Balancing Personal Concierge Services with Your Budget
Everyone has a budget. Whether you're pinching pennies or are grateful for the resources you have, everyone likes to make a worthwhile investment. Personal concierge services are a great investment, because they give you back a very important, non-renewable resource--time! So, how does ChoreVoyant help its Bergen County clients to stay on budget and ahead of their to-do lists? This blog will examine the benefits of each package option we offer, as well as ways to maximize those benefits.
ChoreVoyant Packages--How They Work and the Benefits of Each
Our packages are structured so that the more hours you buy, the lower the hourly rate. However, not everyone is ready to commit to a large number of hours--especially if it is the first time they are working with a personal concierge! Because you are buying more hours, the initial investment is going to be larger than if you were to buy fewer hours. It's a little like shopping at Costco; a package containing six quarts of almond milk might cost $7.99, but the cost of each quart is only $1.33, which is cheaper than if you purchased that 1 quart at your local ShopRite or Stop & Shop. That six-quart package is only of value if you know you're going to use that much almond milk.
And so it is with ChoreVoyant packages. Let's look at each package, and how to know if it is right for you.
- Our 2-Hour Minimum. We have a two-hour minimum, because sometimes traveling around Bergen County can take a while! Whether it's traffic or long lines at the checkout--we want to be sure that enough time is allotted to take care of your request. The two-hour package is great for just trying out our services, or if you have a relatively simple one-off project that needs completing. It is at our highest hourly rate, but it is our lowest-priced package.
- A 3-Hour Package. Three-hour package can be divided into two, 90-minute sessions, if that works best for you. We are willing to divide up your three-hour package into other increments, depending upon the specifics of your needs. Clients who purchase a three-hour package typically have more frequent, but less time-intensive tasks for us to take care of. This would include drop-off and pick-up of items that need repaired (everything from shoes to lamps to chairs), picking up specialty items from places like Home Depot, or even vacation house-checks. In other words, things that don't take very long, but may need to happen several times.
- A 6-Hour Package. The most common way for a 6-hour package to be used is by breaking it into three 2-hour sessions. This is where the magic starts to happen! We can spend those sessions taking care of multiple tasks--like folding a load of laundry, prepping some vegetables, and returns taken care of at FedEx, UPS, or at the post office. This is a way to check things off your to-do list, without breaking the bank. It is a middle-of-the-road package, both in number of hours and for the hourly rate.
- A 12-Hour Package. When a client has used up a 6-hour package, has discovered the joys of delegating and would like to continue working with us--I steer them toward a 12-hour package. It is our most economical package because it is our lowest hourly rate. It also saves you from having to pay so frequently! For example, if a client breaks that 12-hour package into two-hour blocks--that's 6 weeks of services. Even if a client bought a second 12- hour package for another six weeks--that would be three months of services with only two payments. How valuable would it be to gain an extra day, every three months? Would it be worth it to you to gain that time back for less than $100/week?
Maximizing the Benefits of Your Package Hours--No Matter Which Package You Choose
Whether you buy a 2-hour package or a 12-hour package, you want to make the most of it. Here are a few ways to maximize the benefits of your personal concierge services:
- Set realistic expectations. Once you've decided you're ready to delegate your tasks, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of having a personal concierge. Delegating tasks is heady stuff! It's easy to get carried away. Remember, there is a reason you are delegating these tasks. They take time!! Although we always look to do things the most efficient way, it is a reality that getting from a bakery in Fair Lawn to your favorite gift shop in Glen Rock, and then on to your home in Franklin Lakes could take some time--especially if you have scheduled your hours at a high-traffic time of day. If you have finally gotten around to doing that laundry you've been putting off and folding it seems insurmountable to you--expect that it will take us awhile to get it done, too! If you want the task completed--make sure that it matches the time you've allotted to us. Otherwise, it may only be partially completed. If that happens, both you and I will feel frustrated.
- Prioritize your tasks. To do this, I use the acronym HUE:
Hate to do them. Those tasks that are so meaningless and tedious, you can't wait for someone else to do them
Urgent to do them. The tasks that are time-sensitive or vital to your family's health and well-being. They need to get done, but don't necessarily require your expertise.
Easiest to delegate. These are tasks that require little to no explanation of how they are to be done. You don't care how they get done, just that they get done.
If you use HUE as your guide for determining what you'd like us to do, you are bound to feel some relief in your day-to-day life. We complete the mundane, meaningless chores, while you can dedicate your time to more meaningful experiences!
- Plan. We can get things done much faster for you when you have done a tiny bit of advance planning. Writing out your grocery list--with details like brand, amount or size, degree of ripeness, acceptable substitution if needed--will let us hit the ground running. Leaving returns either with their return label or bar code--or texting them to us ahead of time--makes the job go that much quicker!
- Communicate. Giving us a "heads up" on what you'd like us to do during our scheduled time with you will allow us to deliver services both more effectively and efficiently. If you'd like me to chop vegetables, I'll be sure to have my food-service gloves with me. If it's shopping and errands you'd like me to do, I'll arrive with a full tank of gas.
Additional Thoughts
If you're not sure if we will handle a particular chore, please ask! Most of our clients are repeat clients--meaning that we have a relationship with them. I feel like I have the best job in the world, because I get to know so many amazing women and their families! I truly love working with them, and I am happy to accommodate most requests. If I do say no, it is because it is not something I can do well, or it is something for which I am not insured. I want our clients to receive the highest level of service, and I would never take on anything that could somehow injure them, their family members, or their property. We pride ourselves on the closeness of our client relationships, and therefore we take the time to listen and understand any and all of our clients' needs.
While this blog post explained our pricing structure, we are willing to work with our repeat clients on finding the most cost-effective way to continue delivering services. We have monthly retainer programs, custom packages of hours which can be tailored to your specific time and budget requirements. Again, it all comes down to our relationship. Open and honest dialogue is the cornerstone of that relationship.
Are you ready to delegate? We're here to help! Schedule a complimentary exploratory call here.
ChoreVoyant is a family-owned personal concierge service offering help with errands and household tasks to all of Bergen County. We focus on working with moms and families. Our best clients are moms of toddlers or tweens, mom-preneurs, and moms who may be facing a health challenge. For a full list of our services, click here.
