|
|
Greetings!
 My car died. All day it ran just fine, then I parked it at an event and poof - it wouldn't start. No sound, no clicks, no heartbeat of any kind. Just DOP (that's "Dead On Pavement"). It may as well have been lying on its back, tires up, like some sort of overturned turtle. It was tragic. (Cue a funeral dirge)
So I called the auto club and they sent the doctors on call. They tried the paddles (battery charger) to no avail. They checked its pulse - yep, still putting out 12 volts. They stood over its exposed chest cavity (engine compartment) shaking their heads in dismay. Finally, the nice medic/auto service guy gave me the news I was dreading - we needed to tow it somewhere. Oh rats.... For those of you who don't know (does anyone not know?) my car
My fun little car | is tattooed. My little BMW Z4 roadster is half covered in advertising artwork, lovingly applied by the best auto tattoo artists in town, Signarama. So when it needs to be towed, I feel like my car drama is being broadcast in both HD and 3D.
This is the second time in six months the car has been on the flatbed of a tow truck. The first time it broke a leg (tire) and had to be towed to my regular tire store for repair when the tire blew after hours and couldn't be fixed right away.
 Of course, and as per usual, this roadster heart attack came at 10 pm which meant every auto mechanic emergency room in town was closed. So we had to transport my poor baby home, let it sit comatose in the garage and try again the next morning.
When I called the auto club for the second time in ten hours, I expected to get a new doctor, but nope, the same guys from the evening before showed up. Do these 'doctors on call' work the same shifts as regular interns? It would seem so.
They once again tested the pulse and once again found it putting out the required 12v so it definitely wasn't the battery. Still no sound, no clicks, no heartbeat of any kind so here we go again - put it on the dreaded gurney and tow it to the emergency room. And in broad daylight (sigh).
 At this point I'm going to forego the medical metaphor to share with you something important. First, the local people connected with the auto club are wonderful. They are courteous, helpful, don't try to up sell their services when you're in a fragile or distraught frame of mind and want to help you get your vehicle healthy and back on the road as quickly as possible.
They are respectful - not only to you the human, but also to your vehicle. So here's a shout out to both Palms to Pines Towing (this time) and Ron's Towing (last time). Thanks guys!
This is the real place | Second, I have THE BEST auto mechanic in town. I've told you about him in a prior newsletter, but I just have to tell you about him again. His name is Jonathan Langley and his garage is located in the Union 76 service station at Washington and Country Club.
This car service 'medic' is a wonderful mechanic. Just the fact he works on BMW's is, by itself, a godsend. He has the best rates in town for all of his service work, both the preventative maintenance and the emergency service. And he is truly a nice guy.
This is an actor pretending to be Jonathan | It turned out the problem with my car was the starter. I don't know how much the dealer would charge but every time I walk across their threshold, it seems to always cost at least $800 no matter the purpose of my visit. Jonathan's cost to replace my starter? $522.
And because he knows the roadster is the only car I have, he had it fixed in just a few hours. Why? Because I always go to him and we have a service/client relationship and because he's just that kind of guy. His work is impeccable and he gives the highest quality customer service around.
 All of the companies involved in my car health drama this last month exemplified good quality customer service. So much so, in fact, that it registered in my consciousness as not something that was expected, but as something that was going a little beyond the usual, regular or customary.
As you know, that's our tagline - going beyond the usual, regular or customary. But did you know it is Webster's definition of excellence? True Fact.
Our signature logo cupcake | And because we understand what it takes to provide that level of customer service, we recognize and appreciate it when we find someone else who does too.
The next time your vehicle has a heart attack, breaks a leg or needs a checkup, we hope you'll give Jonathan a chance to be your auto doctor.
When you need Concierge services, we hope you'll give Executive Errands the opportunity to serve you. We go beyond the usual, regular and customary to help simplify your life so it will have less stress which translates into improved health which in turn just might keep you from going 'tires up'!
===================================================
Executive Errands - providing options to keep your home, auto and even you healthy!
|
Our Favorite Things...
Dream Dinners
 If you're like most of us, by the end of the day you have no energy left to shop for dinner, much less cook something healthy for yourself and your family. So what happens? Yet another trip to some fast food franchise to load up on salt, fat and empty calories.
Well we've found a way to help cut down the time for shopping while still providing nutritious and healthy food options for your family.
Dream Dinners, located on Country Club in Palm Desert offers an easy and affordable choice for your dinner meals.
Yum, Yum and Yum | For as little as $75 you can get 18 meals prepackaged and ready for pickup. Menu options change all the time, but often include such delicious choices as Cider Braised Pork Chops, Autumn Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes, Toasted Pecan Chicken and New Orleans Jambalaya.
All you have to do is order, pick them up and heat them up - and your family will be enjoying real food in no time.
In fact, to further simplify your life, let Executive Errands pick up and deliver the food packages to your home and they'll be there when you need them. We know you're busy, so let us help!
If you'd like more information about Dream Dinners, please contact Karen Sleeper at sleepk@aol.com or by phone at 760.345.3338 or you can visit their website at www.dreamdinners.com Dream Dinners - one of our favorite things!
["Our Favorite Things" gives us an opportunity to share people, places, events and things that we truly love and that you might too. We have no business affiliation with any company or individual featured here. We just want to share good things with you and if our recommendations help build business for someone else or saves you time or money, GREAT!!!] |
|
Community Perks
 As we get ready to kick off the Fall season, we thought community association managers might like to offer a special amenity.
Since we've been talking about cars this month, we're extending the following offer to you: If you'd like to have a weekly mobile automobile detailer in your community we can arrange for you to have this service.
Once again, this is an amenity you can offer that costs you nothing - no dollars and no admin - other than to promote the fact you have it.
 Our mobile car detailer is water conservation and environmentally conscious.
He uses green cleaning products and is completely self-contained. He is licensed and insured and does a beautiful job.
We can centralize the car wash day to the HOA parking lot or we can simply go from home to home. We'll handle all the details and scheduling, the payments and homeowner interface.
If you'd like to offer this service for your community, please contact us at 760.469.2487 or by email at info@executive-errands.com |
|
Breakfast of Champions
In order to get your metabolism revved up each day, you need to put fuel into your personal gas tank and that means breakfast. And if you're going to toast to your health, why not do it with a fresh fruit smoothie?
 I don't know about you, but I'm not much of a breakfast eater. Still, I understand it is important to have something filling and healthy first thing in the morning.
These two smoothie recipes (from Cosmo Life) require Zero cooking skills but are packed full of nutrients, vitamins and flavor.
The Energizer offers lots of slow release protein and healthy fats to get your body working efficiently right away.
1 banana, sliced into rounds, 3 tablespoons natural peanut butter, 1 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt, 1 cup skim milk, 6 - 10 ice cubes.
Combine everything except the ice cubes in a blender and mix until smooth, then add the ice cubes and blend again until smooth. Enjoy!
=============================================
 The Health Picker Upper conains both vitamins A & C to help boost your immune system and keep your body's defenses on high alert.
1 cup frozen unsweetened mango, 1 medium orange (zested, peeled and chopped), 1 1/2 cups skim milk, 1 lime (zested and juiced), 1 teaspoon grated ginger (optional but the 'zing' will really amp up your metabolism), 6 -10 ice cubes.
Combine all except ginger and ice cubes - blend until smooth. Add ginger and ice, blend again and enjoy!
Executive Errands has fresh fruit baskets, chocolate dipped fruit and fruit platters available - call for a quote today!
PS - fresh tasting Frozen Mango is available at Trader Joes - we'd be happy to pick that up for you!
|
|
Is Your Home Healthy?
 It's officially Fall - have you done your biannual maintenance? Instituting a proactive approach to home maintenance helps keep minor problems from turning into major ones and sets a healthy tone for your whole family. Dust, dirt, mold spores, dead bugs where you can't see them, bacteria in your water heater, rodents in your fruit trees.... all these things can affect your family's overall sense of well being. Keep your home free of toxins or ready in case of an emergency! --Have you changed your smoke alarm batteries? --Inspected your roof? --Fixed your shutters or blinds? --Serviced your AC? --Power washed the exterior of your home?  --Flushed your hot water heater? --Cleaned your carpet and/or tile? --Inspected your plumbing? --Cleaned your chimney? --When was the last time you had your drapes professionally cleaned? --Performed interior pest control? --Have you had your awnings serviced? --Cleaned, checked or replaced your rodent traps? --Do you have a seismic gas shutoff valve? Executive Errands has licensed and insured service providers (all of whom are locally based) who can tend to every one of these tasks. Set up your account, give us a key and we'll do the rest!
For more information or to give us your 'to do' list, please call us at 760.469.2487 or 760.898.9604 or by email at info@executive-errands.com |
"If you believe in what you are doing, then let nothing hold you up in your work. Much of the best work of the world has been done against seeming impossibilities. The thing is to get the work done." Dale Carnegie
 It may be true that the things we like doing best here at Executive Errands are the oddball, nearly impossible requests we get.
Like the time a Beverly Hills hotel concierge called us at 7 pm on a Friday night requesting a champagne brunch at 9 am the following morning for his VIP client.
He wanted it served at 9 am exactly with linens and china and a nice assortment of breakfast items and all at the picnic area at Smoketree Stables.
Did we pull that off? Of course! We have the best caterers in town!
 This month we had a similar and seemingly impossible situation where a client called on a Wednesday requesting to borrow a 2008 tan Prius for a few hours on the following Friday morning.
They needed it for a video reenactment of an auto accident and
--it had to be that exact make, year and color AND
--we only had a day and a half to find it AND
--we had to get the owner to agree to let someone borrow it AND
--it needed to be a local vehicle otherwise we'd have to cut our search time down to compensate for travel.
Ummmmm hmmmmm. Ok. Now there's a challenge.
Obviously the car dealerships aren't going to have a Prius that old, would they? (nope) And even if they did, they were quick to tell us they don't loan out cars.
This is a 2008 tan Prius. | What to do, what to do? Finally, we found the ONLY tan 2008 Prius in this Desert (at least we think it was the only one because we couldn't find more than that one option) and it just happened to be for sale so the guy who owned it gladly loaned it to us for the day in exchange for some rental compensation. It was great, the video was made, and the client was beyond happy!
It's achieving the impossible that gives us a thrill and reinforces the fact we are making a difference for others.
If you think you have an impossible task, give us a try - we'll see if we can turn your impossibility into reality.
760.898.9604 www.executive-errands.com |
Executive Errands is all over the place this month and the first place you can visit with us is at the Palm Desert Chamber Business Expo held Friday Oct 8th in the Event Center at Fantasy Springs.
Regular admission is $5 but you can get in FREE by printing this ticket EE Free B2B Ticket (you can print as many as you need!)
This is the first time Executive Errands has participated in this event so please stop by and say 'hi' to us!
Once you get in, everything is free (except alcohol) - free food, free trinkets, free fun!
We have something special for our booth and lots of giveaway opportunities! We hope to see you there!
=============================================
Executive Errands is also co-sponsor this year (with Costco) of the VIP Section of the Golf Cart Parade.
 This is our fourth year providing the Concierge service for the VIP Reserved Row preferred viewing seats.
The theme is "Halloween Extravaganza" and our Concierges will be offering their own 'medic' inspired take on Halloween fun.
The VIP section is already sold out and it looks like there will be more golf cart entries than ever before. To enter your own golf cart or for more information, please contact Katie at katie@pdcc.org or 760.346.6111
We also want to thank Larry Petak of Colt Security for offering to provide the ice to cool your drinks and Steve Little of Hire Standards for offering to provide the muscle to set up the VIP area. Thank You! Thank You!=============================================
For more information about either or both of these events, please contact us at 760.898.9604 or 760.469.2487 www.executive-errands.com |
 When you donate time and money to charity, it nourishes your soul and can make you feel so great you just might get an endorphin rush!
Endorphins help us maintain a healthy attitude, a happy disposition and they help fight stress. This Fall we're offering you an opportunity to be charitable.
The Cathedral City-Rancho Mirage (CC-RM) Soroptimist Club's annual Fall Fashion Show and Fundraiser is scheduled for Saturday, November 13, 2010 at the beautiful Westin in Rancho Mirage.
Soroptimist, for those of you who may not be familiar, is a charity devoted to helping women and girls all over the world.
 We are a member of the CC-RM Soroptimist club and I serve as First VP. The primary duty of the First VP is to raise funds which means I am the Committee Chair for our Holidays in the Desert Fall Fashion Show and Fundraiser event.
As the Chair, I can promise you it is going to be a very special afternoon.
All the funds the CC-RM Club raises goes to the House of Hope in Desert Hot Springs and other local charities.
Some highlights for this year's event:
--Patrick Evans of CBS2 news is our emcee
--New fall fashions are provided by Coldwater Creek
--Maggie Montez, VP at CBRE, is our Ruby Award honoree
--Our 12 live auction 'packages' are based on the 12 Days of Christmas and contain over $14,000 worth of merchandise, products and gift certificates. They are so full of great items, you may want to bid with a friend and split the packages.
--The door prize is a multi-day Big Bear retreat for 4 including lift tickets and is valued at $1,650 and if you prepay your registration, you receive TWO tickets, two chances to win!
--There are only 6 giveaway prizes - all fashion related and each of them is valued at $200 or more - tickets are 6 for $20
--The table favors have a retail value of over $15 each
--The table centerpieces are gorgeous lighted glass block packages - and there is a silent auction at each table to purchase them
-- The cost for this event is a very reasonable $55
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Not only did I get my car healthy this last month, but I've been diligently working on my own health and well being.
You know, we hear it all the time - to be truly healthy, one must address your whole self - body, mind and soul.
I keep my mind active and try to learn something new every day. My soul is nourished through my friends, charity work and community fello  wship. But the body thing has been a mess for the last several years as I neglected taking care of it.
So, as my faithful readers know, I've been on a mission to get healthy. I quit caffeine about 4 or 5 months ago, about 10 weeks ago I quit nicotine and 3 weeks ago I quit both artificial sweetners and started a medically supervised detox program to help rid my body of the chemicals and damage from years of cigarettes, diet sodas, artificial sweetners and excessive antibiotics.
So far I feel absolutely fantastic and I've already dropped 11 pounds. Not a huge amount, but still pretty darn good especially for someone who recently gave up nicotine.
 As a society, we are so busy (sometimes I think we're just busy being busy) we forget to take care of ourselves. Or maybe we don't forget, eh? Maybe we just don't make ourselves a priority.
Herophilus, a Greek Physician (335 - 280 BC) is quoted as saying:
"When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied."
Each and every day do something to get and keep yourself healthy - body, mind and soul. If you don't make yourself a priority, you limit your ability to be successful in so many ways, trust me in this.
 And consider further reducing your stess level by outsourcing your tasks and chores to Executive Errands. We'll free up your hours so you can focus on your health.
Please visit our website at www.executive-errands.com to view our client testimonials, then give us a call. We're always here for you.
Now raise your smoothie glass and toast to your health (unless you're off carbs, in which case, no actual toast for you).
 Happy Halloween! And we hope to see you at the PD Expo & the Golf Cart Parade!
760.469.2487
We value our clients' privacy. Therefore we do not, distribute your email address to anyone, ever.
|
|
|
