Tulsa couple make business out of others' errands
BY LAURIE WINSLOW World Staff Writer
Sunday, November 18, 2012
11/18/12 at 3:10 AM
Don't like to stand in lines at the post office during the holidays?
Do you need help finding specialty food items for that Christmas feast or help buying, wrapping and delivering gifts?
Bobbi Warshaw and her husband, Bob, have made a business of helping others with errands and sundry tasks.
Their business, The Warshaw Group LLC, doing business as Errands-to-Go Concierge, is one of a handful of operations in the Tulsa area that provides an assortment of personal services for busy customers.
Services include personal shopping; buying, wrapping and delivering gifts; scheduling appointments; checkbook balancing; bill paying; organizing homes and more.
Holiday requests really start to pick up after Thanksgiving, she said. Most clients range from 50 to 65 years old and live in midtown or south Tulsa.
The idea for the business dawned several years ago after Warshaw, who spent 25 years working in the health care industry, lost her job due to downsizing. In February 2003, she started the personal concierge business.
"I have lots of different kinds of clients, but for this particular time of year, the typical client is a busy professional," Warshaw said. "They are social and charitable and active individuals who are busy during Christmas time."
Holiday requests run the gamut. Warshaw has delivered poinsettias for a nonprofit agency, helped a wheelchair-bound client find a holiday dress and bought groceries.
Last year she spent two days wrapping 40 presents for a company CEO. On another occasion, a government lobbyist wanted her to buy mugs off the Internet, wrap and put cards on them and deliver them.
She even can save people money. Warshaw had a client who had seen a $159 turquoise necklace at a local department store and wanted a cheaper version. Warshaw has concierge friends in every state and found a similar necklace for $29.99.
Warshaw said she typically charges $30 an hour for her services and sometimes more for others. Errands are based primarily in Tulsa.
After the holidays, she will return gifts and search for the same item or something similar to it. And Warshaw, who is Jewish, said she even is available on Christmas Day if someone should need her services then.
Warshaw calls herself the "creative one" who likes to wrap gifts and plan a meal. Bob is retired from Morgan Stanley and often runs errands and helps with transporting items.
What Warshaw enjoys most about her job is helping people, giving them personalized services and being creative - finding time to do things that others don't have time to do, she said.
Original Print Headline: Your errands are couple's business
Laurie Winslow 918-581-8466
laurie.winslow@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Bobbi Warshaw, who operates a concierge service, shops for a client at Petty's Fine Foods. Warshaw and her husband, Bob, have made a business of helping others with errands and sundry tasks. MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World
|
