Living in a big city, like, say, Manhattan, is amazing. There is almost everything right at your fingertips, or around the corner, or perhaps a few subway stops away. The point is that New York City essentially offers you anything you’d like, at basically any time. “Time” being a key word in that statement because, if you’re a New Yorker, you know that there never seems to be enough time in the day to get everything done, run all your errands, or pick up all the things you need to grab from the store. And that is precisely why many of us Manhattanites love to order things online and have them delivered. It’s simple, stress-free, and saves a whole bucket-load of time for us.
What is NOT simple and stress-free is when the items we order online become lost en route, or delivered to the wrong apartment, or the wrong apartment number. Or, even worse, when they are delivered to the correct place, but are stolen because no one is home at the time of delivery. Not everyone in the city is lucky enough to have a doorman, so cases like this are unfortunately more common than one would expect. Even if a package isn’t stolen, most New Yorkers usually receive a missed delivery notice, have to walk blocks to pick up their package, and sometimes even find out it has been misplaced after all of that trouble.
Sounds awful, right? (And awfully familiar to many of you, I’m sure.) Well, you can release your stressed-out breath because there is finally an app that solves all of these delivery-related issues. The Doorman App, created in 2013, gives every New Yorker something they have been missing– a (virtual) doorman. This app allows users to schedule an exact time they would like packages to be delivered, anywhere from 6pm-midnight (a way more convenient time frame than the standard 8am-8pm, which usually ends up being midday when everyone is at work). Also, it is available seven days a week–yes, that means weekends, even on Sundays!
The Doorman App is pretty straightforward, in terms of signing up and paying. First, you will need to download the app and check and make sure it is available in your neighborhood (right now, this app delivers in San Francisco, Chicago, and NYC, but they are looking to expand as soon as possible). You have a few choices when it comes to paying. If you aren’t receiving shipped packages that often, you can select to pay per package, which is $3.99. If it happens to be a busy time for you, like around the holiday season, you can choose to pay for a month of service, either through the Silver Plan, which is $19.99 and includes deliveries only, or the Gold Plan, which is $29.99 and includes deliveries and shipping pick-ups. Any oversized packages will obviously cost a little extra, but all of the fine print is available on the app and on the website.
If that isn’t enough, the Doorman App doesn’t just help you out with just online orders, either. You can use the Doorman shipping address for things such as meal kit services, personal stylist subscriptions, home goods, and furniture. You can track where all your stuff is every step of the way on the app, as well. No longer will you have to trek to some address to see if what you ordered and paid for is actually there and available for you. You’ll never have to worry about a lost or stolen item again and you can always feel assured and secure with any and all of your orders. Finally, with this innovative and convenient new app, everyone in New York City can know what it feels like to have a doorman.
Twisted Talk: Have you ever had a lost or stolen package before? Would you use this app in lieu of having a doorman? Discuss below!
