Adding a much needed layer to home improvement services
What is the most common complaint of homeowners or renters that hire home services? It’s not usually about how long it takes someone to get to their home, it’s about the price – they had no idea it cost so much and had no idea if they were being overcharged.
Redbeacon is up to bat and is taking a swing at the problem with their new Price Estimator that tells users in a given area the average price range for each home service ranging from cleaning to plumbing, as shown above.
“The home-services industry doesn’t have much price transparency,” says Anthony Rodio, CEO of Redbeacon. “For many home projects, consumers spend about two hours comparing prices and risk overpaying up to 77 percent. Our Price Estimator sorts data from more than 70,000 price quotes for matches in your area. Homeowners get comprehensive local price estimates to decide if their home plans can become a reality.”
“Here’s how it works,” the company says, “Say you need a cleaning service. In the Price Estimator, you can select a common type of household job for your metro area, and from there, you can specify the size and type of job you’ll request. This way, you’ll know exactly what the high, low, and median prices are for a cleaning service for the square footage of your space. After you know a bit more about the price range, it’s easy to request a service from a Redbeacon. The information you learn from the Price Estimator will give you the power to judge the fairness of price quotes you’ll get from our pros.”
Sample price estimate, click to enlarge:
Empowering consumers
Last fall, RedBeacon debuted their innovative iPhone app wherein users can shoot video (or photo or voice memo) through the app of any home maintenance problem they are having or the project they need done and submit it immediately to the RedBeacon network of nearby home service providers that the company says they have not only checked license status, but they’ve interviewed and done a background check on, which is above and beyond the screening offered by competitors. Approved vendors get a score and the service is known for being one of the fastest to get quotes back to the homeowner. RedBeacon embodies being transparent and consumer-centric.
For all of these reasons, the company was named in the 60 Genius Brands to watch in 2012 list, making a huge move already, just weeks into the new year, they announced that they were acquired by Home Depot. Now, their Price Estimator has launched, making it more evident that they most certainly belong on the 60 Genius Brands list this year.
Marti Trewe reports on business and technology news, chasing his passion for helping entrepreneurs and small businesses to stay well informed in the fast paced 140-character world. Marti rarely sleeps and thrives on reader news tips, especially about startups and big moves in leadership.
