Thanks Geoffrey: Giving Atlantans the Gift of Time

Michael Patrick had made it. After walking onto the University of Georgia’s basketball team, graduating from UGA with a degree in Marketing and then receiving his MBA at UNC Chapel Hill, he was ready to start a lucrative career in investment management at Goldman Sachs. Not bad for an “army brat” who had lived in six states by the age of fifteen. However, not too far into his career at Goldman Sachs, Michael discovered the reality that many other upwardly mobile professionals were dealing with everyday. The brutal 80+-hour work weeks left little time for anything else. Like many of us, Michael had limited time to keep up with routine tasks such as getting his clothes dry-cleaned and pressed, keeping his refrigerator stocked and staying up-to-date on home maintenance much less having any time to work out, relax and decompress. He was watching the partners at the firm and wondering how they did it when it occurred to him that most of them had stay-at-home spouses or fulltime nannies and housekeepers. With all of their day-to-day needs taken care of, they were able to fully focus on work. The question became: How can I compete with that? Michael tried numerous services to help, but nothing quite solved it all. He began talking to others in his same situation and identified a large unmet need in the market; a comprehensive, yet affordable, solution to help others in his situation get back their most precious resource, time. Being a marketer himself, he decided to try and fulfill that need.

Michael took a leap of faith and left the corporate world to start Thanks Geoffrey, a shared butler service designed for busy people. The name Thanks Geoffrey was inspired by the butler from the popular 90’s television show Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The company’s mission is to help people live their ideal lives by reinventing the way that tasks are done. Starting at $38 per week, each client is assigned their very own “Geoffrey” who is available on the same day each week to perform any number of tasks including delivering groceries, mailing packages, picking up dry cleaning, tidying/organizing, folding laundry and much more. Although the name is masculine, 99% of their Geoffreys are female. The company works to recruit from nursing or teaching backgrounds along with former personal assistants; this is by no means a coincidence. Rather, it is part of a recruiting strategy to hire trustworthy people who are meticulous, thoughtful, attentive and know how to manage a home. The idea is that if you trust someone to care of your health or your children, you will certainly trust them to help take care of your home.

As an army brat, Michael grew up in a home with a very strong-willed working mother, a father who often traveled in service to our country and three dynamic sisters. He watched as his parents managed the responsibilities of a military officer and fulltime teacher while at the same time balanced the needs and activities of four children. This experience combined with watching his adult sisters now juggling their careers and families left an impression on Michael. He continually uses these experiences to guide his company’s service offerings.

Michael is quick to point out that having a Geoffrey is much different than having a cleaning person or a nanny. A Geoffrey is someone who can handle the in-home and out of home tasks while also coordinating home management services so clients have one seamless experience. Instead of a cookie-cutter list of services, your Geoffrey can meet with you and customize a program based on your specific needs and goals. Maybe your goal is to get ahead at work. Perhaps it is to spend more time with your family. Maybe this is the year to take charge of your health and implement a healthier lifestyle. Whatever the goal, your Geoffrey can come up with a plan to help you get there. These are not static services. According to Michael, “We want to ebb and flow with your life. As your life evolves and changes, so will your needs. Your Geoffrey is able to adapt to these changes as they occur.”

Michael adds, “The average person spends four hours a week on house chores. If we can cut that time in half, then we will have given people 4 days of their life back each year.” He states, “From folding laundry to scheduling maintenance providers, our goal is to become the trusted resource to help manage the entire home.” Michael makes the point that nobody on their deathbed wishes they had done more laundry. Rather, they wish they had spent more time doing things with the people they love. However, laundry and other chores are a reality of life. The trick is to find out how to get the chores accomplished in an affordable and efficient manner. Sounds great to this busy working mother of two active boys. Sign me up!

Here is what one Atlantan had to say about Thanks Geoffrey:

“We’re a dual income household with two small children. Managing the family calendar is difficult at times. I wanted a Geoffrey so I could have an hour to run, shop or just spend time having fun with the kids.”

Thanks Geoffrey is getting a lot of attention in the Atlanta area. So far, Michael and his company have been featured on an Intrepid Podcast, on Hypepotamus and in Jezebel Magazine. Please click on the links below to view the coverage. Their goal is to continue to expand their services throughout the Greater Atlanta metropolitan area. To this end, their Thanks Geoffrey App will be launching soon. We wish them the best of luck!

If you would like to get more information about their services or are interested in a career with Thanks Geoffrey, please visit www.thanksgeoffrey.com. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Intrepid Podcast: http://intrepidnow.com/incubator/thanks-geoffrey-your-personal-butler-service

Hypepotamus: http://www.hypepotamus.com/companies/thanksgeoffrey

Jezebel Magazine:

http://digital.modernluxury.com/publication/?i=289383&ver=html5&p=24#{“page”:24,”issue_id”:289383}

Written and Posted by Beth Schultz on the Behalf of Concierge Services of Atlanta