Un très grand nombre d'études en psychologie, en communication et en publicité montrent que les phases d'introduction et de conclusion d'un événement sont prépondérantes dans l'évaluation d'ensemble des consommateurs. Plusieurs praticiens considèrent d'ailleurs que la première et la dernière impression effectuée par un conseiller dans une rencontre de vente constituent les moments qui influencent le plus les évaluations des clients. Pourtant, peu de chercheurs ont étudié ce phénomène dans la littérature en marketing. Nous avons réalisé un sondage auprès de plus de 500 clients. Suivant des analyses de modélisation d'équations structurelles, nos résultats indiquent que la qualité perçue et la confiance sont influencées par l'impression initiale, alors que la satisfaction est influencée par l'impression finale. Des recommandations stratégiques et des opportunités de recherche sont présentées.
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