Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Uhm...Bluecoats and the Civil Service.

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Access denied by BlueCoat WebFilter content category. The requested URL belongs to the following category: Art/Culture/Heritage

I think it was ok when they were censoring nudity, porn and other questionable materials. Now we're censoring Art/Culture/Heritage? Well, comrades, the revolution MUST continue.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Uber? I think not.

When your burger franchise can only boast about a $101 burger (with ground wagyu beef by the way...which makes little sense*), you really have nowhere to go but down. Really. Think of it as basic economics:

Your product isn't value for money. You're aiming to create a gourmet burger franchise and you're going to charge customers the equivalent of 2 Churascarra meals for one burger, it had better be one hell of a burger. Perhaps throw in free flow fries, coke and every single condiment that your customers can ask for. (Mango chutney? Sure. Hot sauce from Louisiana? Yessir. Two kilos of sauteed onions? Coming right up.) Also, I've heard that the buns are stale and that just wouldn't do. A $101 burger should have buns that are baked as soon as the order gets in coupled with the freshest greens and a presentation that makes The Iron Chef look like amateur hour.

Your product and your target audience really don't mix. People who are going to spend $101 on a meal are going to really want to dress up for such an expensive meal and they are not going to dress to the nines to go to what is effectively a burger joint. Even if you had the right product, it's the wrong ambience. You do not want to be the sucker that eats a $101 burger when everyone else is around you mucking about with $9 burgers.

Uberburger managed to get almost everything wrong and its timely demise is as natural as the cycle of life and death. Now I'm just wondering if they're giving away their Wagyu Burgers for a discount.

* The amount of fat in normal hamburger would really make the fat in the Wagyu lean by comparison...Go figure. And Foie Gras? In a burger? Seriously?

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