According to Google stats, 58% of people search for local businesses, such as plumbing, home remodeling, veterinary, car repair, or legal services, daily. However, finding the right service provider can still be a very time-consuming and stressful process, as demonstrated below by our co-founder’s story.
“I noticed on Saturday night that my dog was making strange noises it had never made before, so I decided to make an appointment at our usual vet clinic. Unfortunately, this clinic doesn’t operate during weekends, so I scheduled an appointment for Monday through their website. However, even after reserving a time slot, they always called me back to inform me that the slot was already taken and suggested another day.
The following morning, my dog began to cough. I had a sinking feeling in my gut that this was not a good sign, and that I needed to find a veterinarian as soon as possible. However, I held out hope that it was not an emergency situation. I spent the next few hours searching online for information about dogs coughing up blood, and trying to find a nearby vet clinic. Unfortunately, I found it very difficult to find a clear explanation or advice online, though there are many resources available.
I called several clinics, and only a few of them were open. When I asked if I could see a doctor as soon as possible, they started asking me many questions about my dog and what happened. After spending my time, they told me that they were booked for the day and suggested calling another clinic.
I then attempted to use one of the most popular apps for booking vet services. I found more clinics than via google search. However, on all clinic’s profiles was a remark that I had to call them to confirm their working hours. So I called. At one vet clinic, I was told that my case is an emergency and that the cost would be $150, instead of $50. After calling a few more clinics, I decided to come to this one.
I had an appointment at noon, but when I arrived, there were no other customers. I waited for a while, but no one else showed up. I asked the receptionist if they were booked up, and she said yes. I spent 40 minutes there, but no one else showed up.
The doctor finally examined my dog and said that my dog has an ear infection, but wasn’t sure and suggested making all possible tests and medications that would cost me $1212. I asked if this would help, and the doctor said yes but let’s check everything. I had to refuse as it was suspicious. And then they offered me another medication that wasn’t included in the quote and was way more expensive. It was really strange. In the end, I just paid $318 for 2 medications and an exam which was more expensive than I’d paid before.
It looked like they were trying to upsell me unnecessary treatment. This caused me to feel concerned as I want what is best for my dog. I also felt apprehension as I am not knowledgeable in this area”
Our founding team faced many negative experiences with other local services, which pushed us to build a Meta Marketplace that could save time, money and stress when acquiring local services.
If you are interested in joining a community that is dedicated to simplifying and standardizing the way people get and provide local services, please feel free to join us here.
You can also follow us to learn more about how we use knowledge-driven AI approach and Conversational AI to tackle the challenges described above.