Concierge service Just Call Joni celebrates two years of serving Ohio State community

Lily Shriber
Wed, 06 Nov 2024 02:13:58 +0000
Arts & Life, Instagram Page, News, airport drop-offs, airport pick-ups, Buckeyes, cmh, Columbus, Columbus airport, columbus business, Columbus Ohio, Concierge, concierge service, election day, Joni, Joni Mosby, Just Call Joni, laundry, local business, Ohio, ohio state, Ohio State Buckeyes, Ohio State parents, Ohio State student service, Ohio State students, parents, small business, thanksgiving, the ohio state university, transportation service, voting

Custom-made cupcakes made by Joni Mosby for Ohio State students as a part of Just Call Joni concierge service. Credit: Courtesy of Joni Mosby

For students seeking help with nearly any errand imaginable, just call Joni Mosby.?

Mosby, owner of Just Call Joni, a concierge service dedicated to serving Ohio State students, has spent the past two years doing everything from students’ laundry to airport pick-ups and drop-offs.?

Mosby said students and parents in need of a service can find her phone number and email on her website and Facebook page. From there, the parent and student — both of whom must be involved in order to receive the requested service — are added to a group text with Mosby in order to arrange the request.?

Mosby said she started the business in October 2022 as a way to safely transport Ohio State’s female students to and from the airport and/or doctor’s appointments. She said she noticed a need to provide a safer experience for female students, and thought, “I could just do it myself.”?

Since then, Mosby said she has seen the business take off, starting with a mere 20 clients and now serving nearly 300 students of all genders. She said the business has also expanded to include help from her assistant Michaela McCreavy, along with Ohio State students who help during busier weeks, like move-in and move-out weeks.?

“I think the first year, for Thanksgiving, we [served] about 36 kids, and last year, we did probably about 130 kids to and from the airport for Thanksgiving,” Mosby said.?

Mosby said in 2023, she also expanded the offered services to include support with moving and storage for out-of-state students — another need she observed within the Ohio State community.??

“We pack your stuff for you, put it in a moving truck, take it, store it for the summer and wherever you move next year, we [will] bring it to you,” Mosby said.?

Mosby said this “see a need, add a service” attitude has stayed with her throughout the past two years, leading her to offer almost every service a college student could hope for, including help with laundry, transportation, grocery shopping, custom birthday cakes and gift and food basket deliveries.

Joni Mosby, owner of student concierge service Just Call Joni. Credit: Courtesy of Joni Mosby

“You can tell how much the parents really care about their kids and that it’s such a relief to the parents to know that there’s an adult checking on their kid, driving their kid and delivering a special gift to their student,” Mosby said.

Mosby said unlike other delivery and transportation services such as DoorDash and Uber, Just Call Joni provides a more loving and motherly approach. The goal, she said, is to take care of her clients as if they were her own children.?

“I got a text very early about a mom that was very distraught about her daughter who had been through a breakup just last night and was up most of the night very upset,” Mosby said. “So, I was able to put together a really nice gift for her and deliver it to her, and the mom got so much peace from that.”?

Illana Margolis, mother of a second-year Ohio State student, said Mosby shopped for groceries for her daughter when she was sick — a simple task that she said brought her so much relief as a worried parent.?

“She was always amazing to my daughter and, for a mom, it was nice to have another mom there looking out for [my] kid,” Margolis said. “I felt like she was happy to really do anything for us, which has been so nice.”?

Darryl Reichbart, mother of a first-year Ohio State student, said it is Mosby’s willingness to help, especially in emergency situations, that led her to trust Mosby with her son.??

“He’s already had to go to the emergency room twice because of a swollen tonsil,” Reichbart said. “It was [Mosby] on the spot, there in a second.”?

Reichbart, an Orlando, Florida, resident, said it is a relief knowing there is someone like Mosby around to help care for her son because she lives so far away from campus.?

“She has been a godsend,” Reichbart said. “She is like a second mom.”?

Mosby said in recent weeks, she has also been helping students who are voting. She said one particular mother was having trouble helping her daughter send in her mail-in ballot, which led her to ask Mosby —?who hand-delivered the ballot? —?for help.?

Mosby said another student realized she didn’t have the correct ID, which led the student’s mother to reach out to Mosby, asking her if she could overnight ship her child’s ID and passport to her and have them brought to her dormitory, to which Mosby said she was happy to help.?

“As soon as the FedEx dropped it off, I put it in my car and drove down to campus, and within an hour or two, it was in her hands,” Mosby said.?

Mosby said as the needs of students continue to expand, so will her services.

“It just continues to grow,” Mosby said. “As I see a need, I just continue to add services and sort of organically let the business grow, and so far so good.”?

For more information about Just Call Joni, including arranging a service, visit the business’ website or Facebook page.