We are proud to announce that RunMyErrand has welcomed nearly 40 new Runners to our community. For Senders, this means the chances of your errand getting picked up quickly are even higher. For Runners, this means you’ve joined an awesome community of neighbors helping neighbors and making some extra money in your free time. It’s a win-win for everyone!

So you’ve been approved and you are now scouring the boards looking for great errands to run. Here are some important tips to keep in mind as you work your way toward becoming a 5 Star Runner.

THE TOP 5 TIPS ON BECOMING A 5 STAR RUNNER

5. Be Polite and Personable. The first thing we hear from Senders regarding our 5 Star Runners is he/she was just so NICE! Senders have never met you before and it makes everything just a little easier and more comfortable when you show up on their doorstep with a smile and a handshake.

4. Be Punctual. Seems like a no brainer, right? But being on time is vital to running many of these errands and Senders want a Runner they can depend on. Then by the time we add in the “choose your favorite Runner to run this errand” function, you’ll have hordes of Senders who had a great experience with you and you’ll be more popular than oxygen.

3. Communication is Key. Before you jump in the car/T/on your bike to run that errand, reach out to your Sender and collect all pertinent information from them. Get a contact number, time, place and complete description of what needs to be done. No one will penalize you for asking too many questions, but not gathering all of the necessary info about an errand will nearly always lead to roadblocks. Be thorough.

2. If the errand don’t fit, don’t accept it. If you are not absolutely, 100%, without a doubt certain that you can run this errand, do NOT bid on it. We understand that things happen and in the case of extenuating circumstances sometimes a Runner can’t run an errand they have been approved for. However, this is a tedious process on our end to get errands and Runners switched around and Senders often get frustrated when this happens. So in the spirit of keeping things simple and running smoothly for all parties, please don’t accept an errand unless you are certain you can handle that errand.

1. Stay Connected! We give the Runners three different ways to stay connected with up to the second errand postings. You can check the RunMyErrand.com site for errand listings, you can sign up to have a text message sent to your phone with errand listing updates or you can follow us on Twitter @RMERunners. We also post fun updates and news about the website @RunMyErrand and of course we have a cool Facebook Fan Page where we post our favorite errands and success stories. If you run a great errand, you’ll be featured on the Facebook page! We also announce all of our contests and winners here, so fan us today!

And of course if you need help along the way I am here to help! I’m just a live chat or an email away should you have questions.

Amanda@RunMyErrand.com HAPPY RUNNING!

Existing Runners, We LOVE you! It’s high time we held a party in your honor!

Celebrate good times. Come on!

Runner Applicants! You applied to be a Runner with RunMyErrand and the wait is over! Come party with RunMyErrand and get set up as a new Runner on the spot!

RunMyErrand is now accepting new Runners and we are rolling out the green carpet for all of our Runners!

On Thursday March 4^th from 5-7pm RunMyErrand will be hosting a Runner Rally Party! Come eat, drink and make merry with us as we sign up new Runners, hang out with our tried and true Runners and eat cupcakes!

There will be Swag Bags and a Raffle!

There will be food and merriment!

Come meet the faces behind RunMyErrand and ask all the questions you like!

Our Chief Inspiration Officer, Kobe, will be joining us as a representative from the puppy community. Also on hand will be Leah Busque, Founder and President of RunMyErrand, and Amanda Connor, Community Manager of RunMyErrand.

Come party with us and take 5 minutes to get set up as a new Runner. No waiting!

Please RSVP to Amanda@RunMyErrand.com. We look forward to getting jiggy with you!

Where: 2 Canal Park (right next to Cambridgeside Galleria Mall) – 5th Floor

A. More time in your day to spend with your family.

Save time, spend it with your family!

RunMyErrand can save you time in a million different ways. Here are some ideas:

4. PARTY PLANNING - Let an RME Party Planner plan your child’s next birthday party, bar/bat miztvah or any fun event. We have loads of party planners on board who are ready to help. Try using us for a birthday party or sleepover (we’ll do the invites, food prep, even transportation.)

3. NUTRITIONAL MEAL PLANNING – You’ve got so much to do, meal planning is tough!  Let a Runner do your grocery shopping & make smart nutritional choices based on your specifications.  THEN, have your Runner create a custom menu for your family for the week! No more running around.  We’ll do that for you & deliver wholesome food right to your door!

2. TRANSPORTATION – How much time do you spend shuttling the kids around? Our Runners are background and safety checked and many are parents themselves! Why not hire a Runner to take Timmy and Susie to piano practice, soccer practice and tutoring twice a week so you can enjoy a little down time?

1. DAILY TO-DO’s – Pick up the dry cleaning, take the dog to the vet, return those shirts to the mall, buy diapers, drop off the donations and take the car in for an oil change. What do these chores have in common? They all take lots of time!  So why not give your to-do list to an expert Runner while you enjoy down time with your family?

RunMyErrand is so easy to use. Just sign in, post your errand and put your feet up while someone else handles the chores! It’s as easy as pie (that you and the kids baked together and took pictures of to send to the grandparents!)

Happy Almost Valentine’s Day to all!

Making new friends is fun!

Did you visit our Cupid Street Team yesterday?

We held our RunMyErrand Street Team event yesterday at Downtown Crossing with Zipcar and The Boston Ballet and are thrilled to announce that of the hundreds of entries we received, we randomly picked 4 winners to receive our Hotel Chocolat Taste of Winter Gift Box and our Grand Prize Winner who will receive a $200 Chocolate Tasting at Aroa Fine Chocolate in the South End of Boston.

Our Hotel Chocolat WINNERS are:

Mike Testa

Natalie Sunakaura

Jennifer Rogers

Rosemarie Boardman

And our GRAND PRIZE Aroa Fine Chocolate Tasting winner is:

Alexis Katramados

Congratulations to everyone who found our Cupids at Downtown Crossing! Each person who found us received a FREE ERRAND and a box of SweetTarts to keep or to share with their sweetheart. <3

Don’t forget, it’s not too late to hire one of our 200+ Cupids to deliver some Valentine’s Day love to your Shmoopy! Have you checked out all of the AWESOME Valentine’s Day Specials we are running?

Dog Food Delivery From RunMyErrand!

RME is very excited to announce that we will now be offering a Pet Food Delivery Program through Polka Dog Bakery (located in Jamaica Plain and in the South End.) Now you can have your pet food delivered directly to your door at regular weekly or monthly intervals for just $10!

So say your household pets are the following:

Fifi Von Fluffystuff (cat)

Genevive (Yellow Lab)

and Cuchi-Cuchi (mini Dachshund.)

Let’s say that you are a busy individual who is far too busy playing with said pets and watching the Puppy Bowl to leave the house to take the T across town, in the snow, uphill BOTH WAYS, to pick up nom-noms and LARGE bags of food for said pets. Having to do all of this every 2 weeks is, as the French say, LAME.

Let us do the heavy lifting! Simply fill out an order slip (available at Polka Dog Locations, stop in or call). Fill in the types of dog food Genevive likes, the exact cat food and cat litter Fifi loves and the little extras that Cuchi-Cuchi enjoys (chewie nom-noms). Then tell us how often you want this delivered and POOF! An RME Runner will deliver everything right to your door every week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks or 6 weeks, depending on how much Cuchi-Cuchi eats.

Your credit card is kept on file and delivery is only $10. Orders over $75 get 10% off of their entire order.

Polka Dog Bakery offers loads of brands of dog and cat food, such as Solid Gold, Nutro and Wellness, as well as cat litter, dog treats and waste bags. Don’t miss out on time that could better be spent at the puppy park. We’ll handle this chore for you.

Raise your paw if you like this idea!

Don’t worry. I’m going to address this from both angles.

Let us be your Cupid!

For the Valentine’s Day lovers among us, I’ll post the Top 5 Valentine’s Day Errand Ideas for your significant Shmoopy.

Tomorrow’s blog post will feature ideas for the Anti-Valentine’s Day sentiment that is alive and well out there. I’ll be posting the Top 5 Ways To Treat Yourself.

Top 5 Valentine Gift Ideas from RunMyErrand for Valentine’s Day Lovers:

5. Hire a Runner to pick up a selection of desserts from the top local Boston bakeries for your hunny. Might we recommend a Cherry Crumb Tart from Petsi Pies in Somerville/Cambridge, a few Red Velvet cupcakes from KickAss Cupcakes in Davis Sq., and a few mini Boston cream pies and mini Tiramisu from Finale in Harvard Square.

Cost – approximately $30.

Taste Level – Extremely High.

4. Set up a Chocolate Tasting at Aroa Fine Chocolates in the South End. Aroa Chocolatiers will walk you and your Shmoopy through an exquisite tasting of a variety of various truffles, Pate de Fruits and Caramels. Chocolate IS an aphrodisiac, you know.

Cost – $10.

Taste Level – Exceptional.

3. Hire a Runner to pick up and deliver a bunch of gorgeous flowers from Central Square Florist. Perhaps your Runner will also help you compose a beautiful love sonnet a la Cyrano de Bergerac? Use the promo code ValDay2 for $5 off your delivery. Might we suggest a nice bunch of Cala Lillies for your Shmoopy? Why Cala Lillies? Because I like them. That’s why.

Cost – $55.

Taste Level – Personalized and Memorable.

2. Hire a Runner to cook a fine dinner for you and Shmoopy. Put your feet up and relax! Let a Runner pamper you! We have loads of culinary experts at the ready who will create an exquisite menu from organic and local ingredients, like duck,  purchased at Whole Foods. What would you like prepared? How about a warm goat cheese salad with pears and walnuts, a delicate Rack of Lamb with Herbs de Provence, and an indulgent Venezuelan chocolate mousse with mint. How can you say no to that?

Cost – $150.

Taste Level – Major Yum.

1. Have a Runner put together a sexy mixtape for your Shmoopy. NOTHING says endless love like a mixtape featuring the likes of Milli Vanilli, Air Supply, ABBA and Styx.

Cost: Some would say $7-$10. I would say “priceless.”

Taste Level: Dubious at best.

Use promo code ValDayRME first time users for $15 off your first errand! And feel free to take all the credit for that mixtape idea.

Last week, I caught up with Founding Runner Michael U, who was gracious enough to fill me in on what got him started working with RME.

He joined the site because he moseyed on over to runmyerrand.com and was impressed by Leah’s idea and wanted to help get this ’small business’ of sorts going. As a professional with an IT and legal background, Mike has worked with a handful of small companies and businesses, and was interested and excited to join another start up effort.

We reminisced about favorite errands, crazy errands we’ve run, and even crazier ones that we were surprised anyone ran at all…all the while, connecting because our common link is that we run errands for RME when we have the chance, and we’re truly enjoying making things easier for people in our community.

Mike also had some awesome suggestions on how RME can further develop this site to become more of a web community. As we continue to grow(psst! calling all developers!), one of his ideas was to allow runners to include skills or job types in their profile, so that errand senders can “Select a runner” based on their strengths.

Mike himself would specialize in computer-related errands, such as document formatting, HR/Payroll-related jobs, and quick deliveries; he shares a car with his girlfriend, but during specific day parts, he would be able to get items where they need to go, fast.

So, if you need any of the above, you can add Mike as a favorite runner by clicking here!

Stay tuned to learn more about our errand running team, and as these fall days find us busy with work or too tired to cook when we get home, remember that we can help by running those errands you just don’t have time to get to!

Cheers,

allison r.