Services to tackle your daily tasks
It’s just before 9 a.m. on a weekday morning in April, and Donna Lynn Rodriguez is standing outside the Hawaiian Airlines cargo facility near Honolulu International Airport. Just a few minutes later she is gone, having loaded up boxes full of neighbor island produce destined for a local restaurant.
During the course of a day, Rodriguez might also go grocery shopping, drop off a vehicle at a body shop for repairs, file general excise tax returns downtown or even drive halfway across the island to retrieve a forgotten cellphone — all for other people.
No task is too small or mundane for her business, which she recently rebranded as 808-Errands.
“I love running errands,” she said. “Anything that can be delegated to another person, we’ll do it.”
As more Oahu residents realize that their time is more valuable than money, businesses like Rodriguez’s are springing up to offer solutions for everything from grocery shopping and general errands to laundry and meal delivery.
Supermarket chain Safeway launched a grocery delivery service on Oahu last year that allows customers to shop via a smartphone app or online. Delivery costs $6.95 when spending at least $150 ($9.95 for orders under $150).
“As someone who has no car, it is a convenient way to get groceries,” said Makiki resident Sylvia Flores. “For me, the time-saving and no hassle of finding a ride is worth the delivery fee. The app takes a little (patience) to work through, but just like shopping at the store it takes time to choose the right product.”
For pet owners, it’s not always about making a delivery. Picking up after four-legged family members is an unpleasant and time-consuming chore. Gotpoo.biz owner Ali Mathews-Bacon travels all over Oahu to scoop up dog poop.
“I get to my clients before some of them have even opened their eyes in the morning. I’ll let myself in and I take the poo away with me so they don’t have to deal with it,” she said.
Mathews-Bacon charges $12 per weekly visit for one dog and $3 for each additional animal.
Donna Lynn Rodriguez owns and operates 808-Errands, an errand-running business in Honolulu. Last month she picked up produce at Hawaiian Air Cargo to deliver to a restaurant.