By LAURIE LUCAS / The Press-EnterpriseWhen Shauni
Killien wants a golden glow, she doesn't get a tan. A $40 tan comes
to her.
In the privacy of Killien's Moreno Valley home, Jeannie Freeman,
owner of Sunless Mobile Tanning, bronzes her 29-year-old client with
an electric spray gun.
Killien, a time-strapped doctoral student at UCR, has tried spray
booth tans, but prefers the convenience and results of her personal
spritzer.
"I can see what she's doing every step of the way," said Killien.
"This looks so much more natural."
Just as it was once natural decades ago for milkmen, doctors and
vacuum salesmen to ring your bell, a new age of "in-home service
providers" is dawning on doorsteps coast-to-coast.
To ease stress, reduce errands or simply pamper themselves, Inland
residents can hire any number of mobile providers from
pooper-scoopers to personal chefs.
Indeed, house calls are going haywire for anything related to
technology and high-end entertainment systems, pets and gourmet
meals, according to Bruce Judson, author of "Go It Alone! The Secret
to Building a Successful Business on Your Own" (HarperCollins,
2004).
Available at Best Buy stores, specialists called "The Geek Squad"
help clients set up their wireless home network or fix a computer
crash. Basically, the techies read the manual so you need not be
bothered.
"With two-career families, people have less and less time," said
Judson, a senior faculty fellow at Yale School of Management.
"There's a huge consumer demand for convenience."
Experts on aging and lifestyle said the house call movement reflects
a convergence of several trends:
Alpha workers with shrinking leisure time. Dual-income earners with
kids worked a combined 91 hours a week in 2002 versus 81 hours in
1977, according to a study by the New York-based Families and Work
Institute.
More oldsters. The number of seniors over 65 jumped from 31 million
in 1990 to 35 million in 2000, according to a 2004 U.S. Census
report. Some physicians, dentists and senior-care pharmacists will
accommodate elderly clients with home visits.
More disposable income. Consumers seeking life's little rewards will
pay for the luxury of a home pooper-scooper, private chef, car wash,
dry clean pickup and delivery or pet groomer.
Certified pet groomer Neli Byrd, of Riverside, said her phone is
already ringing off the hook since she launched At Your Bark and
Call several weeks ago.
"There's so much less stress on the dog," she said of her reason for
making house calls within a 20-mile radius. "The dog feels at home
because he is at home."
Or close to home, anyway. The dirty dog is cleaned and clipped
inside Byrd's $50,000 customized van in the owner's driveway: Byrd
charges $50 per pooch. (For now, she's catering to canines only.)
One of her clients is Scruffy, a terrier mix.
"It's easier to have someone come to the house," said Scruffy's
owner, Jean McFarlane, of Riverside. "Scruffy has to be muzzled
because she's a biter. Neli spends more than hour with her and makes
her look beautiful."
For the scoop on dog-do, who ya gonna call?
Brock Buccola! More than three years ago he founded a pet waste
removal company, The Poop Troop, which serves portions of the Inland
area.
After three years, business is picking
up for the Victorville resident, who charges $14 for the first dog,
$4 for each additional dog. Buccola, a former finance director for a
Los Angeles law firm, loves canine companions romping around while
he double-bags and removes their droppings.
Typically, clients hire him because
they're elderly, disabled, commuters or pregnant and averse to the
smell.
"They're far from lazy, but very responsible pet owners," said his
business partner and wife Darlene Buccola. "Dog waste breeds
bacteria."
Just as Buccola has his niche clientele, so does Karin Winkler, of
Joshua Tree. She's one of the nation's 5,000-plus personal chefs,
according to the U.S. Department of Labor, who bring meals on wheels
to mostly upscale customers.
Wiener Schnitzel, Hendlsuppe or Sandtorte, anyone?
Winkler, an artist with a family, specializes in Austrian cuisine.
She said the majority of her customers are vacationing renters in
the High Desert and Coachella Valley and especially love her
pastries. Prices start at $160 for three meals, including groceries,
entrees and side dishes for one person.
Another personal chef, Shelley Reese, of Reche Canyon, said her
clients are typically two working parents who "don't have the energy
to cook a meal." So they're grateful to sign on Reese to commandeer
their kitchen and stock their fridges with pre-cooked food.
Last May, Reese traded a career as a finance manager to channel her
best recipes through Chef Shelley, whose domain is Loma Linda,
Colton, Redlands, Reche Canyon, Moreno Valley and Riverside.
What price gourmet meatloaf, stuffed grape leaves, or baked salmon?
Chef Shelley charges $200 plus groceries for four to five meals.
"I'm not in it to build a huge business," said Reese, who has three
steady customers. "I really love to cook."