One of our elves at Charco brings you behind the scenes, to share with you what happened during the official launch of the CUE1! We hope you enjoy Ollie’s diary :).

Getting the CUE1 to you

Merry Christmas from all of us at Team Charco! As you may have seen on our Social Media pages, the CUE1 has been released to some of our community members, and we wanted to share with you all the process of launching the CUE1. It was our aim to bring it out in time for Christmas, as our gift to you. We hope you enjoy the story of how we pulled it all together to bring you the CUE1, as told by Ollie, one of Charco’s elves! 

Preparing for the big day

There were many last minute surprises and challenges that arose during the launch. Although the plan had initially been to bring as many people as we could to the office to prepare and then hand deliver the CUE1’s, the new measures brought in by the government threw a spanner in the works. We had to quickly pivot and decide on a plan that would fully comply with the new rules; as one Charco team member, Alex, put it, “We had been planning to hand-deliver every device, and had drawn up a whole day-by-day plan to achieve it. When the Covid situation suddenly worsened, we had to very quickly alter our plans to keep everyone safe, whilst also providing the best possible experience we could. It was quite a dramatic few days!” 

This sudden reshuffling meant that there were only a handful of people, including myself, left in the office, while the rest of our team worked tirelessly from home to make sure it all went smoothly. We were quickly dubbed “The Charco Elves”, a name that I hope sticks, as I’ve already planned to have some t-shirts made with this on. We were left to sort out the finishing touches to the launch of the CUE1, of which there were many; nevertheless, as with everything in life, things often don’t go as smoothly as planned. 

One crucial task that I was given was to secure fifty cardboard boxes to package the CUE1’s for delivery. The packages were to include a mug and handwritten note in every box along with the CUE1, and so exact measurements had to be taken with a 30cm ruler, the latest technology in precision measuring. Having figured out the dimensions of the boxes, I then phoned several UK cardboard packaging companies, in the hopes that we could have custom-made boxes ready for delivery the following day. This proved to be difficult, as most had a waiting time of two days, due to the Christmas rush: we weren’t the only ones with a hectic schedule! After ringing many manufacturers, I stumbled across a warehouse in rural Cambridgeshire, who were able to fulfil our order in time; they agreed to have all the boxes done to our dimensions for the following day, taking us one step closer to launching the CUE1 successfully.

There were several other tasks left to complete to ensure that the launch went smoothly. Among them were cutting ribbon in order to wrap our gifts with a bow on top (as is Christmas tradition), sorting out shipping that could deliver the packages in time, and rigorous quality checks. Each CUE1 was inspected to ensure it was up to the standard that Charco wants for our community, and was then charged so that our community members could begin enjoying their benefits from the very moment that they took their CUE1 out of the box. Though there was a lot to do, the Charco Elves worked efficiently; we all knew what needed to be completed in order to get the CUE1’s out on time, and we were happy to work hard in order to ensure that we could get them out to our community members for Christmas.

The cardboard box odyssey that consumed much of my time seemed to me the most important challenge to overcome during the run up to the launch, but as I sat cutting ribbons, far greater inconveniences came about. In a bizarre turn, we were, for a while, unsure where in the world the CUE1’s were. Varying reports came in, with some saying they were being shipped to Dubai, while others saying they were still in Hong Kong, being processed. Charco’s Elves, never a group to be deterred by trivial things such as the CUE1’s being on the other side of the planet, began to figure out how we could bring them to the UK in time; we looked up flight times to Dubai, Hong Kong, and Cologne (where the European logistics centre was), and how we could bring the devices back for the launch. Our plan was to send an Elf over and intercept the devices, to ensure they were ready to go without any delays. I spent a good deal of time on Google trying to understand UK customs laws, and how exactly we could bring the CUE1’s in by hand without having them confiscated, as that would have slightly ruined the Christmas spirit, as well as the launch. Luckily for us all, my terrible knowledge of import duties and legislation wasn’t needed. The next day, the CUE1’s arrived, which was a Christmas miracle worthy of Dickens himself. With all the shipping sorted and the boxes picked up, we were ready to begin the final stage of bringing the CUE1 to launch.

A Charco Christmas Journey

With all the CUE1’s having arrived, we got to work packing them, ready to be delivered to our community. One of the Charco Elves, selected for their excellent handwriting, wrote each of our community members a personal note, thanking them for their unwavering support, which was included in the package along with a mug and a stress ball as an extra Christmas gift. Though we were working against the clock, we were all in the Christmas spirit; packing boxes with gifts feels entirely natural at this time of the year! A few boxes were set aside from those that were to be delivered by the shipping company. These were to be given personally by the Charco Elves, having agreed with the recipient that they were comfortable with this beforehand. Though the pandemic had restricted us in what we were able to do, we still wanted to add a personal touch to the launch, and there was an undeniable excitement as we came close to the delivery. This was, after all, what Team Charco and our community had been working toward, and the fact that it was finally coming to fruition was extremely heart-warming. 

Some boxes went off to London, to be hand-delivered by one of our team, while others were loaded into our sleigh. The sleigh was, in reality, a hatchback car, but as we were delivering Christmas presents, it only seemed right to reimagine it slightly. Christmas cheer was in the air as we drove to our first delivery, and to the first lucky person to receive a CUE1. It wasn’t quite what we had envisioned before the pandemic, having to stand two metres away from them in gloves and masks, but seeing them receive their CUE1 and how grateful they were for it made the hectic days spent preparing for the launch more than worth it; they very kindly gave us a gift of some delicious Christmas biscuits in return, which made us truly feel like we were fulfilling our Christmas roles.

 It was a real privilege being able to give the first CUE1 out in person, and to be there at the beginning of something truly special. All too often, and with the remote nature of life at the moment, it’s easy to become detached and distracted from the reason behind Charco’s work. Meeting members of our community and being able to give them their devices was something that I felt incredibly grateful for, and I hope that when the pandemic improves (hopefully sooner, rather than later) we will be able to meet more members of the community.

The rest of the day and night went in a similar fashion. We drove in the Charco sleigh, heavily caffeinated and full of good cheer, to deliver another CUE1. This time we went to visit Emma Green, who has previously shared her story in her blog, which you can find here. It was dark by the time we arrived, and it took a fair few tries to find her; I imagine that if anyone had been looking out of their window, then the Charco Elves wandering around their street in confusion would have been an odd sight. Eventually, we found our way to her front door, where we were able to give Emma her CUE1. She gave us a gift back, in the form of some cookies and a bottle of wine, and once again we felt full of Christmas spirit. The kindness of our community is something that never ceases to delight and amaze me, and the gifts and thanks that we received seemed to me to be exactly what Christmas is all about.

The Curtain Call

The following day consisted mostly of administration and box packing, in an effort to wrap up the final parts of the launch. We made sure that everything was ready and correct, with those that were to be delivered by a shipping company properly labelled to ensure that no CUE1 was lost in transit, while the remaining CUE1’s that were to be delivered by hand were set to one side. When the delivery van arrived, we packed the final boxes in and waved goodbye. The launch had been achieved, with minimal panic and maximum caffeine, all in time for Christmas.

Almost as quickly as it had begun, the launch drew to a close. The remaining CUE1’s were delivered by some of the Charco Elves to ensure that they reached our community members before Christmas, marking the end of the launch, though not of Charco’s efforts to get CUE1’s to our community. This proved to be the Charco Elves’ final bow, as we were subsequently disbanded so that we could spend Christmas with our families; (still, I’m actively planning a reunion tour). Though it was a tiring few days, filled at times with hectic moments, it was incredibly rewarding. Being able to help get the first CUE1’s out was something that I’m massively grateful for, and seeing how happy it made those who received one in person was fantastic. For me, it reinforced how brilliant our community is, and I look forward to continuing to help our community members in any way that I can. It’s undoubtedly your support that has made Charco what it is, and I can’t wait to see where Charco goes next. Merry Christmas!

The Next Step

Thank you to everyone who has supported Charco; we couldn’t have done this without all of your unwavering support and encouragement. We at Team Charco will continue to work to bring CUE1’s out to our community, and hope that we can make 2022 an even more successful year than 2021. From all of us here at Team Charco, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thank you to everyone who has signed up to our waiting list; if you have not already done so, please click here to register your interest.