This app is bringing on-demand home repair to Cape Town

There’s not much you can’t get on-demand these days: taxis, take-out, flowers and now — thanks to freshly launched app — home repairs.

Called getTOD, the app aims to service homeowners looking for a quick, safe and reliable way to find repair serviceman, such as plumbers, electricians or locksmiths.

A bid to become an Uber of the home repair space, getTOD claims to connect users with service providers who meet their particular need using location based tracking and supplier availability in real time.

This, it says, removes the need to waste time searching the internet or a telephone directory for a supplier to meet their needs, and they no longer need to wait for days to fit into that supplier’s diary.

“The application is the first of its kind and truly on-demand application, which allows its users to cut out the uncertainty and frustration that typically comes with finding a home repair supplier,” says co-founder Shannon Mackrill. “Our goal was to disrupt an industry that is fraught with irregular pricing, poor service levels and inconsistent quality in a way that sets new benchmarks for service delivery and pricing.”

Built by digital agency Platinum Seed, the app works much as Uber does: a home owner logs their need on the application, sharing their location and requirements, and a service provider in the area who is ‘available’ on the service will accept the job. The home owner can track the service provider’s progress until they arrive at the job, and will effect payment through the application’s payment functionality via a pre-loaded credit card.

According to a press release sent to Ventureburn, getTOD works with a strict standardised price per hour per category. It also claims to offer an insured service to consumers and provides twenty four hour emergency services seven days a week. Background checks are performed on all service providers who are also screened before they join the application, to ensure they meet getTOD’s high standards.

Standardised prices, it says, mean that home owners “don’t get any unpleasant surprises when the time comes to pay the bill – and they are not charged any additional costs for using the service”.

In another similarity with Uber, customers can rate the repair professionals they’ve used.

It’s a compelling proposition and one that will appeal to anyone who’s ever had to wait days for an electrician. That said, the service will only really be worthwhile once both the customer and repairer bases are large enough to sustain themselves. And that’s simply not the case right now, with only a handful of plumbers, electricians, and locksmiths on the platform.

Getting there’s not going to be easy either. Using a slightly different market-based model, Redfish has been trying to connect customers and tradespeople for some time now, without ever setting the world on fire.

The getTOD application is free for download and available for iPhone and Android.