How to Hire a Limousine:

It is pretty easy to hire a limousine if the proper way of hiring is known, there are different limousine rental service providers but selection of the appropriate one is most important

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Massage in Boston

Did you know that the historic city of Boston, Massachusetts is a great place to get a massage? Massage in Boston is widely available from independent Licensed and Certified Massage Therapists, Licensed Massage Establishments, and many Day Spas that rival the best in the world.

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Did Starbucks or McDonald’s Get More PR Mileage This Week?

In addition to this week having the leap year day of February 29, it was also a week that featured public relation moves by 2 of the world's largest restaurateurs – McDonald's and Starbucks.  Each had a cost, got some attention, but who got the most mileage?

On Tuesday, February 26, Starbucks closed all of their US stores for 3 hours to retrain their baristas (the ones who make the coffee drinks) on the art of espresso.  For those who don't know, espresso coffee is not only a standalone drink, but the key component of many of their coffee drinks, such as the latte.  This affected all 7,100 of their US stores.

On Thursday and Friday, February 28 & 29, McDonald's gave away a free McSkillet Burrito breakfast sandwich with the purchase of a drink in all of their US stores.  The McSkillet is a relatively new addition to their menu, a large burrito filled with just about every ingredient of a hearty breakfast, including eggs, cheese and sausage.

Both of these events have a cost – lost revenue for Starbucks, but the shutdown was in the early evening when traffic is not as busy as compared to the morning commute, and potential lost revenue for McDonald's, but you also needed to buy a drink, which have high revenue margins.

Where both companies did these promotions to get free publicity, the reasons behind Starbucks shutdown for training are not purely for marketing.  Its founder Howard Schultz has retaken the helm of the company and is trying to get the coffee shop to regain its mojo, or at least that is what I have called it before.  Anyone can say they are retraining its staff, but the point gets across much better when you can see it for yourself.  The site of an empty Starbucks at the corner of North and Wells in Chicago, a normally bustling, 24/7 location, was something to see.

So who made out better on this?  My vote is for Starbucks.  First off, most people I asked learned about the free breakfast item from me, where I heard many people talking about Starbucks.  And so was the evening news, local and national.  Whether you believe the training makes a difference or not, you know Starbucks did so, that they care enough to shut down to do so, and that speaks volumes over something for free.

Everex's CloudBook arrives in Japan with touchscreen, Bluetooth

The FIC manufactured Everex CloudBook has finally made its way to Japan. What's interesting is not its US-rooted Everex branding but the fact that the ultra-portable picked up a 7-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth, and 802.11a (to augment the existing b/g WiFi) along the way without any change to the CE1200J model number. All the other specs remain true to the original right on down to the 1.2GHz VIA C7-M proc and 30GB hard disk. We'd chalk this up to a typo(s) if it wasn't for the new, tax-inclusive price of ¥59,800 or about $600 -- a stiff bump from the $399 touchscreen-less, Stateside model. Let's see if the March 22nd release in Japan brings the additional options for North America and Europe.

[Via Impress]

 

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