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Month: August 2024

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28 August
What is a Personal Travel Concierge?
A personal travel concierge is similar to a travel agent but goes a step further by not only researching and booking travel, but also offering time-saving services like creating an itinerary, finding childcare, and providing home services while you’re away.

Traveling always tops people’s lists of priorities. And why not? Exploring new places, experiencing different cultures and just escaping reality sounds like a dream. What doesn’t always sound like a dream is the actual travel planning. Whether you just don’t have time, it makes you anxious, or you don’t know where to start – the actual planning process can cause many people to just not travel at all.

If this sounds like you, you may be interested in a personal travel concierge. But what exactly is a personal travel concierge? Here’s our quick list of ways a personal travel concierge can make your travel dreams a reality:

  • Research travel destinations: Whether it’s a beach, mountain or desert vacation, a personal travel concierge can suggest the ideal location for you.
  • Book travel: Let a personal travel concierge book your transportation and hotel accommodations.
  • Create itinerary: A personal travel concierge can suggest and plan activities for your vacation.
  • Childcare: Need childcare while on vacation? A personal travel concierge can find childcare for you.
  • Home Services: Don’t worry about your home while traveling. A personal travel concierge can arrange for peace of mind check ins, pet sitters and a grocery haul to ensure you have food when you return.

Although these details may seem small, when completing these tasks falls on the shoulders of one person, the travel planning process can become tedious and time consuming.

If you think a personal travel concierge might be the right fit you, contact a member of Fini Concierge today.

26 August
Move Management

Errandables is a single source for move management services for international moving companies, van lines and corporate clients. Whether it’s household goods, personal belongings, family pets or vehicles, we have first-class resources and expertise to plan and coordinate all aspects of move-management services.

MOVE MANAGEMENT – PROCESS

An experienced move coordinator supervises every phase of corporate relocation. The move coordinator assures that standard operating procedures and services – starting from pre-move planning through final delivery and invoicing – strictly comply with your company’s policies.

Our assigned move coordinator will perform a pre-move consultation, which is an in-depth needs analysis to identify the specific requirements, expectations and concerns of the relocating family.

Arrangements are then made for an in-home pre-move survey of the household goods to be shipped, to identify special packing, crating, handling and shipping Based on our pre-move survey results, the move coordinator will calculate the estimated cost of the move.

Once our pricing estimate is approved, our move coordinator will update your employee/customer on the entire moving process, from the packing schedule, insurance, customs clearance to expected date of delivery.

Our move coordinator will stay in close contact with the transferee throughout the moving process to make sure they receive proper consultation, correct information and sound advice on any question or concern that they may have. Errandables move coordinators are trained by FIDI Academy and empowered to respond quickly, providing the necessary information to your customer/employee.

OUR MOVE MANAGEMENT SERVICES INCLUDE:

  • Pre-move consultation
  • Pre-move survey
  • Quality control checks
  • Packing and crating
  • Heavy-goods handling
  • On-site move supervision
  • Insurance and risk consultancy
  • Air, Sea and Land transportation
  • Real-time GPS tracking
  • Removal of recycling of moving debris
21 August
Wedding Concierge Service

Can you imagine, as soon as you’re about to say “I do”, the lights go off? Soon the whole wedding hall fills with worried faces. You’re unsure of what went wrong. Just imagining this is making you wince. You don’t want such a tragedy to happen at your wedding. You can be sure of that when you hire a wedding concierge.

This article discusses what does a wedding concierge do and why you should hire them for your wedding.

What Does A Wedding Concierge Do?

A wedding planner or wedding concierge is an event planner who helps you with your wedding. These planners assist you through many stages of your wedding. A wedding planner and their team help you find wedding locations, food services, musicians or DJs, and florists.

Many concierges include only limited services, whereas a lot of them help you out with almost everything you would need at your wedding. They make sure that weddings go smoothly. In case there is some trouble, they tend to those matters and resolve everything.

What wedding planners offer:

  • Location scouting
  • Choosing vendors
  • Photoshoots
  • Keeping a record of wedding guests
  • Keeping a backup plan
  • Arranging electronic services
  • Assisting both the bride and groom

Many people choose to have a destination wedding these days, hiring a wedding planner for such weddings is a smart choice. Since you do not want to worry that you’ll find so many people at a different location, they will do that for you. Wedding planners charge a small fee depending on the service you opted for.

5 Reasons to Hire a Wedding Concierge

There is so much to do: too many people to call, too many arrangements to make, too many proposals to look at…the list is endless. Handling all these things by yourself can be exhausting.

You may forget to call a close relative or a high school friend. You may end up choosing the wrong florist. To save you from having to go through all these troubles, you should hire a wedding concierge. They are industry experts and they will help you:

  • Stay in the budget: Couples have a set wedding budget in their minds. No one wants to spend more than what they had decided on earlier. A wedding concierge will help the couple stay within that budget.
  • Connect with others: Concierges can connect you with vendors, hairstylists, makeup artists, caterers, and designers. Your concierge can help you communicate with the best vendors and designers.
  • Have new ideas: You have scrolled through hundreds of Instagram posts and nothing catches your eye. This is where a wedding concierge will assist you. Since they have industry knowledge, they know what is trending. They will give you the best ideas to decorate your wedding venue.
  • Take the load off: You are getting married, but that doesn’t mean you can take a six-month leave from your job and other important commitments. You have a lot of pressure on you. Because of this, you are bound to feel overwhelmed. Your concierge will take all these worries off your head.
  • Be stress-free on the wedding day: On the final day, as you are busy getting married, they’ll be busy making sure that you get married without a fuss. They will attend to all the important arrangements on the wedding day.

What Is A Venue Concierge?

Venue concierges help in different kinds of events. Many people hire a venue concierge to decide on a location for their wedding or for a corporate event. They look for the locations based on your guest list and other needs. According to your specifications, they tell you about the venue location.

Is It Really Helpful To Hire A Wedding Planner For A Wedding?

A wedding planner or a wedding concierge makes sure that everything happens the way you want it to on your wedding day. They help you out with flower arrangements, choosing a wedding theme, and bounce off ideas. They also keep in mind your budget for the wedding and plan everything accordingly.

How Far In Advance Should You Hire A Wedding Planner?

If you haven’t decided on anything, then you should hire a wedding planner at least six months before your wedding. However, if you are sure about the location, theme, menu, and other things, then you can hire a planner two-three months before the wedding.

Are Wedding Planners Expensive?

Depending on the packages that wedding planners have, they can cost differently. The average charge of a wedding concierge varies between $1,800 to $4,000.

Do Wedding Planners Decorate?

Wedding planners give you the contacts for decorators. They communicate with such people regularly. So, wedding planners can help you find the best decorators that are under your budget.

In Conclusion

Your wedding should be the one that has it all. You can’t have the best food services and shy away from choosing good music. When you choose to have everything, people remember it.

Weddings are a frenzy, to say the least. The new chapter of your life brings a lot of excitement. The beginning of this chapter of your life deserves to be flawless. It should be a memory that you always cherish.

You’ll be able to do that when you have wedding planners by your side. Wedding planners are with you through every stage. They offer a range of services to you that make your wedding a magnificent event.

Having to do everything by yourself will stress you out. The stress is not needed and it is completely unnecessary when you have a planner beside you to guide you through everything. They are there to handle even the changes that happen at the last minute.

Hiring a wedding concierge means you are assured that nothing will go wrong at your wedding.

19 August
Event Planning & Management

Transforming Your Business Event With An Event Planner

Employing professional event planners can provide businesses with various advantages, such as specialized knowledge, time efficiency, resource availability, innovation, risk mitigation, professionalism, and stress alleviation for their corporate functions. Let’s start with stress reduction.

1. Less Stressful

Professional event planners love what they do, but planning and project managing a business event can be stressful, especially when unexpected issues arise.

Let’s face it: If you had staff capable of planning and running a large business event, they’re probably in the wrong job—unless your business runs a lot of events and your staff has really good project management skills.

Outsourcing your business events to professional event planners will relieve you and your staff of the burden of tasks like finding a suitable venue. However, this task is not as easy as it may appear. You need to know how to negotiate with venue vendors and manage the logistics. Your stress levels can go up dramatically before you’ve started on the event’s program and other tasks like designing the room.

Additionally, your staff will thank you for not overloading them with extracurricular duties. You can delegate tasks to the event planner while letting your staff focus on their jobs without distraction.

Your event management company will also devise an event plan tailored to your preferences, prioritizing smooth and transparent execution.

2. Saves Time and Time is Money

Planning an event by yourself (DIY) can be alluring initially, but it’s not wise. Time is money; without experience and expertise, doing it yourself with your staff will take longer.

Inexperience and a lack of event planning skills can contribute to confusion and disorganization. Additionally, limited access to necessary tools, a network, and manpower can hinder your efforts.

Professional event planners possess the skills to predict problems before they occur and prevent costly mistakes. Your event may experience logistical challenges, technical issues, and unforeseen emergencies. Event planners are trained to identify the difficulties and mitigate the risks so the event can proceed smoothly and without interruptions.
You can also delegate all the event details to them, which saves you time and effort. This way, you can focus on your core business activities while they oversee the event planning, ensuring that everything runs smoothly.

3. Planning And Management

Organizing an event can be challenging, even when you outsource the planning and management.

To ensure the success of your event’s success, clearly communicating your goals for the event is essential. Make sure the planner understands the purpose and desired outcomes for the event. Setting expectations with the event planner is crucial and should include:

  • Budget – how much and how it can be allocated
  • Theme – brand guidelines, entertainment, catering
  • Timeline – planning meetings, logistical arrangements
  • Audience – demographic
  • Presentation tools – OVP, Internet

Organizing your event correctly is a skill that an event planner possesses. Hiring an event planner is the best way to handle all the details, such as venue, food, drinks, decoration, and entertainment.

Knowing all the details involved in planning a significant event is essential. You can’t afford to ignore a small detail, as it can easily break everything apart. All your efforts and budget could go down the drain in just one mistake.

Working with pro event planners will prevent those disastrous possibilities. They can pull together the pieces and create a production schedule. They also handle every aspect of the event, including the legalities and lawful requirements. You can rest easy knowing that the event is planned well.

Final Thoughts

Event planners often have a vast network of vendors, suppliers, and venues. They can leverage these connections to secure better deals, negotiate contracts, and access resources that may not be readily available. This can result in cost savings and higher-quality services for your event.

Professional event planners are skilled in creating unique and memorable experiences for attendees. They can bring fresh ideas, creative concepts, and innovative approaches to your business event, making it more engaging, impactful, and enjoyable for participants.

A well-executed business event reflects positively on your company’s professionalism and reputation. Hiring professional event planners demonstrates your commitment to delivering high-quality experiences for your clients, partners, and employees, enhancing your brand image and credibility.

 

15 August
Destination Service

When you partner with Errandables, you have so much more than access to trusted relocation services. You gain a team of experts who can help you demonstrate the value of mobility to your overall business, keep you up to date on industry trends, and in front of innovative approaches and the disruptive forces reshaping the way we do business.

From rapidly changing immigration rules and complex tax legislation, to global employment and demographic shifts, there is no shortage of information required to stay current and compliant. With Errandables by your side, you don’t have to worry about how you’ll manage that – we take care of it for you, keeping you and your team in the know and ahead of the curve.

Errandables provides comprehensive relocation services throughout Europe inclusive of:

  • Pre-decision services
  • Destination services
  • Assignment management
  • Visa & immigration services
  • Move management
  • Lump sum management
  • Consulting and advisory services

Consulting Services

We provide clients with ongoing process and programme improvement recommendations based on our analysis of global benchmarking survey data and trends. Our team of experts averages more than twenty years of experience working in the fields of HR consulting, client services, tax, legal and payroll. This group will work with you in reviewing your current policies and making recommendations for any needed changes or enhancements based on specific company goals and objectives for your relocation programme or to assist in assessment or creation of new services, policies or programmes.

Advisory services include:

  • Policy benchmarking and development
  • Customised policy consulting and production
  • Financial assessment of deployment programs
  • Group move management services
  • Industry updates and trends

Get Local Expertise with our Supply Chain Management Team

Our global relocation team spans more than 180 countries, offering localised end-to-end relocation.

With Errandables, you and your employees benefit from your own team of leading moving companies, destination service providers, language trainers, immigration lawyers and other relocation service experts.

Errandables utilizes an open network of third-party suppliers and sources established experts in their respective fields. The members are qualified, selected and recertified through one of the most rigorous processes in the industry. We pride ourselves on having close, collaborative relationship with suppliers and their feedback reflects the confidence they have in our partnership.

 

13 August
Medical Courier Services

The Top 5 Benefits of Medical Couriers

It isn’t rocket science: the need for increased attention to a delivery increases in proportion to the item’s importance. That’s the entire reason that fragile stickers and insurance options exist for regular packages. When it comes to shipping goods as important as medical supplies, however, you’re getting into an entirely new league of care.

1) Medical Courier Specialists

If you’re transporting medical goods, it is essential that you work with a company that understands the need for convenience and safety and will be ready for any contingency. Here at Errandables, all of your medical supplies will be handled by our employees that have acquired Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) certification. They can even handle Class 7 radioactive goods.

At Errandables, you can rest assured that we can handle specialized requirements for medical shipping, given that Public Health Toronto trusts the vital task of delivering Covid-19 test samples to our team of couriers. The requirement of such certifications in the transport of vaccines and test samples means that specialized medical couriers contribute directly to the fight against COVID-19 wherever vaccines are required.

2) Better Package Tracking

If you’re sending your uncle the electric razor he left at your place last Christmas, you might not have much need to know the exact status of your order. If you’re awaiting an organ replacement or a blood sample, the timing could be a factor in life or death.

Here at Errandables, we don’t just offer an advanced tracking method; we offer several lines of defence in ensuring our shipments arrive on schedule. These features include:

  • GPS Enabled Trucks
  • Fully Maintained Fleet of Vehicles
  • Computerized Tracking System
  • Dedicated Service Vehicle
  • Professional Drivers

Because Errandables is the first in Canada to offer an ETA Board, you can also track your medical shipment online; this puts the ability to check the exact status of your shipment at any time, night or day, directly in your hands.

3) Opting for Contact-free Deliveries

While one of the leading concerns at the height of the recent pandemic was to limit the potential spreading of the virus, the regulations in place taught us all a little more about general medical safety. When it comes to medical courier services, there are plenty of occasions when a contact-free delivery is desirable, and that’s an option you can always find here at Errandables.

4) Security Transportation

It’s easy to understand why medical shipments require high levels of security. These might include personal medical history, expensive equipment or prescription drugs that would be dangerous in the wrong hands. In the case of a shipment on its way to a hospital to help someone who is sick, losing track of an item isn’t an option.

That’s why it is so essential to work with a company that uses regularly maintained and monitored vehicles, so that you can know your shipment will be safe.

5) Advanced Customer Service

When you’re shipping medical supplies or equipment that requires specialized care, you don’t want to run into a situation where you can’t get in touch with the company. Here at Errandables, you will never get a computerized answering service or an endless busy signal. We ensure that you can reach us in case any contingency comes up. It is that simple.

The most important shipments require a courier that knows how to handle those particular items. Get in touch with Errandables today to learn more about how we can help you with medical shipments.

9 August
Legal Courier Services

Many people are unaware of the popularity of legal couriers. Yet, there are over 76,000 couriers in the United States alone, with Legal Couriers only accounting for 5%. Why? This article will cover all the services a legal courier may provide and why they benefit you and your work practices.

What Is a legal courier?

Typically a legal messenger is a third party hired by a law firm, public defender’s office, court, an individual, prosecutor’s office, or employer, tasked with transporting sensitive information. This sensitive information can include but is not limited to Titles / Deeds, Contracts, Court papers, Passports, Legal tenders, Plans and Drawings, Documents for the Register of Wills, legal filings, and other legal documents. Along with this, legal couriers may perform other tasks, including the following:

  • Less Liability: Legal messengers can file documents same-day with government agencies or the clerk of courts. This means fewer documents for you to juggle, and you can rest easy knowing your documents were filed correctly with our trained and experienced legal courier.
  • Reliability: Legal couriers can pick up documents from a client’s office and deliver them to the correct recipient. For example, many legal documents are time sensitive and require a same-day legal courier. In addition, many legal delivery drivers transport documents or exhibit exhibits too large or sensitive to send via regular mail or with an attorney going to court.
  • Save Time: By timing deliveries and coordinating with attorneys, paralegals, investigators, and other team members, legal couriers can get your documents faster than a typical courier and in time for your court case or trial. Legal messengers can also save you time by Obtaining signatures on legal documents.
  • Save money: By hiring a legal courier, you can greatly reduce your personal or operating expenses. In addition, paying one flat fee to a legal messenger means attorneys do not have to worry about employee wages and can focus on billable work.
  • Accountability: Legal couriers are familiar with and practice all local ordinances, state laws, and relevant federal laws while transporting legal documents.
  • Flexibility: Delivering and staging legal documents or exhibits for court can be completed like clockwork by a legal courier. Utilizing vehicles that accommodate all-size exhibits, legal messengers can deliver to you any time of the day or night.

Why would I need a legal courier?

Now that we know what a legal courier does, why could hiring one benefit you? Here are some assurances a legal courier can provide you that other courier services cannot.

  • Keeping record: A legal courier keeps a detailed record of transactions during your delivery. So from the moment the courier picks up your package until it reaches its final destination, you can rest assured your parcel will be tracked and delivered in a timely and safe manner.
  • Navigation: Legal couriers can take the quickest routes while transporting your documents and exhibits to their destination. They are also familiar with the layout of courthouses and offices, saving attorneys time by not constantly asking questions about where it needs to go or where something is located. In addition, legal messengers are not constantly rerouting to accommodate numerous packages; they prioritize getting your delivery to you as quickly as possible.
  • Staying on schedule: Traditional courier services cannot guarantee delivery time or sometimes even a time window, whereas a legal courier service can. Legal couriers can ensure your package is the priority and will reach its destination on time.
  • Timely delivery: Unlike regular courier services, a legal courier can perform a rush delivery, giving you peace of mind that you will receive your documents or exhibits on time for trial on the same day or typically within an hour.
  • Flexibility: Some exhibits and evidence are too burdensome or large for an attorney rushing to court to take with them. In this situation, our cargo vans and box trucks can carry exhibits into the courtroom on the day of the trial. In addition, we are familiar with court procedures and layouts, so our drivers can deliver to the correct Courtroom, clerk, or judge’s chambers.
  • The extra mile: Sometimes, lawyers/attorneys do not have the time to file something with the court or are in a remote area where physical filing is impossible. They can hire a courier to print documents and perform same-day filing.

Once you have decided that a legal messenger is suitable for your needs, looking at online referrals and reviews can help you find the right legal courier, you may also research a company to ensure they offer the services to meet your needs. At Errandables, we are loved by our many legal clients and receive great reviews from individuals and businesses. Get in touch with us

7 August
Personal Shopper

PERSONAL SHOPPING TIPS: 5 REASONS WHY YOU NEED A PERSONAL SHOPPER

personal shopping

In a world where time is of the essence, personal shopping has transcended its high-end, celebrity-exclusive image to become a more accessible and practical solution for individuals from all walks of life. Beyond the glitz and glamour, a personal shopper serves as an indispensable ally, providing support and expertise to streamline your shopping experience, saving you both time and stress.

If you’re wondering if a personal shopper is a solution that would work for you, here are some the main reasons our clients come to us.

1. Time Saver Extraordinaire

Let’s be honest – scouring stores and online platforms for that perfect outfit or thoughtful gift can be an arduous and time-consuming task. Enter the personal shopper, your time-saving superhero. By delegating the search for ideal items to a professional, you reclaim precious moments in your busy schedule. Whether you’re a career-driven professional, a busy parent, or someone with a hectic lifestyle, having a personal shopper means less time navigating crowded shops and more time for the things that truly matter.

2. Fashion expertise, at your fingertips

Navigating the ever-evolving landscape of fashion trends can be overwhelming. A personal shopper, armed with up-to-date knowledge of the latest styles, becomes your fashion oracle. They possess the expertise to curate a wardrobe tailored to your individual style, body type, and budget. Say goodbye to fashion faux pas and embrace a wardrobe that reflects your personality and keeps you on trend without the stress of keeping up with the ever-changing fashion scene.

3. Stress Reduction

Decision fatigue is a real concern in our modern, fast-paced lives. The constant barrage of choices, especially when it comes to shopping, can lead to stress and overwhelm. A personal shopper acts as your stress reduction guru by narrowing down options, presenting you with choices that align with your preferences. With their guidance, you can sidestep decision fatigue and enjoy a more relaxed and enjoyable shopping experience.

4. Special Occasions, Simplified

Have a big event on the horizon? The search for the perfect outfit can turn into a daunting task. Here’s where a personal shopper truly shines. Whether it’s a wedding, a gala, or a milestone celebration, your personal shopper will help you navigate the myriad of options to find the ideal attire for the occasion. No more last-minute panics or compromises – just the confidence that comes with knowing you look your absolute best.

5. Financial Wisdom

Contrary to popular belief, employing a personal shopper can actually be a cost-efficient choice. How? By preventing impulsive purchases and guiding you towards quality investments. Personal shoppers are adept at discerning between fleeting trends and timeless pieces, ensuring that every pound spent contributes to a wardrobe that stands the test of time. In the long run, this strategic approach to shopping can save you money while enhancing the overall quality of your wardrobe.

Ready to Elevate Your Shopping Experience?

Consider welcoming a personal shopper into your life and reap the benefits of convenience, style, and peace of mind. No longer reserved for the elite, personal shopping is a service designed to make your life easier and more enjoyable. Whether you’re a fashion aficionado or someone who simply wants to streamline the shopping process, a personal shopper is the key to unlocking a stress-free and time-efficient way to curate your perfect wardrobe. Elevate your shopping experience – your time and sanity will thank you.

2 August
Business Errand

Errand Service Business Secrets

As an errand runner, you love helping others. Errand runners do just that—run errands for other people, often senior citizens, who are unable to. It’s a great way to bring a smile to someone’s face while also getting paid. Errand runners do normal everyday things such as running to the bank, getting groceries, picking up dry cleaning, and more. Best of all, they get paid good money to do it. The national average is $25 an hour. So what are some secrets that could make your errand running service prosper?

1. Group orders

If you have several customers in the same area, consider grouping errands together to save time and be more efficient. For example, make Monday and Thursday grocery days and Wednesday the day you pick up prescriptions from the pharmacy.

2. Charge a cancellation/rush fee

It’s customary for a customer to give 24 hours notice before asking you to run an errand or if they need to cancel the errand. If they cancel within 24 hours, consider charging them a fee. Some errand runners charge the entire amount they would’ve been paid. When someone cancels last minute, it’s often too late for you to find another customer for that allotted time. That’s why this cancellation fee is appropriate.

Also, if a customer asks you to do “rush service,” a job that needs to be done within two to four hours, it’s also customary to add an additional charge to their fee, such as an additional $10 an hour. Be up front of them with them about this.

3. Reminders for payment

Senior citizens might forget that they haven’t paid you. We all know about the “senior moments” that can happen. Just provide a friendly reminder. If it’s a task you do for them often, your customer could pay up front or on a weekly or monthly basis, making it less likely they’ll forget. It’s important you keep very good records. This will help prevent mistakes when it comes to collecting payment.

4. Pay for orders separately

If you’re going to the grocery store for more than one customer, remember to pay for the orders separately. Each customer will want their own receipt. They won’t want to see another customer’s items on their receipt.

5. Keep orders separate

In addition to paying for things separately, be sure not to mix bags at the grocery store. Ask the bagger to keep certain items together and bring a felt tip pen to write on the bag the name of the customer that the bag is going to.

6. Repeat newspaper ads

If you choose to advertise in the newspaper, or local senior publications, run your ad every week for a while. After a few months people will recognize your ad and be more likely to call you when they need help.

These are just some of the secrets that can help you become an all-star errand runner. Try some out, find what works for you, and before you know it, your errand running business will be the one to call.