I can think of a few moments in my life when I was skeptical of new ideas or technology that I later found myself calling the best invention of the last few decades. Embarrassingly, DVRs and iPhones made that list. I remember the old days when we had to gather in front of the television at a specific time in order to watch our favorite shows – and even worse – had to sit through commercials! And why in the world did I need an expensive iPhone when my StarTAC flip phone did everything I needed it to do? I think the answers are now obvious and I will spare you the long list of reasons why I was wrong and wished that I hadn’t held out for so long to try them.
This is the part where I talk about why DUFL is one of those innovations that causes you to pause and internally debate whether or not using the service is really as life-changing as it sounds, or if the way you’re traveling right now is ‘just fine’. Honestly, is there any reason why I can’t just pack my own bag and bring it with me on a plane for business like I’ve done a hundred times? I mean come on, how lazy can I be that I can’t do my own laundry, pack my own bag and throw it in the trunk of my car, then wheel it into the airport, and down 10 city blocks to my next meeting, jam it into a crowded elevator or set it in the corner of the conference room during my first customer meeting? Of course I can do that. The question is, WHY WOULD I WANT TO? Though I can come up with a thousand reasons why I shouldn’t- I’ve narrowed it down to twelve. Yes twelve- this isn’t David Letterman…
- I do a lot of things really well, but packing isn’t one of them. Whether it’s the folding, placement of the items inside the suitcase, space limitations or forgetting something I needed, it seems that something is always sacrificed or compromised on every trip. I can hang up a shirt in my closet like nobody’s business, but carefully folding my clothes with tissue paper neatly folded inside so they don’t wrinkle is just not going to happen.
- Patience. Who has time for that? The last thing I want to do is wait in a line at the airport to drop off or retrieve a bag. Even though I live by the rule of never checking a bag (I have gone to Europe for 14 days with a carry-on and a small computer bag), I can recall every time I was forced to gate check my bag and how completely annoyed I was at having to wait at baggage claim, holding my breath to see if my bag was actually going to come out on the conveyor belt.
- I would rather do 100 other things than pack for a trip. My family is out in the living room spending time together and I’m in the closet running back and forth to the laundry room to get everything I need. Don’t get me started on the unpacking – but is there a world record for not unpacking a bag for weeks at a time?
- I can pack as much as I want. Yes, I can fit my workout shoes now, and yes, I can take that extra pair of boots I want to wear when my feet are killing me after 8 hours at a trade show. I now have room for everything I want (and apparently no excuse for not working out).
- Full size toiletries. Ladies, you can’t tell me you aren’t happy about this one. I know some of you who check your bag for this reason alone. Taking more than 3oz. of your favorite shampoo, hairspray or lotion should not cost you an extra hour and a half at the airport.
- I don’t like to iron. Did I mention that DUFL folds your clothes with tissue paper? I DO NOT DO THAT. Therefore I almost always need to use the leaky iron that gets hot enough to melt steel in the hotel. I have ruined a few shirts nice shirts with that iron, assuming it was actually working and I didn’t have to move the desk in my room in order to find an outlet.
- I’ve spent enough time with my suitcase. We’re very close. I take it with me to the airport bathroom, find a nice spot for it to sit at the table while I try to get something to eat or have a drink before I board the plane. I pull it close to me as I battle my way through the crowd of people at the gate trying to ensure their bag makes it in the overhead bin, take it with me in the cab, to meetings and restaurants. It’s time to change that relationship. I feel smothered.
- I like being an early adopter. You do too, admit it.
- No security checks. If you’ve been through security enough, you’ve had your bag – or yourself – randomly inspected. As much as I enjoyed being escorted to a tiny little room and getting close up and personal with a TSA agent while someone rifled through my belongings, I’ll pass on having to experience that one again.
- I thought I’d miss my clothes more, turns out I don’t. Sending your clothes off on their own is a little scary at first. Admittedly, I thought I would miss them, but it turns out that as much as I like that black blazer, I never wear it when I’m at home and I feel good knowing that it’s safe and secure in its climate controlled virtual closet. Also, that virtual closet is not as static as one might think, in fact, it’s always changing. After all, there’s no chance of me wearing home the same outfit that I wore on the plane, instead I’ll be wearing a clean outfit from my suitcase – and – I can add items to my bag, ship them to my closet, or swap them out on the road whenever I like.
- I don’t have to ask anyone to pull my bag out of the overhead bin. I’m no weakling, but sometimes I push the limit on the weight of my bag and the last thing I want to do is ask someone to help me pull it down. Or worse yet, thanks to the lack of overhead bin space near my seat, my bag is a few rows back and I have to choose between making a break for it when there’s a gap in the line of folks deplaning, or I make eye contact with a random stranger, use hand motions to point out which bag is mine and then wait while I inconvenience six people to form a chain gang and pass my bag forward to me.
- I’m worth it. My time is valuable. I never have time to go to the dry cleaner, but I go anyway. I would rather spend time with my family than pack and do laundry. I have better things to do than sweat it out dragging that bag with me everywhere.
So don’t be a hold-out for this great new service. Be kind to yourself, you deserve it. Use DUFL.
Andrea Graziani, Chief Marketing Officer
A marketing visionary with extensive tech sector experience, DUFL CMO Andrea Graziani manages the brand and leads all aspects of corporate and customer marketing to systematically drive customer growth and retention. Before joining the DUFL team, Andrea served as VP of marketing, communications and media at Brightcove and as VP of marketing and then CMO at Unicorn Media, positioning the company for acquisition by Brightcove for $49M. Earlier in her career, Andrea led marketing, communications and creative services operations at a number of companies, including Limelight Networks, Honeywell, Critical Path and Frontier Global Center.
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12 Reasons Why You Shouldn"t Deprive Yourself Of DUFL
