HOME SCREEN The app is user friendly and the various services are displayed on the home page. Selecting a service will display the location and prices of the twenty closest service providers
The HelpOut application (app) aims to connect users with service businesses in their area to enable fast access to services and ensure less travel for local artisans, says HelpOut founder and entrepreneur Francois Briers.
The app uses a device’s global positioning system location to display the 20 closest registered service, providers of the type of service a user needs, which currently includes all artisanal service providers, such as plumbers, electricians, builders, satellite television repairers and local taxi operators.
“The idea behind the app is to enable people to find the closest artisans quickly. Artisans typically spend up to 60% of their time driving between jobs, incurring significant costs to service customers. Additionally, clients often require a service provider as quickly as possible, a typical example being a burst pipe or geyser, making rapid sourcing of local services important.”
Service providers register on the application and submit their certificates of compliance to ensure that all service providers on the app are legal and capable businesses.
“The size of the business is not important. Small and large businesses have registered on our app, and we encourage businesses to do so during the trial period.”
The app is free to download and is currently available on Android and Apple operating systems. It is also easy to use. Users click on the service they require and the app lists the closest service providers, their rates and contact details, explains Briers.
The HelpOut app is currently in a trial phase until the end of January next year, and artisans can register free on the app until then.
“Early next year, we are going to include a review mechanism so that users can rate the service providers. We are currently testing the app and demand for the app, and we encourage users to download it to test whether it shows any service providers in their areas.”
Briers believes that there is significant potential for the app to influence the use and costs of local service providers.
“The costs to the service providers will be lower because they will be providing services to local customers more often. And, since users can see all the rates charged by service providers in their area, service providers should begin to charge lower rates to draw local business, and this will help to reduce prices of these services naturally.”
The HelpOut app also allows users to pay service providers directly over the app using their credit card. This function conforms with the South African regulations governing credit card payments and online transactions, specifically 3 D Secure requirements, including a one-off password to confirm and authorise payments.
“Our main aim is to make sourcing local services easy. As use of the app grows, sourcing local service providers will become even easier and quicker.”
Meanwhile, the HelpOut app also displays general retail specials on its ‘digital billboard’ page, where retailers in the area can provide daily specials for users in the area. Users have to activate the special to be able to receive it, and only the closest 20 registered retail stores will display their specials.
“In a dense retail environment, such as a mall, it will display only the specials from the 20 closest shops, but this does mean that you can see the specials while walking through the mall; you don’t need to go into every shop,” he concludes.