AT YOUR SERVICE

13
January

In offering us glimpses of the life styles of the astoundingly rich, a recent television presentation took note of the fact that Larry Ellison’s (Oracle) luxury yacht came equipped with a basketball court on deck.  But the eye opening feature here was not so much that, but the fact that Ellison’s cruiser was trailed by a motor boat whose driver was assigned the task of scooping up basketballs that had bounced over the side and into the water – a unique service indeed.  That got me thinking about other novel personal services that might become available to those able to afford them.  After all, in a predominantly service economy there is constant pressure to create more and more unique services to generate jobs and bolster GNP.  The following services might, at first glance, appear entirely fanciful, but then who would have imagined Ellison’s retriever?

  • Golf has its caddies so why shouldn’t tennis have youngsters available at local courts to retrieve and toss balls to players waiting at the baseline.  And, yes, they should also have towels at the ready.
  • Parents should be able to hire service providers who will read to their children and then put them to bed.
  • Why not a service that scrutinizes daily deliveries and disposes of junk mail so that you don’t have to?
  • How about a service that distributes money for you to those begging on the streets as you pass on by.
  • Wouldn’t there be a demand for people who arrive at your house before you leave for a lengthy trip to pack you up and make sure you’ve not forgotten anything.
  • Who wouldn’t want someone available at poolside to towel you off as you get out, as well as refresh your suntan lotion.
  • Valet parkers specially trained to handle only luxury cars (viz., Bentley, Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce, etc.)
  • A service that provides snacks, soft drinks, coffee, etc., to you in your car as you wait in traffic that is hopelessly gridlocked.
  • Personal tour guide to accompany you on long automobile trips to point out and explain interesting features along the route.
  • A service that provides current magazines of your choice as you sit and wait and wait some more in a doctor’s office.
  • A service that would rush an umbrella to you wherever you are should it start to rain.
  • A suburban car service that takes the burden of organizing daily car pools out of the hands of parents.
  • A service that will arrive wherever your car is parked to wash the vehicle and also, if needed, fill the gas tank.

In our brave new world of seemingly endless service providers, can any of these be ruled out?  Indeed, some of them may already be available.

Leave a Reply