Okay, so I know I’m a bit of a cracked record on this issue, but damn I’m convinced I’m right.
Howard wrote a piece on first impressions a while back, the balance of this post is paraphrased from the comment I left.
Sure, first impressions count, I just don’t believe that they’re the be all and end all that people would have you think they are. First (opening) impressions are usually simply a base from which an interaction will be measured. i.e. The lasting impression (what ultimately counts) is formed by the difference between the opening and closing impression (hint. you should be pushing for a positive number