Phone Sitters Club
We used to hire babysitters to watch our kids.
We still do that.
We used to leave them alone for the whole night and have a good time and not worry.
We don't do that much anymore.
I hate cell phones. I really do. For me, the downsides outweigh the good.
But that has nothing to do with this. That is only a distraction.
Speaking of distractions - having friends stare at their cell phones when we're supposed to be out having a good time.
You say "Hey, I want to be with you...can't you put that away" and they are all like "It's the sitter, its the job, its a video of a macaque riding a lemur".
We have this ZONE of GREY - where we need our phones to fee safe and connected, but we also allow our phones to disconnect us from the situations we are actually in.
This is where the Phone Sitters Club comes in.
Sure, we hold your phone, but its a service larger than that.
With each phone intake, we ask a series of questions about which texts and calls to allow us to interfere with your night and which we can safely ignore.
We produce HOURLY reports of each device activity that is printed and handed to each device owner. They will then have the opportunity to access their phones to "check in". Check-in frequency can be set by the party, and anytime a person wants or needs their phone they can have it in minutes.
You would be amazed at how much fun a dinner or party or event can be when no one is using a device.
Pricing can be worked out, but I'm thinking around $15/hr per device with a 3 device 2 hour minimum. If Locations move (bar hopping, dinner then a movie...) there is a moving fee, but otherwise the night can continue unaffected.
Device Holders would be fully vetted and insured. They would likely be 1099 contractors. The Phone Sitters Club could be a web-based tool that deals with all of the logistics above, including booking scheduling billing reviews for a fee.