Vocal Point: Concierge service tempts frazzled mom

It had been a long and frustrating day. Too many hours at my desk, too many errands piling up, and it was only Monday. After spending a fruitless hour trying to find a stack of business cards that contained the one phone number I needed, I gave up.

I pushed back my chair, grabbed my workout bag and headed to the gym. Maybe some exercise would clear my mind and ease some tension. Once there I dawdled, in no hurry to work up a sweat. I perused the bulletin board, and a flier caught my eye. “Caring Concierge: From Small Errands to Large Life Struggles.” Intrigued, I plucked it off the board. “When do you need a concierge?” I read. “When you’re stressed, panicked, overworked, disillusioned or distracted.”

My gosh, I thought, I’m three out of five! I tucked it in my bag. The next day I gave Jean Gunn, owner and operator of Caring Concierge a call. I thought a concierge was someone who made your stay more pleasant at upscale hotels. It turns out, personal concierge and errand services are a booming industry.

Gunn started her business in response to what she views as an overworked, overscheduled society. “People are going so fast,” she said. “They end up having to do all their stuff on weekends.”

I thought about the clothes I’d had at the dry cleaners for two weeks. I remembered the bags of stuff in my trunk I’d been meaning to take to the Goodwill. And the sticky notes that dotted my car dash like yellow caution flags. “Zack-guitar strings,” “Alex- new bat!” “Books DUE!” All waiting for me to find time on a Saturday to take care of them.

“So, Jean,” I asked. “What exactly does a concierge do?”

“Anything you can’t do,” she said. I wanted to hug her. She went on to say that she’d been a single mom for 15 years, and she knew what it was like to need help. As a licensed social worker she also spent many years helping others, so this business seemed like a natural extension of her experiences.

“I go to the post office, return library books, buy fresh flowers for dinner parties,” she said. She even picks up prescriptions at local pharmacies. “You can spend your evenings and weekends having fun with your family, not waiting in line.”

Gunn is definitely onto something. A quick search of the Internet revealed many personal concierge and errand service providers throughout the country. There’s even an International Concierge and Errand Association, to which she belongs.

While her clientele are mainly seniors Gunn sees a growing market in busy families. “I want to help people be happy,” she said.

By the time I got off the phone with her I felt happy just to know she’s there. But I didn’t book her services. Like most women, I’d feel too guilty. Shouldn’t I be able to do it all? Get work done on deadline, have dinner on the table, do eight loads of laundry, help kids with their homework, scrub the bathroom sink, and buy those darn guitar strings?

I sighed and another whirl of sticky notes blew off my computer tower, swirling like yellow confetti at my feet. And then I remembered something Gunn said, “My services are a great gift idea.”

For instance if your wedding anniversary is coming up next week – say on March 22 – and you’ve been married to someone – like me for instance, for 21 years – remember, nothing says caring like the gift of a concierge.

For more information, visit www.caringconcierge.net or call Jean Gunn at 979-1774.