Friday, February 04, 2011

Thank you Charlie!


Sorry to bother you again with my social life, but I happened to visit another food and wine place today, a one called La Muse vin (a play on word too complicated to explain!) to attend the launch of a new Web site. It's called Thank you Charlie (now you understand the title of this post!) and its purpose is to allow you to offer a gift to someone near his/her neighborhood. How? Simply by choosing the gift on the site (anything from a pastry to a massage or a wine course...) and by entering the cell number of the gift recipient. The latter then receives an SMS saying "Someone just offered you a gift, come and pick it up at this address". That's it. Hard to tell if this will be successful, but I thought the idea was pretty cool.

29 comments:

  1. Cool idea, maybe i should buy a cell phone!

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  2. I cannot comment on this one until I address a filthy comment you left yesterday:

    "I suppose it's a nice change from the Eiffel Tower..."

    Wash your mouth out with soap, Eric Tenin!

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  3. ETenin, watch out in the future for ETSuzy!!! Don't forget, she came over for the day for the PDP picnic,so I can IMAGINE what she would so if she got really mad at you!!!!

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  4. I need ET Suzy's budget! I would use it to come to Paris and try to get Eric to bother me with his social life.

    As for Thank You Charlie, it sounds a little spooky. If I got such a cryptic message I think I might delete it.

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  5. *oops, what ET Suzy would DO

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  6. The idea is great, i think it will work!
    And please, keep up bothering us with your social life ;-)

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  7. C'est à boire ou à manger? On dirait des verrines, mais peut-etre que non...

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  8. As someone who has spent the last few weeks nursing my disbaled brother who had badly broken his arm my social life has been zero so is lovely to have a proxy social life via PDP. Cheers . Do keep bothering us !

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  9. These drinks looks delicious.

    I would like to have a lot of those SMS'es.

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  10. I think Petrea has put her finger on the problem, I would think it was some kind of scam, old cynic that I am.

    Do they do gift soap?
    Just thought Suzy might be interested.

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  11. Afraid I would probably think the same as Petrea and Drummond. :~} As for your social life—bring it on, mon vieux! Is the name La Muse Vin supposed to be like l'amuse vin (maybe an amuse bouche that you drink)?

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  12. That is a really fun idea!! If the notion catches on, people will be thrilled that they get a gift from "Charlie". I know I would take a massage anytime. Or a pastry. Or dinner. Or just an amuse bouche! I love gifts, both giving and receiving!

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  13. Wow, I like the idea, if it's succesful will be a pioneer in this kind of business.

    Regards

    Valery

    [Barcelona Daily Photo]

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  14. @ Tomate Farcie: I think it is Gazpacho, non?!? I hope no family members of yours were harmed in the creation of this amuse bouche!!! It DOES look delicious!

    @ Eric: Every photo that you post is a part of your life...social and otherwise. As you know by now, we treasure each one and eagerly await their arrival like a precious cadeau! NO "Thank You Charlie" required!!!

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  15. Actually I like the idea.
    If you know that that kind of gift is possible, you would pay attention to the message and react in a nice way to it.

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  16. I would be interested to know if this business model becomes successful. Perhaps in Paris; in the U.S.: a big fat "NO!" Americans are too lazy to go pick something up, even if it's a gift. They expect everything to be delived to them. [No wonder we're all fat!]

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  17. If I received such a message I'd think the giver did not care enough to pick up and deliver the gift to me himself ("I got you a gift but you have to go pick it up yourself" isn't exactly warm and caring.) I think the French are far too polite and caring to do something like that. On the other hand, callous New Yorkers would probably use that service all the time, especially for people they did not like so much but were obligated to do something anyway.

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  18. It's not that I'm too lazy. It's just that I live in a metropolitan area and I don't know every neighborhood. If I received a message saying there was a gift for me to pick up at a certain address, unless I knew the area I wouldn't trust going to a strange place.

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  19. @Steffe "Cool idea, maybe i should buy a cell phone!" LOL!

    @ET Suzy "Wash your mouth out with soap, Eric Tenin!" LOOOOOOOOOL Nothing personal Suzy ;-)

    @PHX "I can IMAGINE what she would do if she got really mad at you!!!!" I know...

    @Petrea "...nd try to get Eric to bother me with his social life...." Yes! Yes!

    @Dodo "And please, keep up bothering us with your social life ;-)" OK, I will!

    @Tomate Farcie "C'est à boire ou à manger? On dirait des verrines, mais peut-etre que non..." A manger

    @Jaq. LOL (well in a way) I hope your brother feels better now.

    @Bettina "I would like to have a lot of those SMS'es." Well one day, maybe Charlie will go to Denmark.

    @Drummond "Do they do gift soap?
    Just thought Suzy might be interested." LOL

    @Alewa "La Muse Vin supposed to be like l'amuse vin " Yes! I'm not surprised you got it...

    @Christie "That is a really fun idea!!" Yes, I think so too.

    @Irredento "Wow, I like the idea, if it's succesful will be a pioneer in this kind of business." Yes, it's pretty original, isn't?

    @Beau Gosse "As you know by now, we treasure each one and eagerly await their arrival like a precious cadeau! NO "Thank You Charlie" required!!!" Awww. that's nice ;-)

    @Maru "Actually I like the idea." Thanks, I'll pass on the message...

    @Anonymous "a big fat "NO!" Americans are too lazy to go pick something up, even if it's a gift. They expect everything to be delived to them. [No wonder we're all fat!]" Well apparently there is something a little similar in Boston and in Silicon Valley. See...

    @Anonymous (II) "("I got you a gift but you have to go pick it up yourself" isn't exactly warm and caring.) " True, it's an objection they got several times. But it's nor made to offer big gifts, but small ones, kinda like a "poke" on Facebook only with a real thing!

    @Petrea "unless I knew the area I wouldn't trust going to a strange place." Really?

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  20. It would depend on the neighborhood, Eric. If it was in a good neighborhood, I'd go. But if the area was iffy, I wouldn't.

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  21. Hello, this is my first comment on PDP. Thank you Eric, your wonderful photos have become a daily moment for me. And about this new idea...I think it's sweet. And I am from the US - but I am a Bostonian. We are a bit strange as Americans go - usually not fat and rather adventurous. We think nothing of going out in a snow storm for ice cream. So if someone's nice enough to do something like this, well I'd be delighted. It's a great idea!

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  22. Ooh! I received an SMS an hour ago: "Someone just offered you a gift, come and pick ut up at this address." The address was the airport and Eric bought me a plane ticket to Paris. Isn't he just sooo nice?

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  23. Welcome to the family, Mona!

    I attest to winter ice cream eating Bostonians.I went to BU and to have icecream eaters on every winter block seemed so strange to my Miami sensibility.
    The lines at Bertillion in Paris go down to nothing in the winter months.

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  24. Thank you for your warm welcome! I've enjoyed reading your comments. And thank you for confirming this Bostonian ritual! It must have seemed odd to someone from a much warmer place. We learn to Seize the Day - or we'd spend almost half a year ice cream-less.

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  25. PHX-CDG, I tried to link my response to your comment. I don't think it worked. Thank you again!

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  26. Mona, I would definitely go to Boston for ice cream. And Jeff, I'd even go to the Minneapolis airport for a ticket to Paris!

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  27. Petrea - Hello! This is a really good time for ice cream in Boston. It snowed three days this week. I'm dreaming of a cafe au lait in Paris just about now! I don't know if I'd want to start the trip from Minneapolis though - Brrrrrrr.

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  28. I'll take the Paris trip wherever I can get it, Mona! And that latte. As for ice cream in Boston, I think it would be good any time of year.

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  29. IF I knew and trusted the area (like Petrea) I would definitely like this kind of service.

    Anonymous one, I LOVE outings. Of course I'd get up and go out to have some fun.

    Anonymous two, the whole idea behind this, I think, is to be anonymous. You don't know who sent you the gift. So then you wonder who your secret admirer is. Or maybe your gift-giver is away on business and wants to do something nice for you.

    I like the idea a lot. But I'd only go if it was in a safe area.

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