Who are mrUstas for?
#Expats who are new in town looking for reputable service providers to do basic work in villas and apartments like carpentry work, cleaning, pest control, AC repair and so forth.
#Busy mums who need an ‘e-Bay’ like forum to post jobs that they need done around the house.
#Anyone who is looking for something to be fixed.
#Anyone who has dealt with inefficient companies in the past who would like to deal with professionals.
Why?
Since coming back from the summer, I have been swarmed in children’s admin, and like every mum in Dubai, September is always an extremely busy month and no matter how much we organise and prepare in advance we still seem to be ‘fire-fighting’ through the day with chores and to-do lists.
However, I had procrastinated enough. The Pottery Barn shelves needed to be put up and my air-condition units needed a proper clean after the long summer. The list never ends and this academic year, I have decided to do little but often. It was great to discover mrUsta, an online services marketplace that allows customers to find quality service providers (‘Ustas’). It is an online platform, established in 2014, where I type in any job that needs fixing in the house, and several ‘Ustas’ start bidding for the job. (top tip: do not put your mobile number into the website as they will all start calling you).
The range of services is huge with over 350+ jobs offered by service providers. The most popular categories include carpentry, painting, plumbing, pest control services, repair, house cleaning, household appliance repair, instant AC Services, Apple iPhone/iPad repair, and you can even look for a short-term live in nanny, order custom made furniture – the list of available services is endless. You get a rough indication about the price per hour or per month.
Instructions
#Post a job – do not divulge your mobile number. This can done via their website or you can download their app.
#Wait for several companies to bid for the work, and you can price compare and then contact them via the website to book their services.
#Or you can scroll down and look for the Usta with the best reviews.
#There is a huge choice of 6,000 Ustas that offer 350+ types of services.
mrUsta experience
We posted a job to help us put up our Pottery Barn bookshelves up and a few photos. The companies (mrUstas) started bidding seconds after the job was posted with different price ranges. All companies that sign up to the website must provide a copy of their trade licence and are monitored by the the website, and complaints are taken seriously to ensure only reputable companies can bid for work. We selected a company who sent a team of two men who put up the three shelves and a couple of photos. The men seemed professional and they took care with their work, and were neat and tidy. I still watch over any workmen in the home for security reasons. The company hired charged by the hour, and we booked 2-hours.
The second job we posted was to clean our air-condition units in the villa. Again, similarly many companies bid for jobs and reviewed the prices and reputation. The Usta was efficient at booking an appointment and clear about their pricing. They charged on the number of air-condition units in the house. Each filter was removed, washed and cleaned, and again, the job took half a day with two men.
Loyalty program
mrUsta has also launched ‘The Guild, the very first customer loyalty program for a service provider marketplace in the region. The Guild rewards customers each time they successfully book and close jobs, amounts other actions taken on the platform with mrUsta credit that can be used toward further job postings.
It is free to join mrUsta, and it is the service providers that pay a fee to the online website. ‘In the first 6-months of 2017 alone, we’ve created over AED17 million worth of opportunities for our Ustas,’ explained Ibrahim Colak, mrUsta’s co-founder and CEO.
Next on the list, need to re-do my wallpaer. The list is endless so I am grateful that I am able to just post a job through their app or website www.usta.com