Today’s Chicago Tribune features GoGoGrandparent in a supplement entitled “Getting a lift: Ride services help to get you where you want to go.” As explained in the article:
Ridesharing services are the modern equivalent of taxis that customers summon via an app on a smartphone. The customer requests a ride to a destination, then receives instant data on the car, driver, pickup time and cost of the trip. A car usually arrives within minutes. Billing is done automatically via an online account, so no cash is exchanged.
Within the last year or so, ridesharing companies, phone companies and technology companies have introduced options to make ridesharing accessible to everyone, even if they do not have a smartphone.
The article highlights the personalized attention that is unique to GoGoGrandparent:
“Our operators are called ‘professional grandchildren.’ They have each client’s profile, so we can let the driver know they have a special senior client, or that they need to be picked up at a certain door, or they have a walker,” Boogaard says.
As noted in the feature, such personalized service has been key to GoGoGrandparent’s success in rides — and also provides a foundation from which to expand to other complementary services in the future:
Boogaard says GoGoGrandparent may branch out to meal deliveries and other services and partnerships.
“The first things that people need are transportation and meals, and that is why many move into care facilities,” he says. “We can take care of those things so people can stay at home longer.”
