HomeJoy seemed OK, but I never seriously looked at them because I have always been so happy with ServiceMagic (now HomeAdvisor). When you have a solid competitor who has been in business since 1999, you need a strong differentiator. HomeJoy was/seemed more focused on cleaning, HomeAdvisor on repairs and improvements... but it always seemed to me that they were trying to re-invent a wheel that didn't need re-invention.
Homejoy says goodbye
81–90 of 410 posts
Re: Homejoy says goodbye
#82I get the sense that many of the people involved in Homejoy are well-intentioned and hardworking. But I can't say that I think it's a bad thing that tech startups are finding it difficult to monetize unskilled labor. The technology that most companies like these offer (with the possible exception of Uber) is a commodity. The real asset they have is the network effect. Which makes the balance of power between the tech…
It appears from this article that recent worker classification lawsuits also had a part to play - http://recode.net/2015/07/17/cleaning-services-startup-homej...
Re: Homejoy says goodbye
#83I used Homejoy and I liked it's ease of use. But after the cleaning lady they sent me was done, she offered me her direct phone # and told me I could contact her directly for any future cleaning needs. I always wondered how this business model was going to work if Homejoy's contractors could just give out their phone # at the end of their first service and the customer could just contact them directly for any future…
> But after the cleaning lady they sent me was done, she offered me her direct phone # and told me I could contact her directly for any future cleaning needs.
All companies that contract to contractors have this issue and it probably isn't solvable using the same model. For instance Home Depot and Lowes will contract out service to contractors and I've had them, on every single occasion, give me their information to contact them directly in the future.
Re: Homejoy says goodbye
#84As a former customer (have not used in years), I actually felt uncomfortable with the cleaners. Not because of anything they did, but because you could just tell they were low income and being paid very little by Homejoy (I think less than $15/hr). It didn't feel right, and I stopped using them in part because of that.
You felt uncomfortable that they made less than $15/hr and solved that by making sure they never got any business from you again?
Not just that. Uncomfortable with Homejoy's relationship with the cleaners. From everything I read, including Glassdoor reviews from the cleaners it sounded toxic and demeaning.
Re: Homejoy says goodbye
#85No surprise there. Tone-deaf marketing and there was a horror story a few years ago about the culture.
I think that was Handybook (now Handy), not Homejoy, right? http://thebillfold.com/2014/10/my-day-interviewing-for-the-s...
Re: Homejoy says goodbye
#86I used Homejoy and I liked it's ease of use. But after the cleaning lady they sent me was done, she offered me her direct phone # and told me I could contact her directly for any future cleaning needs. I always wondered how this business model was going to work if Homejoy's contractors could just give out their phone # at the end of their first service and the customer could just contact them directly for any future…
Are we sure that was the problem?
Re: Homejoy says goodbye
#87Cofounder Adora Cheung is worth following. The story is a great example for founders. Check out her lecture at Sam Altman's startup class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP176MBG9Tk
So we should watch a video about "how to go from zero users to many users" from someone who did it by selling services at a loss and then going out of business?
Re: Homejoy says goodbye
#88Higher prices, questionable convenience, and poorer service.
The quality of the cleaning had deteriorated over time and the price was higher than independent cleaners I later found through personal referrals.
I had 4 different Homejoy cleaners. The very first one was awesome and I thought, "Wow, this is great". Then every single cleaner after that was terrible. Two of them started wet mopping before vacuuming or using a dry swiffer, thus pushing wet dirt around. Another one let the toilet brush sit in the toilet in a way that the entire brush, handle and all, fell in. When I came over to oversee her, to make sure she doesn't do other things like that, she got angry and refused to work until I went into another room.
As other's have said, the model sucks. In order to make money, you need to charge above market rates to get your cut. In order to justify that, you need to offer something to both sides of the market. The customer expects convenience and high quality service. If you cannot provide both those things, why would people use Homejoy? And of course, what are you offering the service provider to stay on your platform?
Lastly, there was no Android app and the web app had so many bugs that even the sign-up flow was hit or miss. The sign-up flow! Logging in from my phone never worked and I always had to use a laptop. Unreal.
Re: Homejoy says goodbye
#89I used Homejoy and I liked it's ease of use. But after the cleaning lady they sent me was done, she offered me her direct phone # and told me I could contact her directly for any future cleaning needs. I always wondered how this business model was going to work if Homejoy's contractors could just give out their phone # at the end of their first service and the customer could just contact them directly for any future…
I've had the exact same experience with Vint (https://www.joinvint.com/) - Go through personal trainers until you find one you like and then move off the app. The hourly cost will be lower but the personal trainer will still make more money.
I've also had Uber Black drivers give me their personal limo service business cards. The difference is that a cab is a commodity while a personal trainer is something that needs to click on a personal level.
I see no future for Vint even though I loved it when I used it.
Re: Homejoy says goodbye
#90As a former customer (have not used in years), I actually felt uncomfortable with the cleaners. Not because of anything they did, but because you could just tell they were low income and being paid very little by Homejoy (I think less than $15/hr). It didn't feel right, and I stopped using them in part because of that.
Why don't you just tip them then?