Getting a range of quotes from several tradesman or other professionals can be a challenge. Then as the “sharing economy” emerged, services including Hi-Pages, Oneflare, Airtasker, Tradies Online, ServiceSeeking and Shikiquote have made the process easier for the customer, and the service person or company looking for leads.
From the customers perspective there will be no direct cost from most of the above services to receive a quote, or multiple quotes where requested. Customers will simply:
- Publish your assignment online.
- Various tradespeople and other professionals will present quotes to complete the task.
- You evaluate quotes, look through their profiles, read client testimonials, and, if needed, contact them with inquiries.
- You hire a tradie or other professional to complete the task.
Off course the customer is under no pressure to hire anyone, nor pay to post a task. The business giving a quote is the one who really pays when they submit a bid for a task; in the form of a regular membership fee, credit payment’s system, or commissions, which all go to advertising platform such as Hi-Pages, Oneflare, Airtasker, ServiceSeeking and Shikiquote. Businesses can read this COMPARISON for these services.
Why employ tasking sites?
The ability to read customer reviews and save the headache of calling around for quotations are two key advantages. However, keep in mind that reviews can be tricky (especially if companies pressure review forums to remove a certain review and/or threaten to sue someone for a poor review). Nevertheless, reviews if taken with a pinch of salt, can show an overall trend.
Regardless, whether you find the tradesman or other professional online or by word of mouth, there are no assurances that the quality of their work will be satisfactory. It is an unfortunate state of business affairs in general, likely from the beginning of time. But should you post a task to receive a quote/s from tradies or similar, even if you decide not to hire a particular service, you can get some ballpark idea of a tasks pricing for a rendered service, simply by using a task finder website. Overall, don’t rush into anything, research any service you decide to hire widely, and especially in terms of business registration, insurance standing and licence status.
SHIKIquote
www.shikiquote.com.au