Cuisinart Coffee Maker

Here's a question: who owns the rights to this review I just posted over on Amazon?

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An exercise in frustration and time-wasting,

If spending 10-15 minutes fiddling around with pieces of plastic trying to assemble them into the right combination is your idea of fun every morning, then I heartily recommend what Cuisinart has given us here. For the rest of us mere mortals, who arise in a slightly grumpy state and need that first coffee hit in order to get our day started, stay away from this. I have seldom encountered such a poorly designed product.

The fiancee picked this one up and it has become an unmentionable topic between us, guaranteed to spark flare-ups and snappiness in the kitchen. So this secret review will have to suffice instead.

Pros:
- looks nice

Cons:
- what feels like 47 separate little pieces of plastic that all need to washed/assembled/disassembled every time you use this monstrosity. These are: (1) the black plastic basket thing which clips on in a weird way (2) the hanging thingybob that you have to turn around and screw in there (3) the grinder which only seems to disperse about 80% of the ground coffee down into the filter paper and basket waiting below (meaning that every time you have to remove the grinder and bonk it against the side in order to knock the rest in) (4) the clear plastic top of the coffee grinding part so you can look in and think "That's never going to be enough ground coffee, is it?!?"

And you are always right.

It never is.

OK it was only 4 pieces, but their ultimate fiddliness makes it feel like 47.

- Next disadvantage: confusing digital lights and buttons at the front of the machine. When you finally have poured in the water, ground your beans and switched the "on" button, a soothing green digital light appears. You walk away to the bathroom, confident that you will be welcomed on your return by a full pot of steaming coffee. Instead you return from the shower, towelling your still-wet hair to find an empty pot and this constipated machine refusing to release any liquids. ("But it's easy," the fiancee explains. "First you have to switch it off. Then you need the orange light that says 'grinder off' to be on. Then you press the 'on-off' switch again." (and then turn around three times, click your heels together and do a shimmy)) My method has become: press a few buttons, hope for the best and put your head against the machine listening for gurgles inside. (I look like an expectant father these days...albeit a very irritated looking one)

Yes, I am sure that given enough training and instruction, I would be able to assemble these parts like a rifle expert. And decipher the cryptic codes of the digital lights like a morse code radio operator.

But you should not need an advanced degree in mechanics to make a cup of coffee.

I would not consider myself a non-technical person. (I can repair bicycles, fix the miniature screws that fall out of my glasses every 6 months and I can program a little HTML to do web design. I have a degree in business. I solve Su Doku puzzles. I taught myself to play the fiddle. I am kind to children)

But life is just too short and precious to waste messing on this. Do yourself a favour when you choose your coffee machine, keep it simple. Avoid this train wreck from Cuisinart!

Brand Identity Guidelines

Developing a strong brand identity is the most important thing any company can do to develop its brand. It cannot get any simpler than that. Most organizations fail miserably at this very basic task though. Brand identity is how you want your company or products to be perceived. If you get this wrong it could lead to big time problems later in your brand image. So how does a company build its brand identity?Start with performing some branding research. When was the last time you went out to customers, prospects and past clients and asked them what they thought of your industry? Do you really know what clients desires are? What about what they do not want? Do you know where they go first to find a company like yours? Are they going to the internet and doing searches or finding you in a trade publication?Now you need to perform that same research internally with key employees. What do they think? How do they perceive the company? Is this in line with what you want your brand identity to be? Do you even have a clear identity? Do your employees know your brand promise? Is there a brand promise? Do you have a value proposition? Do they know what it is? If you have answered no to any of these questions you will need help!Okay, so your research is done and you know what you want your identity to be. What do you do next? We recommend establishing a new positioning with that identity. If Volvo the automobile equals safety and Apple computer equals creativity what do you want to equal? It should be very clear and easy. What are the next steps? Start with developing strategies and tactics that will leverage that new brand identity and positioning. They should all tie back to corporate objectives. Avoid wasting money on reactive marketing that gets you know where and wastes your marketing budget. Some of the tactics may include search engine optimization, direct mail, advertising, banner ads, e-newsletters, e-mail marketing, trade shows and much more. It is imperative to choose the tactics that will benefit you the most. Do not waste money on advertising if you are only going to place two ads for the year. It will not work. Instead invest in tactics that will give you more bang for your buck like search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is a great way to build brand identity and increase sales.

Keyword Articles: http://www.keywordarticles.org

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru a leading brand identity company and market research firm located in Boston, Massachusetts. As a branding agency we specialize in strategy and creative.

The Negotiators !

How is this for a potential business model: a price negotiating service.

Once you have been quoted a price by a seller, you submit this info to The Price Negotiators! They spring into action, get on the phone and negotiate on your behalf. If they negotiate a further saving/discount on your behalf, they get to keep half.



Presumably this could only be a sustainable business model for big ticket items (a car, a boat, a house), otherwise we'd be talking about piddling sums here.

Possible website domains?

www.TheNegotiators.com

www.WeNegotiate4U.com

www.five-thousand-dollars for-this-piece-of-shit-are-you-kidding-me.com


Would it work? Would you do it?

If anyone knows of a service like this, I'd be interested to know about it.

Anyone interested in setting it up with me?