It is not so difficult for us to hear our neighbours lamenting about their tough times when something turns awry at their homes. The Water heaters would not have worked, Fans might have malfunctioned, Air conditioners would have broken down, and we often find them helplessly at our doorsteps asking for professional help. These things happen to almost all of us. The main problem here is that it is a very cumbersome process to find a professional to fix the problem. We usually look up our phone contacts desperately. If that fails, (mostly it does) all of us look up Just Dial, which is the Yellow Page of the millennials. After hours of scratching our heads, we end up finding someone, only to be overcharged.
In this scenario, On-Demand services could provide a seamless platform for the customers and service providing professionals. This idea is not new to us. Earlier we found it difficult to hire taxi services. Ola and Uber came as the market disruptors. They provided a huge customer base to the drivers. Customers were able to have affordable cab drives which were hitherto impossible. They could now rate the drivers for punctuality, behaviour, etc., which in turn made them more professional. The most important intangible benefit enjoyed by the customers was the ride experience. Earlier in India, Taxi cars like Tata Indica and HM Ambassador never had the luxury quotient. For the Indian Psyche, a ride in a car means a rise in social status.
It is pretty evident that On-Demand services could have a lot of spill over effects. Consider, for instance, beautician services. We all have a sense of narcissism to an extent and a predilection to appear neat and groomed. Yet we resort to beauty parlours only when there is a get-together or a marriage function. Let us now imagine a scenario, where a person has to attend an interview. Once you have this handy On-Demand service, you could hire a professional instantly and get the best of advice on how to present yourself at affordable costs. You could hire a home decor specialist or an interior designer to make your living space more pleasant. You could fix your water leaks and electrical appliances in an instant by just clicking the app. The possibilities are endless here. Customers, rating the services will prompt the professionals to be more efficient. Just like what Ola and Uber did, these On-Demand services could bring down the costs by serving as service aggregators.
The Indian economy is mostly unorganized. While it is true that there have been attempts to organize it, few have delivered results. There is a general misconception prevailing in our society that getting an undergraduate degree is a minimum requirement to succeed professionally. To climb the social ladder, most people enrol in these courses, while becoming indebted. This has led to the serious impairment of acquiring the necessary skills. It is impossible to imagine a society filled only with graduates. People working in certain professions are generally not given the respect they deserve. On-Demand services could play a significant role in ameliorating the current predicament.
The future of On-Demand services seems optimistic. Several start-ups like Cosmo bees, Urban Clap offer a wide range of solutions to the households. The strength of our economy lies in the services sector. These start-ups can elevate the potential of our economy to a different new level.
