Duration Neglect

You're seeing Duration Neglect when a customer rates a long, mostly smooth onboarding process poorly because it ended with a confusing step — or rates a brief, rocky process well because it ended on a high note.

You're seeing Duration Neglect when a year-long project is remembered as a failure because of a bad final sprint, or as a success because of a strong launch, regardless of months of difficulty in between.

Engineer your product's endings: the last screen, the final interaction, the close of a meeting. Duration neglect means your users will remember the finish far more than the middle. Make endings count and invest less in elongating what won't be remembered.

Meyer built his restaurant empire on the principle that the last impression defines the memory. He obsessed over the goodbye — the host's farewell, the final taste, the parting gesture — knowing that duration neglect means guests forget the wait and remember the finish. His concept of "enlightened hospitality" front-loads warmth but invests hardest in the close. Founders can apply this by auditing how their product, service, or meeting ends. A strong close redeems a long middle. Conversely, a weak ending poisons an otherwise excellent experience. Design the last five percent of every interaction with the same intensity you give the first.