It seemed like it was going to turn out fine, but it didn't
At PartyReady, they can handle almost anything
In a plausible future…
Marianne doubted whether her son had prepared everything for the wedding he was supposed to attend the coming weekend, so she decided to ask him:
“Son, you had a wedding this weekend, right? Where is it?”
“Yes, Mom. Saturday at noon,” replied Eddie. “My friend John is getting married.”
“And do you already have clothes, a gift, and so on?” asked Marianne.
“I haven’t done anything yet, but I’ve got it all under control.”
“But there are only two days left!” she exclaimed. Marianne, like all mothers, worried about her son and wanted everything to go well in his life. She was already on edge because there wasn’t enough time to buy a suit, go to the hair salon, find a gift, and arrange everything else.
“Yes, I know,” replied Eddie. “I have an appointment at PartyReady for Saturday morning. I’ll buy everything there.”
“Saturday morning? And if something goes wrong? Isn’t it better to get a head start on something?”
“Mom, time is the only thing we can’t make more of. I’d rather go to one place to do it all than go to four.”
“And what about that haircut you need?”
“They do that there too.”
“I don’t know, Son. What kind of place is that?”
“Don’t worry, Mom, I’ve got it all under control,” Eddie finished, walking away so they wouldn’t continue talking.
“Hey, where’s the wedding? You haven’t answered me!” Marianne called out into the air.
...
On Saturday, Eddie got up early, did some exercise, and took a Takemethere to...
PartyReady
The wedding started at noon, and it was 9 a.m. It would take him an hour to get there, but he could do everything in an hour and a half.
Upon entering, he was greeted by Sebastian, the service robot at the establishment.
“Welcome to PartyReady, Edward. We’ve been expecting you,” began Sebastian. “You have a made-to-measure suit booked, a relaxing massage, a shower, a haircut and styling, a dental cleaning, and the selection of a gift. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” Eddie answered.
“Please follow me. First we’ll take your measurements for the suit; you’ll choose the model you want, and we’ll make it.”
Eddie followed Sebastian to a room full of lasers, cameras, and sensors that took his body measurements in a matter of seconds.
Then he sat on a couch to choose from the different suit styles projected as life-size holograms featuring his own body and face.
He picked a navy-blue suit with a fashionable cut.
“It will be ready in 45 minutes,” Sebastian indicated. “Now let’s move on to this other room, please. Have a seat in the chair. We’ll start with the haircut and dental cleaning.”
Eddie sat down in the chair facing the mirror.
It seemed like magic to him that he could get a dental cleaning and a haircut at the same time in the same chair. That really was efficiency!
Meanwhile, Sebastian offered him a list of gifts to choose from on the mirror-screen.
In 20 minutes, he had both things done and the gift chosen.
This was why he loved going to PartyReady. Because the only thing he had to worry about was making a reservation whenever he had an event. He didn’t have to think about anything else; everything was taken care of there on the day of the event. It was wonderful.
He then went to the massage room, where he had a 20-minute back massage. After that, he took a shower, had his hair styled, and put on his newly made suit.
And the suit fit him like a glove.
In about an hour and forty minutes…
He was ready
Eddie walked out of PartyReady perfectly groomed, dressed, relaxed, and carrying the gift in a bag. Outside, he headed to the Takemethere car waiting on the curb, which would take him to the wedding. But suddenly...
“Damn it!” he exclaimed.
A pigeon with diarrhea had left him a little present on his suit.
Then Eddie remembered his mother... He checked the time and saw that he still had a little time to get to the wedding on time.
He went back inside PartyReady to see what could be done.
“Did you need something else, sir?” asked Sebastian.
“I had an incident as soon as I walked out,” Eddie replied. “I wanted to know if it would be possible to clean the stain or make a new jacket.”
“I see. Please hand me the jacket while we figure out how to fix it.” Sebastian then gave the jacket to another attendant who took it away to be cleaned.
“If it can’t be cleaned, could you make a new jacket?”
“There’s no time; we take more than twenty minutes, and you have to leave for the wedding by 11 at the latest.”
“I could be late. How much would that cost?”
“Absolutely not. Never be late to a wedding, sir!”
“Is there any other option?” Eddie asked desperately.
“Unbelievable! What had that pigeon been eating? We’re washing and sterilizing the jacket, but the stain won’t come out,” Sebastian confirmed. “Only the lapel is stained, so we could modify the jacket to add new lapels on time. It’ll be cheaper than a new jacket either way.”
“Well, there’s no other choice then!”
“Please choose among these five proposals”
Eddie chose a design with white lapels.
It was 10:52 when Eddie got into the car, on his way to the wedding.
“PartyReady never disappoints,” he thought.
Sometimes things don’t go as expected and...
Surprises happen
The bride and groom had picked a country estate with a castle, a very charming place. Eddie arrived just in time before the ceremony started.
During the ceremony, Eddie noticed a few glances at his suit from other guests, but he was focused on finding his seat, so he paid them no attention.
…
At the reception, everyone praised his suit. It was very original. Eddie then realized that trusting his instincts under pressure was quite effective.
At one point, a girl approached Eddie:
“Hi, I like your suit—it’s very daring,” said Silvia, which was her name.
“Thanks.” “Wow!” Eddie thought. She seemed really attractive as he replied.
“How did you come up with choosing that? Because all the other suits I’ve seen are really boring...”
“If I tell you, you’re going to laugh...”
And the rest, well, that’s history.
The background
When there are new products, technologies, or options, new businesses can be created around them. The case of PartyReady is an example.
In our story, Eddie is going to a wedding and finds it convenient to spend as little time as possible getting ready.
He wants to have fun, not waste time on preparations.
PartyReady’s proposition is clear: You go before the party and leave fully prepared to attend—going to just one place on a single day.
In PartyReady’s case, having an automated made-to-measure suit ready in minutes is indeed innovative because it doesn’t yet exist.
But a dental cleaning service, a massage, or buying a gift aren’t innovations in themselves.
The real benefit is that Eddie can do everything in the same location, and that’s not common today either.
Just like PartyReady, new business models will appear that take advantage of whatever new technologies or options are available. Existing products or services will also be modified or improved.
Which services or experiences would you love to save time on?
See you next week, enthusiast!