Pi-Consulting

The man who founded Hooters Restaurants in the 1980s, Robert Brooks, died in July this year. Brooks bought out their “dream restaurant”, the brainchild of six male fanciers of feminine pulchritude in Clearwater, Florida, when they ran out of money. A staunch Methodist, he professed not to know what “hooters” were. Despite this puzzling vagueness concerning the upper anatomy of his gorgeous waitresses, in their orange hot pants and form-enhancing tank-tops, he grew Hooters in little over 20 years from one restaurant to a chain of 435, plus a casino, a golf pro tour and a NASCAR racing series. (The Hooters airline failed to stay aloft — unlike the hooters adorning the waitresses down below). Much of the vast profit he made in his lifetime was given to charity. (Source: Obituary in The Economist)

From all the Staff at Pi-Consulting: Have an “uplifting” New Year. See you after CES.

An e-mail is doing the rounds of the internet that seems to explain a long-standing mystery, specifically: what does the word “service” actually mean in the context of phrases like Telephone Service, Customer Service, Public Service and Service Stations? It was only when a farmer acquaintance of your Pi correspondent mentioned that he was having a bull come in to service his cows that the whole thing came into perspective. Enjoy your holiday shopping experience.

The Walt Disney Company has expanded into the mobile telephone business, launching a rolling national network in August of this year. The Disney Mobile service is targeted at kids in the 8-14 age-group, though their parents are clearly the ones who will buy the phones ($60-$110) and pay the bills of $60 a month or more. The idea is that children get another way of enjoying Disney’s brand of fun, while parents get peace of mind. One feature of the service is “Family Locator”, which moms and dads can use to find out where the little darlings are though their home computer or phone links. Hi ho, hi ho…. (Source: AdWeek)