Once-in-a-Lifetime Dreams for Sale
As Valentine’s Day approached, John Alexander was busier than a one-armed chocolate dipper.
He had helicopters to dispatch, champagne to order, red carpets to roll out.
Founder and head of Alexander & Associates/Dreams Come True, the 35-year-old West Hollywood resident is in the wish-fulfillment business. He packages first-cabin dreams for private clients and for corporations that want to reward valued employees with something more memorable than a gold watch.
Alexander’s company, whose offices are in Los Feliz, executes romantic, exciting and “wonderful things to make wonderful impressions.” On the eve of Valentine’s Day and again on the holiday itself, he had arranged for elegant evenings on the town for two different clients who planned to propose with a flourish to unsuspecting girlfriends during helicopter rides over the glimmering city. It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment the couples could tell their grandchildren about--and the sort of thing Alexander does all the time.
Alexander has 35 prearranged offerings that run the gamut from making pizza at Spago with Wolfgang Puck for $1,995 to blowing up a building (he arranges customized experiences as well). “These are not stock, boring, horrible things,” Alexander assured. He said he and his staff personalize each event so “this is a dream come true, not a Greyhound tour.” Because most of the details have already been worked out, prearranged events are relatively inexpensive and can be scheduled on a moment’s notice, he said.
For instance, a client can blow up a building for $7,495 and up. The client spends a weekend as part of a high-rise demolition team. On Saturday the client helps plant the dynamite that will cause a condemned building to implode, Alexander said. “And on Sunday you’re the person who pushes the plunger while it is captured on videotape.” The cost includes hotel and souvenir videotape.
Because Alexander doesn’t think dreams should be interrupted by such mundane concerns as the location of the nearest automatic teller machine, his fees include all costs, including tips. “The whole idea is that when someone is doing something, they don’t have to pull a penny out of their pocket. They only have one job. That job is to enjoy.”
Alexander describes his typical client as someone “who thinks life is no dress rehearsal. People love to play, especially in L.A. and especially on the Westside.” He won’t say how many of each prearranged package he sells each year. Predictably, the biggest sellers are the less expensive experiences such as gourmet breakfast in bed ($195 a couple) and VIP treatment at the restaurant of the client’s choice. The latter, which costs $95 per person, includes schmoozing with the chef, Alexander said.
The most expensive prearranged option is flying in a fighter jet a la “Top Gun.” People who have paid $10,000 to have that particular dream come true include a physician whom Alexander dubbed Top Doc. Other four-figure items include piloting a 747 via a state-of-the-art jet simulator ($1,345) and throwing a dinner party on a private jet ($3,500 and up).
Customized experiences start at $1,000. Alexander said the firm will consider almost any request that isn’t illegal or immoral, or doesn’t require an act of God. The company does not arrange for meetings with celebrities, however, and it doesn’t get people dates. In describing his profession, Alexander never, never describes himself as a fantasy merchant. The staff refers to fantasy “as the ‘f’ word” because its sexual connotations invariably elicit bizarre requests. When Playboy magazine mentioned the firm, he said, “people wrote letters and signed their names to requests you wouldn’t believe.”
Alexander has arranged for private clients to ride in submarines, play in a jazz band, be a zookeeper for a day and go to the Academy Awards presentation and the Governor’s Ball afterward. The experience for the twin brothers who wanted to play in a jazz band included posters with their pictures on them. “If we can’t make it unique,” Alexander said, “it’s just another party. We all go to fabulous parties, but we don’t go to many dreams come true.”
One staple feature of the experiences is luxury transportation. The firm sometimes uses a bus with a teak and leather interior and a full bath, including tub. The company also uses limousines that “are not long taxis,” Alexander said. “The chauffeur is a professional, not a starving actor.” If a client dribbles caviar on his tie en route, the driver can supply him with another one. Pantyhose are also on board, as are condoms.
Although many of the company’s rent-a-dreams involve fast cars, yachts and planes, Alexander eschews gliders and hot-air balloons. “We have never found a provider we could be proud of,” he said.
Alexander has been able to fulfill a number of his own wishes in the course of doing test runs of new experiences. For instance, he has brought down a building. But he still has two dreams that have yet to come true: riding in a private jet and taking the Concorde.
When Alexander, who formerly marketed medical products, started the business in 1984, most of his clients were individuals. Now, he said, most are companies that use his offerings as incentives or rewards for employees. The firm’s growing sensitivity to corporate culture is reflected in its addition of the businesslike Alexander & Associates to the front of its name.
In pitching his services to Pacific Bell, MCA-Universal and other corporate clients, Alexander argues that a personalized dream experience is a better carrot or motivator than a mass-produced microwave oven or even cash. The right employee will be blown away by the chance to blow up a building, he says. “The best way to motivate someone is to give them what they want. They, in turn, will want to give more.”
Real estate agents are good customers, he said. They give his preplanned offerings as housewarming gifts to their clients, hoping the new homeowners will mention to their friends the clever gift and the agent who gave it. A helicopter ride over the new house for picture-taking is popular, as is a gourmet house-cleaning-cum-bouquet. Agents who sell estates usually opt for bigger-ticket items, he said.
Corporate clients also ask for customized experiences. One cabinetmaking firm honored a retiring employee who was fascinated by Howard Hughes’ wooden behemoth, the Spruce Goose, with a VIP tour of the plane conducted by one of the men who helped build it.
“The company wanted to say how much they appreciated him,” Alexander said. “They wanted to give him a reward he would remember for the rest of his life. I think he’s still surprised.”
