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Sales for the new on-demand snow plow app TouchPlow was brisk over the past 24 hours as Ottawa received its first major snowfall of the season.
The snow started to accumulate just after midnight Tuesday and the newly-launched service app had already generated hundreds of new users by dawn.
“It’s gone nuts, everyone’s calling,” says TouchPlow’s owner Ken Dale, who was handing out coffees to around 30 of his drivers who were busy clearing driveways and walkways around the region. “We’ve signed up about 600 new Ottawa people overnight and I think we’ll have over 2,000 users at least by the end of the storm.”
Tuesday’s storm dumped more than 20 centimetres of snow on the city by nightfall.
TouchPlow is Ottawa-based, but has launched across the country. On Tuesday most users were concentrated across Ontario and in Winnipeg, where snow was accumulating through the day.
Dale says the draw of the service is that it is pay per use — typically between $20 and $40, depending on the size of the driveway and when the plow comes — and there’s no pressure to sign a seasonal snow removal contract.
Residents who order snow clearing services can log into the app for free, enter their information, and the urgency level — between one and four hours or more — and independent drivers or those with local snow removal companies who have registered with the app are notified. Priority goes to drivers with the best rating. When they finish the job, the driver takes a photo of the cleared driveway, and sends it to the client. And given the client is pleased with the service, the driver will receive payment directly to their account within five business days.
Dale, who also owns a Appleseed Snowblowing franchise, says the key to using the service is to have realistic expectations.
“We have people requesting it within one to four hours, and saying ‘well it’s been an hour it didn’t come’,” says Dale. “Well, no, it says within one to four hours. We’re not a pizza delivery … so if your expectations are unrealistic during the first major storm of the year — whether it’s with a seasonal contract or the City of Ottawa — you are going to be disappointed.”
pmccooey@ottawacitizen.com
查看原文...
The snow started to accumulate just after midnight Tuesday and the newly-launched service app had already generated hundreds of new users by dawn.
“It’s gone nuts, everyone’s calling,” says TouchPlow’s owner Ken Dale, who was handing out coffees to around 30 of his drivers who were busy clearing driveways and walkways around the region. “We’ve signed up about 600 new Ottawa people overnight and I think we’ll have over 2,000 users at least by the end of the storm.”
Tuesday’s storm dumped more than 20 centimetres of snow on the city by nightfall.
TouchPlow is Ottawa-based, but has launched across the country. On Tuesday most users were concentrated across Ontario and in Winnipeg, where snow was accumulating through the day.
Dale says the draw of the service is that it is pay per use — typically between $20 and $40, depending on the size of the driveway and when the plow comes — and there’s no pressure to sign a seasonal snow removal contract.
Residents who order snow clearing services can log into the app for free, enter their information, and the urgency level — between one and four hours or more — and independent drivers or those with local snow removal companies who have registered with the app are notified. Priority goes to drivers with the best rating. When they finish the job, the driver takes a photo of the cleared driveway, and sends it to the client. And given the client is pleased with the service, the driver will receive payment directly to their account within five business days.
Dale, who also owns a Appleseed Snowblowing franchise, says the key to using the service is to have realistic expectations.
“We have people requesting it within one to four hours, and saying ‘well it’s been an hour it didn’t come’,” says Dale. “Well, no, it says within one to four hours. We’re not a pizza delivery … so if your expectations are unrealistic during the first major storm of the year — whether it’s with a seasonal contract or the City of Ottawa — you are going to be disappointed.”
pmccooey@ottawacitizen.com
查看原文...
