Jessica Haynes and Barry Connelly

“Hello Mr. Handyman, I have a problem,” Jessica Haynes says to a bearded actor wearing an empty tool belt. All of the plugs are loose in her kitchen sockets, she tells him, and they keep falling out. The handyman says he has just what she needs for the snug fit she’s looking for – the Socket Saver.

Get your minds out of the gutter. This is not that kind of a video.

What this is is a YouTube video promoting a simple invention by a Monterey County couple to solve the problem of electrical plugs falling out of old wall sockets.

On a display table in their living room above Highway 68, Haynes and her husband Barry Connelly present their patents, three in all, and a small square of sheetrock standing vertically with a typical household electrical socket in the middle. Also on the table, in red, white and blue packaging, is their trademarked invention, the Socket Saver.

Socket Savers are small white plastic shims that slide into electrical sockets, creating a snug fit in loose outlets.

After creating the original prototype in 1999, the couple didn’t start marketing the Socket Saver until 2013. They’re available online, on Amazon and in a few dozen Ace Hardware stores in Northern California.

The Socket Saver works. Living in an older apartment in Monterey I’ve found my plugs for my electronics never wanted to stay in the wall, especially the hefty adapter for my MacBook Pro. I tried out the Socket Savers I received in a sample package, typically $9.95 for 10. Now my music doesn’t stop playing if I accidentally graze the speaker wire.

Weekly: How did you come up with it?

Connelly: We were living in an old house in Carmel Valley in the late 1990s. Plugs for the vacuum and other appliances never stayed in. Jessica would have to hold the plug in the wall with one hand as she held the hair dryer in the other. I thought there must be a simple solution, but I couldn’t find one, so I went to the garage and started to tinker. I took a child safety socket protector and modified it with an exacto knife. It didn’t take long to finish a prototype.

That was almost two decades ago. What did you do from there?

Connelly: First thing I did was to get a patent pending in 2000 so no one could steal the idea. We hired a patent lawyer who thought the idea was taken. Typically something this simple has already been thought of.

Haynes: We were surprised and very excited that the patent went through. I always say if you have a good idea, don’t tell anyone.

Why did it take 16 years to bring it to market?

Connelly: I was still flying private jets full-time. We continued to develop the product over the years, but we didn’t go all in until I started flying part-time.

The box says Made In USA. Where does production take place?

Connelly: The Socket Savers are made by Santa Maria Mold & Container in Santa Barbara County. The packaging is made in the Midwest. We have it all shipped here and we assemble the packaging and ship it out to order. We can do about one package of 10 in a minute.

What does the future have in store for Socket Savers?

Connelly: We’re still waiting for the first big hit. We’re in Ace Hardware and we’re close to getting Socket Savers carried in a few True Value hardware stores. Next we’d love to get into their catalogues so stores around the county will see our product. From there, we’ll start pitching Orchard Supply and Home Depot. Then, who knows, we’ll try to get in Costco. We’d have to move beyond assembling the packaging by hand for that.

Haynes: A representative with As Seen on TV has expressed interest. I would love to market our product that way.