The Uber-style booking and rating system could soon make it’s way into the services industry, according to experts, and tradies may be some of the first to benefit.
Source: https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/melbourne-vic/uberstyle-tradies-could-be-the-future-new-survey-suggests/news-story/3422bfe3c70c7d1237ef41eab5389c91
Uber-style tradies tracked by GPS, rated by reviews from past customers, and booked and paid for through a smartphone app are on the wishlists of Australian households.
A new survey by online tradie marketplace Hipages has revealed half of those hiring tradespeople would like to see them tracked by GPS.
And while it’s not on their “road map” right now, it’s almost inevitable the technology will find its way into the industry, according to chief customer officer Stuart Tucker.
“It’s only a matter of time until customers will look for that type of convenience that it offers, and our research supports that,” Mr Tucker said.
A survey of more than 500 people as well as industry research, revealed in a Hipages On-Demand Tradie Economy report, found more than 50 per cent of consumers believed a more streamlined process to organising a tradie would change the industry within five years.
This would be welcome news to Melbourne home renovators, whose numbers have surged in the face of soaring property prices in recent years.
And they could be a step closer with a new partnership between Hipages and Bunnings set to put fixed-price installations for toilets through to ceiling fans at customers’ fingertips.
The system puts a registered local plumber in touch to arrange installation before the buyer has left the store.
Mr Tucker said while it was a step away from the traditional word-of-mouth method of finding a tradie, it was finding favour as a time saver.
Brooks Plumbing Melbourne business owner Cameron Brooks was among the first to start responding to jobs booked through Bunnings and said most of them were snapped in less than a minute.
He said he’d be open to a more Uber-style tradesperson industry, even GPS tracking.
“It would need a few restrictions,” Mr Brooks said.
“But sometimes you are stuck in traffic and they (customers) could see you are on your way. It’d be like Uber, so I’d be all right with that.
“The more people had access to things like that, the more people (tradies) would do the right thing.”
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