Not Getting Shot and the
Magician at Nando's Restaurant:
Retail Review

I’m quite partial to a bit of magic.  Quite a lot of the psychologists I know have a passing interest in the subject.  I think it’s all part of a fascination with how the mind works: that balance between our willingness to believe the incredible, it only works if you suspend your disbelief, coupled with the side darker side of human nature – our enjoyment and skill at deceiving others.
 
Of course the fun with magic is wondering how it’s done.  Even though we know it’s a trick, and even when you know how a trick is done, it’s still entertaining.  If you do know what’s happened you get to swap sides as it were and enjoy the experience as the magician would – the pleasure comes from seeing the other people baffled and amazed.

I vividly recall watching a magician on a cross-channel ferry; the room shape wasn’t ideal and, by chance, I was watching from a point where I could see his assistant climb through the fake back of the box she was supposedly disappearing through (I hope I haven’t spoilt anything for anyone there).  Much like watching a car crash – I couldn’t stop myself looking but it wasn’t pleasant.

All of which brings me to Nando’s (Cambridge). 

I spent a number of years working for a “casual dining” restaurant – the industry’s term for those outlets that span the gap between fast food and proper dining (although as with most industry terms no one can quite agree on the definition or who it includes).  So when I visit a restaurant I know how things are done – what matters is whether everyone can see them.

Despite their extensive chain (over 200 restaurants in the UK) I’d never been to one before.  Why? Probably because of where I first encountered them.  The old adage that “first impressions count” is psychologically verifiable.  What we encounter first sets up our expectations of what we’ll find and we look for the evidence that supports our first view.

I first encountered Nando’s in Shepherds Bush, London: a dismal, grimy road littered with chicken restaurants named after random cities and states from the Deep South of the USA.  I was happy to chuck Nando’s in with the company it kept – another psychological inevitability.  When I heard, back in 2002, that someone had been shot there it didn’t exactly force me to reconsider my feeling about the place!

Turn the page to find out why I changed my mind…. »

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