The “revival” of clientele is seen as a source of competitive advantage in professional circles. One of the means proposed to achieve this objective is to surprise the consumer. A number of highly divergent conceptualisations of the ravaging are, however, cohesive in the litterature and the results of the relationship between ‘surprise-recovery’ are ambiguous, owing in particular to the type of methodology and stimuli used. This research note proposes a critical synthese of the concept of ravaging and its relationship with surprise. It proposes to adopt the conceptualisation of ravaging as an external level of satisfaction, valid and parcimonious conceptualisation. It also shows that surprise has an indirect influence on satisfaction (via joy) for experiences with a hedonic nature and can lead to a net gain in satisfaction. Several future search channels conclude the search note.