In November 2024 I dined at RH Restaurant at RH Yountville. The space blends indoor and outdoor under glass ceilings, with trickling fountains, olive trees, and chandeliers creating a dreamlike garden gallery.
A few months later I visited RH Rooftop Restaurant (Gallery at Stanford / Palo Alto). I sat under a glass-ceiling sunroom. Surrounded by white walls, reflections were everywhere. The entire room felt luminous.
Recently I went to RH Ocean Grill at RH Newport Beach in the evening. The panoramic coastal views were impressive; the decor and lighting heightened the moment.
RH began as Restoration Hardware, first known for high-end furniture. Over time it expanded its scope and became RH, a brand that connects design with lifestyle.
Today RH places its design in lived settings such as restaurants, guesthouses, and even private travel on its own jets RH One and RH Two or its yacht RH Three. This approach lets customers experience the brand directly, not just imagine it.
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Reference
Lemon, K. N., & Verhoef, P. C. (2016). Understanding customer experience throughout the customer journey. Journal of marketing, 80(6), 69-96.
Understanding customer experience and the customer journey over time is critical for firms. Customers now interact with firms through myriad touch points in multiple channels and media, and customer experiences are more social in nature. These changes require firms to integrate multiple business functions, and even external partners, in creating and delivering positive customer experiences. In this article, the authors aim to develop a stronger understanding of customer experience and the customer journey in this era of increasingly complex customer behavior. To achieve this goal, they examine existing definitions and conceptualizations of customer experience as a construct and provide a historical perspective of the roots of customer experience within marketing. Next, they attempt to bring together what is currently known about customer experience, customer journeys, and customer experience management. Finally, they identify critical areas for future research on this important topic.
