Wednesday, January 6, 2010 Dear Customers, Zubio, Inc. ceased operations as of November 9, 2009. Just as we were slated to expand to a multi-unit operation in May of 2009, the oil crisis hit on top of the mortgage meltdown making the recession inevitable and caused a mass retreat of the angel investors lined up for our first expansion round of funding. So, instead, we hunkered down, cut our expenses to the bone hoping to ride out the downturn. Alas, it proved to deep and too wide. While the goal of building a national brand was not achieved, a successful business model for an owner-operated retail chair massage studio was demonstrated. In fact, one of our former Zubio Specialists, Adam Deskin, has taken up the challenge and is now operating BreakPoint Massage in the old Zubio location so you can still get the same high quality acupressure chair massage six days a week. Stop by Crocker Galleria or call him at (415) 391-2055 to book an appointment. You can see his menu of services at www.breakpointmassage.com. Check out the sections below to tie up any Zubio "loose threads" that may be left hanging and to find out where you can find your favorite Zubio Specialist. If you still have questions, please call or email me using my contact information below. Finally, to the forty-six investors and over 6,000 customers who crossed our threshold in the past five years, touched our lives and made Zubio possible we extend a heartfelt and everlasting: "Thank you very much!" David Palmer and the Staff of Zubio Zubio Club Member RefundsZubio Club members were offered up to one billing cycle's refund by one of our investors, Carlin Holden, who you may have seen volunteering behind the front desk at Zubio. While under no legal or personal obligation, Carlin decided that Zubio should have as honorable an end as possible and, without prompting, offered to reimburse Z-Club members from her personal funds. Carlin's generosity effectively allowed Zubio to remain a very special kind of company to the very end. If you were a Zubio Club member and still have questions, please call me at (415) 621-6817. Gift Card Holder RedemptionGift Card holders with an outstanding balance will not be receiving refunds. However, I have just received a list of Gift Card numbers that have an outstanding balance and Adam has offered me space at BreakPoint to give Gift Card holders an opportunity to schedule massage time. Since, in most cases, I have no way of knowing who ended up with the card, I have no way to contact card holders. So, if you have a Zubio Gift Card, or know someone who does, click here for information about scheduling massage time. On-Site CustomersIf you are a Zubio On-Site customer, or would like to include chair massage in your workplace or at an event, you can check with any of the former Zubio Specialists in the contact list below to schedule the same high quality on-site chair massage services. Your Contact InformationThe customer database is not for sale per our privacy policy and this will be the last bulk email sent to our customer list. If you want to stay in touch with individual staff, please contact them directly using the information below. Our Contact InformationSam Keller, Co-Founder and CEO sam.keller@gmail.com Sam left the Zubio staff in September 2008 to as part of our cost savings strategy during the recession. He has moved on to another of his passions, environmental sustainability. David Palmer, Co-Founder and COO (415) 621-6817, dp@touchpro.com or www.touchpro.com From giving my first seated massage in 1982, which led to the development of the first professional massage chair in 1986, bringing the benefits of massage to the masses has been my passion. Zubio has been a crucial chapter in my life's work by giving me a graduate course in retail chair massage operations. In the next stage, I am going to help other chair massage entrepreneurs (like Adam) set up their own small businesses under the umbrella of my previous corporation, TouchPro Institute. Among other things, TouchPro coordinates chair massage specialists for on-site events in San Francisco as well a throughout the United States and Europe. Adam Deskin Roen DeLeon 858-822-8987, deleonjason@hotmail.comIf you live in the East Bay, be sure to check in with Roen. He offers, table, chair, and on-site massage. Roen is also a certified yoga instructor and is currently learning orthopedic massage to round out his skill set. Rhoberta Hirter 415-310-9773 Rhoberta lives near the University of San Francisco and provides sensitive and healing table, chair and on-site massage. Maynor Cordon 415-200-8421, SUAVEDESIGNS@gmail.com You can find Maynor doing chair massage every Friday afternoon from 3:30 to 8pm at the Whole Foods SOMA location on the corner of 4th and Harrison. Maynor lives in the Upper Market neighborhood doing table, chair and on-site work. Ken Bridgeman 415-218-3249, kenbsf@comcast.net Ken has long maintained a massage therapy practice in his home near downtown San Francisco on Sutter St. at Leavenworth. Ken has been Nationally Certified in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork since 1992 and for over 25 years has been an Active Member of the American Massage Therapy Association. As a Certified Hanna Somatic Educator® ( www.hannasomatics.com ) and a Hendrickson Method® Practitioner (www.hendricksonmethod.com ), Ken combines a highly effective program of neuromuscular reeducation with a system of functional rehabilitation for orthopedic conditions to help eradicate painful chronic patterns of physical dysfunction. |