Service providers only a ‘ClickAway’ with new app

Service providers only a 'ClickAway’ with new app

Brand Manager at ClickAway, Alicia-Ann Carpio-Roxborough (left), and Chief Operating Officer, Davita Isaacs Mohan, display the home page of the mobile application and employment hub. (Photo: JIS)

A new mobile app developed by local entrepreneurs is helping persons to connect with and engage service providers, including skilled trade workers.

Dubbed ‘ClickAway’, users of the app, within minutes, can find and hire good service providers in their areas.

The app allows persons to request and keep track of workers, pay online and leave reviews.

More than 1,000 Jamaicans have so far downloaded and are reaping the benefits of ClickAway, which is helping to create employment for many Jamaicans.

Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Excelsior Community College law lecturer, Davita Isaacs Mohan, who conceptualised the idea, says the app was born out of a need to find reliable hands for a home renovation project during the peak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Mohan and her husband, Tajay Mohan, saw the need for an all-in-one platform to seek out, vet and engage skilled workers, such as carpenters, masons, electricians, plumbers and others.

Like many global citizens faced with the pandemic, the duo tapped into their entrepreneurial spirit, and with the help of software coders, created the platform themselves.

In an interview with JIS News, Mohan says the app is easy to use.

After downloading, persons can set up their profile as a customer or a service provider.

As a service provider, persons can display whether they are active and able to take jobs, so that their profiles can be viewed by potential customers. Proficiency level, rates, reviews from previous customers and photos of other work done are also on display

For the customer profile, a virtual ‘wallet’ will be created where funds can be loaded and used to hire a professional.

The platform also accepts direct credit and debit card payments, Apple Pay, PayPal and others. The customer simply enters the type of service they require and a field of active candidates will be shown for their perusal.

Mohan said a major value of the app is the quality customer service provided through the platform, which is in keeping with the national focus on quality service delivery.

 She is hoping that the app will become a major employment hub.

Brand Manager, Alicia-Ann Carpio-Roxborough, said the app works on a “pay first” basis.

She explains that, “once you make the payments and everything goes through, the professional will arrive at your house and fix the toilet (for example). Afterwards, they (the worker) can just go into the app, click withdraw and the money will be sent to them.”

Where customers are dissatisfied with the work done by a service provider, the developers will intervene and assess the situation with a view to providing mediation and ensuring that both parties are satisfied before the transaction is completed.

Carpio-Roxborough said the app can be used to locate service providers across all parishes.

She added that ClickAway’s pool of workers also includes creatives, such as makeup artistes, photographers, deejays, graphic designers and others.

It is hoped that the app will help to reduce the number of unattached youth in the country.

“The app is actually the heart and soul of what we think the nation needs. There are so many unattached youths who are skilled; they can make furniture, they can do carpentry and they’re good at what they do, but they’re not certified,” Carpio-Roxborough stated.

As such, the team expressed the desire to partner with the HEART/NSTA Trust to see to the certification of informal workers while also providing them with a platform to gain employment.

“So, we’re not just looking to only help you make money and please our customers.  We are also looking at developing your career and talent as well,” Carpio-Roxborough added.

Meanwhile, through ClickAway, Jamaicans in the diaspora are able to manage projects being undertaken locally. Persons outside of the island are able to book jobs and facilitate payment. They can see the work in progress by receiving photographs through the platform.

In citing an example, Mohan shared that “an older man had some problems with his water tank and his daughter abroad paid for the job from the comfort of her home. The person came to the man’s house within hours, did the job, and the man was pleased.”

With the Google Play Store displaying the more than 1,000 downloads that the app has already received, the proprietors expressed pride at having created something of tangible benefit to the people of Jamaica.

“The response has been good on both sides (customers and service providers). When we’re on the road, a lot of persons are saying that this is something that is needed in Jamaica,” said Mohan.

ClickAway is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Sign-ups are currently free. Find them on Instagram @clickawayja or visit clickawayja.com.

Photo caption:

Brand Manager at ClickAway, Alicia-Ann Carpio-Roxborough (left), and Chief Operating Officer, Davita Isaacs Mohan, display the home page of the mobile application and employment hub.

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