This week, Burning Man is in full swing. Since 1986, the annual festival has grown from a hippie-dippie solstice party filled with only two-dozen people into an event that sees 70,000 people descend upon Black Rock Desert, Nevada. The quasi-bohemian event gets bigger and bolder each year, as attendees try to outdo the past events, and now a group from Google has executed one of the biggest, boldest achievements yet: fresh lobster dinner in the desert.
Apparently, the group had a 10-pound box of lobsters delivered to the Nevada desert from Lobster207, a company located just a hop, skip, and jump over in---Maine. (Yes, you read that correctly.)
David Sullivan, the manager of Lobster207, told reporters he received the unexpected order from Sunnyvale, California, with a delivery destination at Burning Man. He told Good Morning Maine that the group from Silicon Valley found his company's mission compelling, and they wanted the bragging rights of flying live lobsters from the coast of Maine to the desert of Nevada.
Furthermore, David Sullivan said the group wanted to see if the lobsters would make it the whole way. And they did! When the lobsters showed up, the group let Sullivan know that everything had turned out perfectly. Sullivan explained,
They said it was very fresh and lively. It was everything we were hoping for, too, when we sent [the lobsters] out to the desert.
Lobster207 is a union-based cooperative. The lobstermen who operate it also own it. The company formed because lobstermen were losing money to the middle man who could dramatically mark up prices. Starting the business helped the lobstermen take control of the sales. Plus, it was a great way to ship lobsters to people all around the country--even in the craziest of places--at an affordable price.
But the process had to be expensive for shipping to the Burning Man festival, right? Wrong! It turns out the group at Burning Man paid a mere $139.58 to get their lobsters. David Sullivan said the lobsters themselves cost 90 bucks, while the shipping accounted for the extra 40. Sullivan explained the process and said the lobstermen catch the lobsters from the sea, bring them to the wharf, pack them on the delivery trucks, and take them to UPS to ship out. The savings get passed to the customer.
The company uploaded a hilarious post on Facebook to announce the fantastic order. Have a look (and a laugh):
Yeah, if we were the sales associate processing the order, "?#%??" might be our first thought, too. It's awesome that the delivery was a success. Technically, one of Burning Man's guiding principles is "self-reliance," and that bit goes out the door with this arrangement, which relies on a ton of people. Still, what a great way to showcase this company's skills.
