BIZZBY Electricians Work - too good to be true?

[Midwest]

Not the same company, but had to share this email I received today;
Good Morning,
Your details were passed on to me as we've got a number of electrical jobs in your area.
Here's one that's just come in, could you take a look and let me know if you're free to take it?
Electrician Per Hour for £89 per hour

The customer needs a qualified electrician to fix their lights (And sockets) at ****, Oxfordshire, tomorrow at 11:30am .

If you can't do this particular job because you're busy, let me know when you'd be free and I'll see if I can reschedule it. We have lots more jobs coming up in your area if it's not this one. My name is Cristina and I run supply operations at BIZZBY, which is an App that connects millions of users to services in the UK.

This is my personal email so happy to provide further details if you have any questions. Feel free to search for us on Google and visit our website .bizzby.com.

Have a great day

Best Regards,

Cristina
Supply Operations
020 3813 7659
Bizzby.com

Seems bizzby.com are doing what Uber did to taxi's, for the trade industry. At £89 an hour, if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is. The numbers there, if anybody feels inclined

 

[FatAlan]

Would be interesting to hear from anyone who has used them either as a customer or to get work.

 

[Dan]

In fairness to them, they do seem to not just do electrical work and are a people-per-hour type setup.

App life: my day living by smartphone alone - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/15/app-life-my-day-living-by-smartphone-alone
Bizzby app: a hi-tech way of getting the job done - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/festival-of-business/10945232/Bizzby-app-a-hi-tech-way-of-getting-the-job-done.html
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/i-want-it
Bizzby Raises $10M From Hedge Fund To Take On TaskRabbit-Style Services In UK - https://techcrunch.com/2014/03/31/bizzby-raises-10m-from-hedge-fund-to-take-on-taskrabbit-in-uk/

The last article shows they have financial backing, or at least in 2014.

Might be work replying @Midwest and see what the terms regarding payment are?

 

[Midwest]

Don't think I will, might be wrong, but I just smell a rat like similar such schemes (not those schemes!). Like most 'they' seem to gain business and make money on the publics fear of employing 'rouge traders'. I mean it's not hard to look threw local ads, and like most, majority of my work comes by word of mouth. Seems we can't do anything now days without using an 'App'.

 

[Dan]

Fair enough. Hopefully the customer will contact a local electrician in the usual ways (searching google? asking a mate?) and no third party will make money out of the job.

 

[FatAlan]

From a quick bit of research it seems to be some sort of instantaneous service via an app. One customer review explained that they could not make a booking in advance so on request a tradesman turned up within the hour of requesting. In a way it looks like it's marketed as some sort of fire brigade emergency call out service. Midwests email is probably indicative of jobs coming in and their having trouble finding people to meet demand. Sounds ripe for Cowboys to jump on board as a bet their vetting is pretty minimal.

 

[Dan]

I read the guardian's 'test' where a person turned up who hadn't done another "hero" job for them before, and didn't know what the job entailed. So I don't think they vetted at least that one person at all. Or told them what the "hero" job was about.

However, we mustn't guess what's going on as they seem to have more money than me and I don't want solicitors letters to get this thread removed lol - I'd rather have it discussed if it's something other sparks are going to be contacted about.

 

[FatAlan]

I read the guardian's 'test' where a person turned up who hadn't done another "hero" job for them before, and didn't know what the job entailed. So I don't think they vetted at least that one person at all. Or told them what the "hero" job was about.

However, we mustn't guess what's going on as they seem to have more money than me and I don't want solicitors letters to get this thread removed lol - I'd rather have it discussed if it's something other sparks are going to be contacted about.

Dan, you may find they start coming on here to look for Sparks available at short notice. Perhaps you need to get an app out quick

 

[Dan]

One thing at a time lol

The directory needs adding to first, then customers will find you sparks directly. No need for anything else.

Even though apps are popular, there's just too many to sign up and use quickly IMO. People still mostly just search Google for what they want, and they wont end up on an app then. They'll end up on a website. That perhaps has an app.

 

[HandySparks]

Might be worth a try. If you read the info on their website, they say that they pay within a few days. No cost to the tradesman for jobs, but they take a cut of about 20%. You get jobs via a phone app and have to accept within five minutes or it gets offered to someone else. Might not be good for me, as I tend to ignore the sounds my phone makes unless it's an actual phone call.

 

[Dan]

I bet you could change the sound for the app so it rang the same as your phone, phone-type-dependent?

 

[HandySparks]

I bet you could change the sound for the app so it rang the same as your phone, phone-type-dependent?

Now you're just trying to confuse me! (I'm sure I could.)

 

[Lou]

Bizzby seem to do loads of job type things not just electricians so I can see them being geared up to vet electricians?

 

[Midwest]

I responded to the email, and being careful what I say (walls have ears) and the company is in no position to respond here;
It's as suggested a mobile App platform, and once registered you would receive via their app, alerts of jobs booked by anyone of their users, with details of the work, how much the you will be paid (pre-agreed by bizzby) and you decide to accept or not. Payment to you will be within 5-7 days.
You did not pay any fee's, but they charge the customer a service fee. So I can't suggest anything untoward.

All I can say, is people must have more money than sense to employ the services of a third party, when there are any number of other 'free' schemes to enlist the services of tradespersons (e.g. Competent Persons Scheme), and then local advertising, Google, Yell etc, etc. But if it's an App on a phone, then is must be good.

PS; I might email my scheme - Elecsa - and ask what they are doing about combating this sort of thing, with the £500 a year I'm paying them. Make's you wonder who the scoundrels are!

 

[Dan]

Thanks for that info matey.

 

[Nickj]

Midwest you will most likely need to be a member of a scheme before Bizzby will allow you on their system. It's the same with other websites that do similar. They are just a matching service and overall this is likely the direction all trades are going, apps do make peoples lives easier albeit at much greater cost to the user. Convenience costs and people will pay for it.

Sit at home and arrange 3 quotes from unknown tradespeople and hope you don't get ripped off or click a button on an app and have someone sent to you. If they mess up it's the app that pays for it not them saving them a lot of hassle.

 

[Lou]

I don't see how the app would pay for it if it messes up? Is that what they state?

Google is still the place people mostly look for things, by a country mile too. Even on phones. Nobody goes directly to the app store to find something, certainly not tradesmen. They'd only end up on such an app after first clicking a link from a website, which they would have ended up on via google. Seems long-winded, and if expensive for the end user too, pointless perhaps?

PeoplePerHour.com have been doing it for years and have a solid reputation, not sure you can get tradesmen there though, but that's the same kinda model I guess. But whilst they have an app I'm sure, it's their website and large amount of freelancers that people go there for.

 

[Midwest]

Midwest you will most likely need to be a member of a scheme before Bizzby will allow you on their system. It's the same with other websites that do similar. They are just a matching service and overall this is likely the direction all trades are going, apps do make peoples lives easier albeit at much greater cost to the user. Convenience costs and people will pay for it.

Sit at home and arrange 3 quotes from unknown tradespeople and hope you don't get ripped off or click a button on an app and have someone sent to you. If they mess up it's the app that pays for it not them saving them a lot of hassle.

Yep I appreciate you gotta be registered, I did mention that. What they never mentioned, when I asked them, was who is responsible for guaranteeing the work you do.
From what I've read, there's no guaranteeing the competency of the trades people on these 'schemes' either.

 

[richard12]

I have had similar phone calls from insurance/emergency call out companies. First one never paid and then went bust, second one took months and the threat of legal action to pay up. I now refuse to take work from them.

 

[snowhead]

They offer a wide variety of services;
BIZZBY: What do I get with a BIZZBY massage? - https://bizzby.helpshift.com/a/bizzby/?s=questions-before-making-a-booking&f=what-do-i-get-with-a-bizzby-massage&l=en