My Gal Friday

I’ve been dreading this review for a while. I asked myself whether I should write anything at all. You see, My Gal Friday was, in the beginning, the answer to my prayers. After several duds and bad experiences with other assistants, I felt MGF had descended from the sky to save my disorganized life. And they did… for a time.
For the first couple of months, everything ran like clockwork. We had a regular schedule and things were getting done. We have a busy household and are still moving in, purging, and organizing. It’s a lot of work and I needed help.
I was assigned Kimi who is a delight and a joy to be around. Personality-​wise, she’s a peach. In the beginning, she was on the money and I don’t blame her in the slightest for how things went down.
Slowly, but surely, everything changed. My regular day started getting shifted around or skipped entirely. After several weeks of confusion, Caitlin, the owner of the company, confessed she was getting married in a couple weeks and would need to assign Kimi more responsibility. We went from Mondays to Tuesdays to Wednesdays to not at all. I sent a handful of email detailing things we needed done and they went entirely unanswered. I had no idea what was going on. When my family and I travelled out of state for the Summer, I asked MGF to take care of my cats. At first, I was told they could, but then a few days before we left, I was told they could only do a few days — two days before we left! So I just hired someone else for the full week. See Viva Pets.
After our trip, I didn’t hear from MGF at all. It was like they disappeared. Finally, Caitlin called and said that after her wedding, she was hospitalized for a short time and that she wanted to pick back up where we left off. She next sent an email that said Kimi had undergone an extended illness. So who was it? Both of you? At the same time? What are the odds?
I’m a wedding photographer and I recently got married myself. I know how hard planning a wedding is. I’m also a business owner. Believe me, it’s a major juggling act. Running a wedding and a business can make you certifiable, but as a personal assistant, someone who is supposed to organize people’s lives… shouldn’t you be able to handle both? Shouldn’t that be in your DNA? Isn’t this what you live for? Caitlin was clearly unable to handle both and I believe she let things get out of hand. Furthermore, when I sent her the very understanding «It’s OK, do what you gotta do and let’s pick back up after the honeymoon» email, I got no reply. Not a peep.
I might still be a client if I’d gotten a head’s up months ago; if there was ANY form of communication at all. I’ve been there and I even said so. Regardless, my needs and pleas fell on deaf ears and went largely ignored.
AND FINALLY! Kimi was given a key to our house… which she said she lost during her move. Lost my key? My house key? Don’t you have a secret, special place for these things? When I asked about it weeks later, she responded that she’d had it the whole time and asked if I wanted it shipped. Yes. Please ship me my key. That was weeks ago. No key yet. As a result, MGF is costing me several hundred dollars in lock changing fees. That’s the real pisser. As if things weren’t bad enough, losing my house key was the final straw.
It’s a shame I can’t recommend this once great service. In the beginning, I was very hopeful for a long relationship with My Gal Friday, but they proved their priorities were not on their clients.

I had to organize a work event last week and last minute we had a catering change. As I couldn’t leave the office, I called up My Gal Friday crossing my fingers that someone was available. Not only was Caitlin able to go to Whole Foods in WeHo and pick up my order but she had it to my office in Koreatown in record time. I’ll definitely be using MGF again… total lifesaver!