Another monthly installment of "Sites that I visit"

(I decided to make this a monthly feature since I feel compelled to share the good, the bad and the ugly of internet surfing.)

I was rooting around in boston.craigslist.org and I found a posting for a job for a large private party host/ess for date that had already past. As always, curiosity gets this cat so I went to the poster's website to find out about the company. It turns out that he coordinates and hosts high-end cocktail parties in the Boston area-something that I am sure many thought went the way of white gloves and white sport coats.

While I found this all fascinating (particularly because it seemed to be a moderate success and because he seemed to think that Davis Square was in Cambridge and not Somerville), my strongest reaction was to the "Girlfriend Job description."

I was not so much offended by it as I was amused by it. My first thought was that the times are changin' when you need to frame what you want in a mate as a job posting. However, I must applaud him for knowing exactly who he wants to be with as well as outlining dealmakers and dealbreakers.

I agreed with some of the dealbreakers although I wonder how many of those will become negotiable, if he is still single after a certain age.

The "Girlfriend Job Description" can be found at http://www.kensingtonllc.com/parties/jm_girlfriend_job_description/default.htm

The website for the author of that description is http://www.kensingtonllc.com/parties

Starbucks vs. Dunkin Donuts

Unless you have been living under a rock, you have seen Dunkin Donuts new ad campaign. We are told everyday that "America runs on Dunkin Donuts." Apparently, the marketing staff at Dunkin Brands (manages Dunkin Donuts) had a deep thought about what is actually selling in their franchises and how they could leverage that in their "cold war" with Starbucks.

Apparently what is selling is their coffee and their variety of beverages that look like the Wal-Mart version of Starbucks' offerings. While ideas about installing a sandwich display still speak of "trying to be like Mike," Dunkins has decided to market their products in such a way as to say: That's Starbucks. We're Dunkin Donuts. People buy Dunkin Donuts products not to be posh and ruminate about the quality of the grounds. They buy it because it is good and it keeps them going through out their day.

The new ad campaign seems to be working, in terms of receiving favourable notice. I have not seen Starbucks' answer. I did learn that they are tweaking themselves further. John Moore, who is the deity behind Brand Autopsy and was a Starbucks employee, weighs in on all things Starbucks in his posts at his blog, which is called Brand Autopsy.

More McChronicles

Friday, May 5th's entry at the McChronicles stressed "Cleanliness."

"The McDonald's customer has been "sold" a clean, sparkling restaurant since the beginning. Whether it is a print ad or a TV commercial - one of the highlights of the McDonald's experience (as promoted) is cleanliness. Rightly so, we say. Cleanliness is a critical part of any dining experience. And this is true whether an order is 'for here' or 'to take out'."

I could not agree more. I go back to my experience at a Dunkin Donuts where the server gave me a Vanilla Chai Tea will tea dripping down the sides of the cup. I pointed to the cup and asked him if "he would serve that to his own mother?" He looked at the cup, in which the tea had now made its way onto the counter and then proceeded to get napkins and wipe both cup and counter.

Many people seem to feel that if you receive service from an establishment that is not a fine dining establishment, that you are asking too much for simple cleanliness in food handling and in general area. Cleanliness says a lot about who you are and what you respect. Filthy places clearly have no respect.