Ever wish you could talk to someone more experienced about your problems, or have them prepare you a delicious home-cooked meal? Well, that’s what Japan’s OK Grandma service is for!
Client Services is a Japanese company that specializes in a wide variety of convenience services, from cleaning and housing services to childcare and pet-sitting services. However, it’s their unique services that really get people talking about them. These guys can have someone attend events on your behalf, apologize on your behalf, and even quit your job so you don’t have to deal with the awkwardness of the situation. One of their most popular offerings is the OK Grandma service, which allows anyone to rent a female senior between the ages of 60 and 94 for a base fee of 3,300 yen per hour.
Photo: Client Services
OK Grandma, aka OK Oppa-Chan, was launched in 2012, two years after the founding of Client Services, and it’s still one of the company’s most popular services. The more than 100 seniors employed by Client Services have rich life experiences and passions, and believe that they still have a lot to contribute to society, from interpersonal skills to cooking or simply offering company to someone in need.
“The merit of age is the ability to remain unfazed by small things,” the OK Grandma official page reads. “Their consideration for those who need it most, and while they may lack the physical strength and agility of their younger counterparts, their housework and child-rearing skills honed over years of being a housewife, their communication skills honed through relationships with neighbors and relatives, their rich life experience having endured the good and the bad, and their friendly, warm presence are all irreplaceable strengths.”
Photo: ANN News
With so many grandmothers to choose from, clients need only specify their needs, and Client Services will provide them with the right candidate. Some Japanese grannies are veritable chefs when it comes to traditional recipes, others are expert house cleaners or babysitters, and some have beautiful handwriting. But you don’t need to have a special skill to be a good fit for OK Grandma. If you have the patience to listen and offer advice in matters of the heart or give younger people a more experienced perspective, you have plenty of value.
“I want to break up with my boyfriend, but I can’t tell him clearly, so I want my grandmother to come with me,” one OK Grandma client said.
Photo: ANN News
“I don’t have enough relatives for my wedding, so I want you to attend as a family member,” another person motivated their choice to rent a grandma.
To rent a grandmother, clients have to pay the 3,300 yen ($23) base fee, plus any transportation fees, and are responsible for the granny’s necessary expenses during the time they spend together.
Photo: ANN News
Japan is no stranger to unusual people-renting services. In the past, we featured Ossan Rental, a service that let anyone rent a ‘middle-aged guy’, Debucari, a service that rented out fat people by the hour, and Wakaresaseya, a service designed to ruin people’s romantic relationships, be they marriages or affairs, for a fee.
