In Your Pocket and At Your Finger Tips By Nahla Samaha
We live in a world where technology has increasingly diminished physical distances by creating a so-called “Global village”, it is ironic then that it actually takes us far longer to physically get from point A to point B. Enter solutions that eliminate the need for physical transport by bringing what you need directly to you instead. And no, I’m not talking about the Force. Rather, the solution is Elves. Your personal little helper running around doing your bidding at your convenience, available right at your fingertips.
Elves is more than a concierge service, and goes beyond what a personal shopper does. The elves working at Elves are your minions, travel consultants, errand-people, personal shoppers, idea factory, and more. Based out of Cairo, Elves is founded by five young Egyptians, Abeer El Sisi, Karim El Sahy, Kareem Diaa, Khaled Gomaa and Abdel Rahman El Zohiery.
Eliminating the hassle of looking for items yourself, making bookings, looking for the best deals, even thinking of gift ideas for loved ones, Elves does all that and more. By downloading the application ‘Elves – Your Personal Little Helper’ on iPhone (coming to Android soon), or by visiting their Facebook page, and selecting ‘Message’, or through the website, you have immediate and guaranteed access to chat with an Elf. Your data is saved, as is your trend-history with Elves.
So if you’re a busy working mother and have no time to do your own grocery shopping, just get in touch with an Elf, send your grocery list, pay through the app or a link sent via your Facebook chat, and voila! Task complete, groceries on their way to your home, with nothing to pay once received at your house.
“I got a request the other day from a man who wants to organize a romantic evening for his fiancée,” says Prime Elf Sara Jean Saba, “we worked on ideas for him within his set budget, and we took care of all the details from A to Z.” And what ensued on that romantic evening? A private Nile cruise with a catered dinner, a musician, and a stretch limo pick-up and drop-off filled with flowers inside.
Elves recently partnered with Uber on Valentine’s day to deliver flowers and Ferrerro Rocher chocolates, all hand-delivered by the elves themselves, “The event was scheduled to run from noon until about 8pm, all the sender had to do was let us know what the destination of delivery was and pay through Uber,” explains El Sisi, “by 2pm, we had run out of flowers and had to source additional quantities, needless to say, it was quite successful.”
Elves is a convenient platform with live human interaction, this allows you to engage in a dialogue with an actual person. For example, it’s Mother’s Day and you want to gift your mother, your Elf will ask you questions about your mother to get to know her likes and dislikes better, and will then provide you with gift suggestions within your budget, and take care of everything from purchasing, wrapping, and delivering the gift.
“We first launched Elves in the U.S. because we already run other businesses there, then Egypt, and now Elves is worldwide,” says El Sisi, “Elves is processing orders in Dubai, the Philippines, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Canada, Norway, Germany, just to name a few. “I had a client in Egypt request that flowers get sent to a funeral in the U.S.,” says Saba. Sisi adds, “I’ve had requests for fixing a motorcycle, iPhone screens, and more.”
Payment for Elves services is made by credit card online through a secure check-out on the application, or through a link sent via Facebook chat. There is also the option of the Elves Wallet, which can be topped up using Elves cards. You can top-up now at Dandy Mall and Arkan, with more top-up locations in the works.
Why go through the hassle of getting things done yourself during your busy day, when Elves can do it for you? No need to input your credit card details on more than one site, or make a gazillion phone orders a day, or brave Cairo traffic to run your errands, just call on Elves, your personal little helper.
