customer for more than 18 months. After some negotiation, he told me that there was a way for me to get a nice subscription and 3 months for free. He just had to treat me as a new customer, come to pick up my current set-top box and replace it by a brand new one.<br /><br />Reluctant to sign for a long contract, I asked him what would happen if I was switching subscription through the DIY (do-it-yourself) TV system they have. He told me: "Well, you would pay full price and get no discount."<br /><br />To summarize, if as a customer I change my subscription I use the way that costs the least to the company, then I will pay the most (that's DIY). And if I ask the support person to stop my current contract and come to my place to exchange the hardware, then I will pay the least for the service. How could a company do something more mind-bending than that?<br /><br />Well... This kind of things happen of course everyday, but I just had to write about it!Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-83256252467407686982006-11-14T12:19:00.000+08:002006-12-09T17:47:34.459+08:00Is More Choice A Good Thing?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=b_schwartz&flashEnabled=1"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 222px; height: 164px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1801/4337/320/Barry-Schwartz.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Here is another great video taken from </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.ted.com/">TED</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> (Technology Entertainment Design) Talks. This one was made by Barry Schwartz in July 2005 following the release of his book "</span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Choice-More-Less-P-S/dp/0060005696/sr=8-1/qid=1163478635/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-4822790-7748157?ie=UTF8&s=books">The Paradox Of Choice</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">" (duration: 20 minutes).</span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Please go check the <a href="http://psychobserver.blogspot.com/2006/10/customer-experience-is-about.html">Malcolm Gladwell video</a> I posted earlier if you did not watch it.</span></span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />In this talk, Barry Schwartz builds a very strong argument against providing too much choice to people. He highlights that in regards to choice, although too little is bad, too much can as well have a very negative effect on people on four different aspects:</span> <ol style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><li>Regret and anticipated regret</li><li>Opportunity cost</li><li>Escalation of expectations</li><li>Self-blame</li></ol><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This presentation relates directly to customer experience and to the strategies companies employ to provide positive, or higher than expectations, experiences. With expectations getting higher with the increase in choice, companies should consider the paradox highlighted here seriously.<br /><br />If we look at clothing shops in Hong Kong for example, instead of having a simple Giordano, now you have Giordano, Giordano Ladies, Giordano Junior, Giordano Concepts. With every new type of store created, customers' expectations of how well a specific store can address their needs will increase, thus making it much more difficult to exceed these customers' expectations. Few choices answering specific needs and clear distinctions between each choice, rather than choice overload, is a winning formula.<br /></span>Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-356535343066145172006-11-11T16:45:00.000+08:002006-11-11T17:31:11.019+08:00RSS for Everyone?RSS feeds changed my life. They are the best way to retrieve information on a daily basis from multiple sources of information. Everybody knows that I guess... or do they?<br /><br />Even though RSS feeds have been around for a long time, their potential has not been fully utilized today. One of the reason for this is that whatever easy we believe, as heavy Internet users, it is to use RSS or to understand the logic behind, well it is not. I was transferring all my feeds this afternoon from <a href="http://my.yahoo.com/">MyYahoo</a> to <a href="http://www.netvibes.com/">NetVibes</a>, as I think NetVibes offers more flexibility for me to build my own "stay-in-touch-with-the-World" page. It took me hell of a lot of time... adding all the feeds and very often having to copy/paste RSS feeds URLs. And I am not even talking about finding new feeds here.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Talking about my dad again...</span><br />I am sorry that I will mention my dad again. Not that I have a fixation on him, but while he was visiting Hong Kong I gave him am Internet crash course! I decided to show him the power of the Internet and how it could change his way of working. Some stuff freaked him out, like being able to find pictures of the house he just bought in a tiny village in the South-East of France on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/">Flickr</a>. Others amazed him like the amount of information that can be found on <a href="http://www.wikipedia.org/">Wikipedia</a>. But above all, he felt most enthusiastic about RSS feeds and how it could help him save so much time... save time, that is once you have everything set up.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">All this takes so much time</span><br />And that's where for me the major problem is. To be able to make an efficient use of RSS feeds, well on top of being very comfortable with all that Internet stuff, you have to have so much time. There is so much information out there that finding really interesting content is really a challenge, especially for the generation of people who did not grow up browsing the Web before they could speak. And this segment of the population is in dire need for information, as they hold position of major responsibility in multinationals for example.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bloomberg for everybody</span><br />So, if we look at how things work in the Financial world, where Bloomberg and others feed real-time information to traders around the World. Wouldn't a concept like that nowadays work with general information where users could choose to be informed about special topics of interest? As many Web sites do it, it is great to leave it to the community to decide what is interesting, but for people with little Internet experience and little time, the task of choosing the type of content that is interesting to them could be left to one or several experts.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Following Pandora concept</span><br />A Web site that has nothing to do with information but that I find so great is <a href="http://www.pandora.com/">Pandora</a>, where the system builds a radio suited to your own taste, just based on the name of a band or a song that you provide. When a song comes up, you can just say that you like it or not and the system will tailor further the radio. It is that kind of simplicity that could make to my mind RSS feeds and information providers reach their full potential. Of course Pandora is a huge initiative that necessitates to review and categorize every piece of music that can be found. Could that be done with information? My feeling is that leaving an algorithm and the whole community do it may not be enough... and may leave out a part of the population who would be avid users is they were given the opportunity to try.Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-14719441039583539062006-11-11T13:12:00.001+08:002006-11-11T13:13:03.123+08:00The Solution to Branding<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12752322@N00/293486816/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/111/293486816_548f685842_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" /></a> <span style="margin-top: 0px;font-size:0;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12752322@N00/293486816/"><br /></a> </span></div>Last week-end, as my dad was visiting, I went to Shenzhen to show him the difference between Hong Kong life and China life. Sure enough, you cannot summarize China by looking at Shenzhen, but you see a big difference with Hong Kong right when you cross the border. Colors are paler. It is dusty everywhere because of the continuous construction going on. People look tired. You can tell you are not in Hong Kong anymore. You can tell you are in a country that is developing and in a city that is still struggling to find its identity.<br /><br />On one of our errands, we saw a celebration in the street. A Hong Kong jewelry brand was celebrating a very important event. That brand had joined the exclusive circle of "CHINA FAMOUS BRANDS" as the certificate that they were showing off explained (see picture on the right).<br /><br />That got me thinking... How can a certificate, be it from the most important government body, give you the status of a famous brand. Aren't the people supposed to decide which company is famous and which one is not?<br /><br />Now, I am reading "1 Billion Customers" by James Mc Gregor right now (a book that I recommend to anybody with interest in doing business in China). In the book he explains how the Chinese government when there is a lot of money at stake will find ways to benefit more from it.<br /><br />To me that example could be one of these. Branding, advertising and marketing in general are great sources of revenue. So, what if the government could issue a document that decided whether you were famous or not, whether your brand was a valuable asset or not, wouldn't that be a great power in the hands of the government?Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-49153444793821243472006-11-10T11:47:00.001+08:002006-11-11T12:39:10.523+08:00Targeting the niche<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12752322@N00/293486798/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/119/293486798_c5aef11c68_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" /></a> <span style="margin-top: 0px;font-size:0;" > </span></div>Going mainstream gets harder and harder by the day. Significant behavioral differences and increasing expectations among customers makes it near impossible to develop a message that will reach every consumer. As a result targeting niche segment can become a more and more valuable option. That is one option that the Telecom provider Smartone is following in Hong Kong by targeting explicitly the Filipino community.<br /><br />Smartone brand is usually red and white, but this store closed to a Filipino hotspot in Hong Kong Causeway Bay has been totally rebranded to fit the community taste and even displays Bahasa language instead of English or Chinese. Shops assistants are of course Filipinos as well. With a huge Filipino community, dedicated Filipino shops are not uncommon in Hong Kong, but it is very uncommon for a "big" company to recognize the fact and spend the effort to research the needs of that community. With no other company following the example as thoroughly, Smartone surely has a huge lead in a community of several hundred thousands.Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-66810197157192246142006-11-03T09:18:00.000+08:002006-11-03T09:21:25.262+08:00The Compliance Assistance Centre in Hong Kong<p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">As one employee stated it when explaining what it was, if the <a href="http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/eindex.html">Environment Protection Department</a> is the stick (armed with laws and regulations), the <a href="http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/cac/index.html">Compliance Assistance Centre</a> set up in September in </span><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Hong Kong</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> is the carrot. The center main mission is to educate people in specific industries on how to comply better with environment standards and how it can benefit their image to do so (the carrot). The center focuses on four areas: the construction industry, vehicle repair shops, restaurants and property management.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p>The attitude of the center is quite passive, waiting for interested parties to contact them. From the material distributed at the booth, the focus is also on big companies. Indeed all documents are thick reports that only a company with a legion of administrative staff would read. Even if the initiative is good I am not sure the carrot (a better image) will be big enough to attract the bulk of companies in the targeted industries where image may not be a top priority.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p>The other limitations of the center is that it only provides information and will send companies to other third-parties for actual services to help them, significantly affecting convenience. My first feeling on the Compliance Assistance Centre is that it should focus on a bottom-up approach with targeted trial programs with few picked companies rather than a top-down one. The carrot would appear much bigger with successful case studies done with other small businesses.<o:p></o:p></span> </p>Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-44227018297115413702006-11-01T18:00:00.000+08:002006-11-01T18:11:14.682+08:00Blurring the line between real and virtualA pretty interesting article today in BusinessWeek Online Innovation section entitled: "<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/oct2006/id20061030_869611.htm?campaign_id=rss_innovate">Second Life Lessons</a>". It explains the threats and opportunities of advertising campaigns or even setting up shops in virtual worlds like Second Life. As a gamer I really do not believe in in-game advertising. They are intrusive and if not their effectiveness still has to be proved.<br /><br />The example of Toyota, which plans to build its own shop in Second Life selling customizable virtual cars is another kind of interactions between companies and customers, which to me offers much more appeal. If Toyota is creating great virtual cars that blend totally in the virtual world, it may very well have crucial impacts on its brand in the real world. But it is also a risky path... as the article points out, virtual communities are not easy to crack and blend into (The example of avatars bombing virtual stores is pretty scary). Second life also offers limited opportunities in terms of exposure due to the volume of its traffic... at the time I write this post, only 6,250 people are online.Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-68377004689104244752006-11-01T17:27:00.000+08:002006-11-01T17:50:41.358+08:00Oh! That's Great!... oh... no, finally no...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1801/4337/1600/MTR-ad.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1801/4337/400/MTR-ad.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />That ad is displayed inside the MTR (Metro) in Hong Kong. It is an ad for the fast train that links the airport and a new exhibition hall. It says in big that you can enjoy a same day return trip to the AsiaWorld Exposition Hall for only HK$42, instead of a usual HK$100 if I am not mistaking. That sounds like great! Then you look at the right of the ad with all these street signs displaying places in Hong Kong Island and a big 42 next to each of them...<br /><br />... unfortunately, when you look at the bottom of the ad, you can see that if you take a full ride from Hong Kong station (on the main island of Hong Kong like the places displayed on the signs at the top right of the ad) to the exibition hall, that will cost you HK$72. Still a nice discount but not as nice as HK$42.<br /><br />I will never understand how an advertiser can manage customers' expectations so badly. You have a great discount, but by showing IN BIG a wrong figure you actually make people feel bad about the offer and about the company that is seen as trying to trick people. It would have been so easy to display the right price first or at least to change the copy and say: "Same day return trip ticket to AsiaWorld Expo <span style="font-weight: bold;">FROM</span> HK$42 up".Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-87548090537274569252006-11-01T11:18:00.000+08:002006-11-01T11:38:19.962+08:00Enthusiasm is not enough<a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1801/4337/1600/EPD-EcoAsiaExpo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 208px; height: 278px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1801/4337/320/EPD-EcoAsiaExpo.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" lang="EN-US">The Hong Kong Government <a href="http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/eindex.html">Environmental Protection Department</a> had a large booth at the <a href="http://www.ecoexpoasia.com/">EcoAsia Expo</a> dedicated to promoting its efforts. I spent extensive time there talking to the staff, exchanging ideas and learning about the latest initiatives implemented by the department. Among the initiatives are the Compliance Assistance Centre (CAC), EcoPark and the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Charging Scheme to which I will dedicate separate posts.<o:p></o:p></span> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p>The first thing that struck me at the booth is the people. When I think government staff, it usually does not trigger very positive emotions (It is true that I mostly interact with immigration staff which is not the most pleasant of all experiences). But at the booth every single person I talked to was knowledgeable (in their particular area) and presented well. The most important was that they believed in what they were doing. They were eager to explain the newest initiatives happening, their impacts and exchange ideas about how things are done in other countries. Having enthusiastic employees is a first step in making a change.</span></p><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">It was clear as well that the department was spending endless efforts and money on trying to make their message stick and change people’s habits. The booth was full of reports, booklets, leaflets, freebies and other posters aimed at explaining how to be a more environment-friendly citizen. As a researcher, I am not convinced at all though that all these documents are “sticky”, to use Malcolm Gladwell terms.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p>I don’t think any study has been performed to assess how efficient all these promotions are, but there should be some. Mostly after people pick up leaflets, if they don’t throw them away, they will store them in a drawer not to look at them again. To really achieve its goal of changing people’s behavior, the government should look at more innovative ways and channels to research people and communicate its message. Being enthusiastic is good; being an expert about the environment is even better, but in the end how the message is communicated is most crucial in changing people’s habits. And there, the expertise necessary is marketing and psychology, on which I doubt that the government focuses enough.<o:p></o:p></span> </p>Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-26568081316130700922006-10-31T10:42:00.000+08:002006-10-31T11:57:51.548+08:00Ethnographic Research at Intel<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Linked from Experientia blog </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.experientia.com/blog/">Putting People First</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> is an article on how innovation is done at Intel these days "</span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.cpilive.net/v3/inside.aspx?scr=n&NID=875&cat=TOP%20STORY&pub=COMPUTER%20NEWS%20MIDDLE%20EAST&k=Intel,%20Ethnography,%20ethnographers">Making computing a people science</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">". The article especially focuses on how Intel team of social scientists help to spur innovation that truly addresses customer needs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Nothing really revolutionary in the model that is introduced in the article. It is basically a SET (Social, Economic, Technological) model, used to make sure design is considered from every point of view:<br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Social: Does the design address a need of customers or could create one?</span><br /></li><li><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Economic: Is the design viable financially?</span></li><li><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Technological: Is the technology available to bring the design to reality?</span></li></ul><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">But it is interesting to see that ethnographic research is applied, at it should, to any industry. The IT and software industries formerly based their processes on very strict sequential models and should definitely wake up to the call and get into their users' lives much more.</span>Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-47740591864026549102006-10-31T10:04:00.000+08:002006-10-31T16:09:28.072+08:00Slides on Mental Models<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Below is a pretty nice presentation on mental models from </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.adaptivepath.com/aboutus/indi.php">Indi Young</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, a former AdaptivePath staff member (I found the link to this presentation from Karl Long's <a href="http://blog.experiencecurve.com/">ExperienceCurve</a> Blog). Mental models are key to understand the customer experience and identify patterns of behavior. They can be leveraged on to define the features of a product and how they should be organized for example.</span><br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="https://s3.amazonaws.com:443/slideshare/ssplayer.swf?id=7322&doc=a-brief-very-brief-introduction-to-task-based-models-14061" height="348" width="425"><param name="movie" value="https://s3.amazonaws.com:443/slideshare/ssplayer.swf?id=7322&doc=a-brief-very-brief-introduction-to-task-based-models-14061"></object>Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35530505.post-27208240697220203072006-10-29T20:48:00.000+08:002006-10-29T20:56:44.790+08:00The haircut vending machine<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" >I hate going to the hairdresser. I go there as rarely as I can. Usually</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" > I wait until more than 90% of my friends complain about my hair getting too messy before I actually go and get it </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" >cut. At that time, I cut as much as possible to make sure I won’t go back that soon. It is hard to compare a haircut and going to the dentist, but to me it is as hard to convince myself to go to either one… if there is no obvious urgent need or symptoms, I won’t go.</span> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">In terms of hairdresser, I am not loyal at all. I never had any outstanding experience that made me want to stick to a specific hairdresser. I want a simple cut, nothing fancy. So a good stylist does not make much of a difference. Most importantly I want to spend as little time as possible in the company of the hairdresser. The main things I look at when choosing a new hairdresser is price and convenience. That could be a short version of my persona, summarizing my behavior in relation to getting my haircut.</span></p> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1801/4337/1600/Quick-haircut.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1801/4337/320/Quick-haircut.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">When walking in the streets of </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Hong Kong</span></st1:place></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> I ended up finding a hairdresser that directly addressed this type of personas. <a href="http://www.qbhouse.co.jp/">QB House</a> is a Japanese chain that was created in 1996 and that instead on focusing on style, focuses on efficiency. On the door of the hairdresser, then <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">rules are set:</span></span></p> <ol style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1801/4337/1600/Quick-haircut-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1801/4337/200/Quick-haircut-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" ><span style=""><span style=""> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">Get a HK$50 note ready</span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" ><span style=""><span style=""> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">Buy a ticket (no change given)</span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" ><span style=""><span style=""> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">Wait for your turn</span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" ><span style=""><span style=""> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">Explain the hairstylist what style you want</span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" ><span style=""><span style=""> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">The haircut lasts only 10 minutes</span></li></ol> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:";font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" ><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">When searching on forums, it clearly appears t</span>hat this concept does not rally all type of crowds. Many are reluctant to try, and it is true that in </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" ><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Hong Kong</span></st1:place></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:";font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" > you can find countless cheap hairdressers that will induce more confidence by focusing more on style. But I can very well imagine the computer geeks in Akihabara district in </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" ><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Tokyo</span></st1:place></st1:city></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:";font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" > rush to that kind of quick hair salons, enjoying the very systematic process detailed in advance by the hairdresser. With a salon in </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" ><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Hong Kong</span></st1:place></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:";font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" > just next to two major computer and game centers in Wan Chai, the concept can work very well. No need to please everybody.</span>Nicolashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322961606736024827noreply@blogger.com0