Whenever I see a low-quality detail of a good experience, I think of a wobbly table in a nice restaurant.
It doesn't matter how nice the restaurant is. When you sit down at a wobbly table, it makes you question every other detail.
Is the food good? Is the kitchen clean? Does the staff actually care? The restaurant's compromise on your wobbly table erodes your trust in the entire experience.
I think about the wobbly table lesson in everything that I consume and create.
When I tell friends about this lesson, I share a scene from Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry David and Leon Black sit down at a wobbly table.
Larry politely tries to tell the owner, Mocha Joe, that their table is wobbly. Instead of owning it, Mocha Joe tells Larry, "So what," and then proceeds to tell him to put his foot on the table like everyone else does.
Larry gives Mocha Joe advice that perfectly captures the wobbly table lesson.
Nobody likes a wobbly table. Fastest way to lose customers is wobbly tables.
— Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm