Why Our Customers Are Our Heroes

Anyone will tell you 2020 was transformative—a year of challenges and growth. It was also a year where everyday people became everyday heroes, reinventing routines and special occasions, finding imaginative ways to stay connected, or stepping up to help one another feel less alone. And our customers were no exception. As the saying goes, “When life throws you lemons, make lemonade.” And they took “making lemonade” to a whole new level.

Most awe-inspiring was how they rose to the occasion using our Pods to stay safe, save lives, bring joy to others, and keep spirits up. Here are just a few examples of their determination, ingenuity and creativity that inspired us in 2020.

Our products help solve problems, so right away we knew we could use our patented designs to develop COVID-19 Pods, like the IntubationPod™ and MediPod™, to help protect first responders, healthcare workers and essential employees on the frontline. In fact, the MediPod™ drew so many inquiries from teachers, restaurant workers and others headed back to the workplace, we answered the call once again. The MediPod™ was reimagined and the ShieldPod™ became a reality thanks to inspiration from our customers. We think of them as social-distancing warriors.

The pandemic spurred lots of hashtags, memes and challenges on social media about social distancing and preventative measures. #SafesHandsChallenge, #TogetherAtHome, #StayHomeStaySafe and #QuarantineAndChill, to name a few, aimed at “flattening the curve.” They also helped keep us connected and uplifted as we did our part to self-isolate or quarantine during lockdowns. Over the summer, Ms. Theresa Smythe was featured in a New York Post article when she took a different approach to social distancing, literally and figuratively, taking social hour to the streets by hosting block-, or should we say, Pod parties. Family and friends could be together yet still remain socially distant. Genius!

As people started climbing the walls, many of us took to the streets, parks and beaches to break the monotony or take five from too much togetherness. Others had to figure out how to engage with the public safely. Hmmmm, if only they could surround themselves in a bubble of some kind. Yep, you called it. The light went on and soon those kooky “you-couldn’t-pay-me-enough-money-to-wear-that” Pods, servers were wearing at your favorite drive-through, became the “I-gotta-get-me-one-of-those” Pods. But don’t just take our word for it! Here are some of our favorite posts and tweets!

Trend-setters, go-getters, inventive and crafty (as in “arts and crafty” clever). These are the words that best describe our customers. Every time we think we’ve covered every possible use for our Pods—we can count on them to keep things real. 2020 was no different, and thank goodness. Families brought along a Pod to make sure grandparents got in on the fun and didn’t miss out on special occasions. Teachers attending classes turned their personal bubbles into a tinseled version of a holiday sweater. Santa reimagined his workshop so children could pass him their wish list in person. He even replaced his sleigh with a Pod so he could safely deliver gifts in a drive-by parade. And talk about crafty, whether you stayed inside or headed out on Halloween, you may have run into a monster treat. Who would have thought a MyPod™ made for a great fuzzy one-eyed Monster treat stand?

We can wait to see how you’ll top this in 2021 and stay tuned, because we also have a few surprises up our sleeve. Spring and summer are just around the corner so get those Pods ready for anything and anywhere life takes you.