Show HN: Get Maid - Uber for Maid Service in NYC

by sgutentag • 14 years ago

35 37 14 years ago

codegeek• 14 years ago

This looks like something I could use.

iamdann• 14 years ago

Sounds like an interesting idea...just found a maid for my Brooklyn apartment last week, actually. Money is a huge factor for me, so we went with something a little cheaper than this.

The ratings in the App store (all 5 stars, all glowing and highlighting different aspects/application of the service) are a bit fishy...

sgutentag6• 14 years ago

We'd love feedback on the app/service. If anyone is interested in signing up, you can use invite code "GMHN" to get $20 off your first clean.

nlh4• 14 years ago

For reference to those who don't live in NYC, this is following the Uber pricing model fairly well -- it's about double what most "good" maids charge, maybe triple depending on the area of NYC.

It's a good idea -- maid service can be commoditized, and particularly if you need a last-minute sort of thing, it seems smart. It's also notoriously difficult to find a good maid without playing the traditional "networking" game -- referrals, Craigslist, etc.

Personally, however, I see this only as a fill-in-the-gaps kind of service (which may be exactly what they're looking to provide). I have a regular maid who's been working at my place for 6+ years, charges a very reasonable rate ($25/hr), and most importantly, knows the apartment inside and out - exactly where to clean, how I like it, how to do the laundry, etc.

The biggest issue I see is the risk of extra-market activity. Whereas with Uber, car service is a true commodity, if Get Maid sends over a really terrific maid, there's a good chance that the buyer and maid are going to make a private arrangement for future work and cut Get Maid out of the deal. Which leads back to the ideal model being speed and "non-regular" usage.

roc• 14 years ago

> "The biggest issue I see is the risk of extra-market activity"

Unless Get Maid can provide the users and maids with enough useful features that they see a value in keeping the long-term-arrangement through the system.

e.g. convenient (recurring) payment processing, giving maids increased visibility in one-off job searches based on number of long-term relationships, centralizing maid scheduling [1], factoring maid schedules into one-off job availability, factoring required commute time/distance into job feasibility [2], seamless arrangement of Maid-approved 'fill-in' Maids when they need to take time off or something comes up, centralized 'gig notes' that would be made accessible to any in-system fill-in maids [3], etc.

There's plenty of opportunity for Get Maid to make a compelling pitch to keep everything in-system.

[1] keys being: allowing the maid to set 'availability' to reflect their personal-life scheduling demands (including vacations and such), keeping all job schedules in one place, automatically keeping this calendar up-to-date on their smartphone, etc.

[2] A maid may technically be available at 3pm for another job, but if the 3pm job is uptown and she just wrapped a weekly 2pm gig downtown, it's not going to work. Keeping everything in-system will spare users the hassle of contacting maids who can't actually make the scheduled time and spare the maids the hassle of seeing jobs they can't actually take.

[3] how the client likes the laundry done, high-traffic areas, etc.

nlh4• 14 years ago

Agreed -- another question I have is how much $ they keep. If they're only keeping 20% or so and the maid is able to earn $36/hr, then that's a big incentive to stay in-system for sure. Also to your point, if they build in the features to allow for recurring arrangements with a "preferred" maid and truly give the maid a business-management system (i.e. tax prep help, income reports, etc.), then that's further incentive to do so.

genghy• 14 years ago

Can I get a referral?

sgutentag6• 14 years ago

Yup, you can use invite code "GMHN" to sign up and get $20 off your first clean.

nlh4• 14 years ago

Unfortunately she's so good that she's not taking new jobs right now! I tried to get her setup with a friend and she politely declined. Makes me happy that she's fully-booked and making a good living from it.

encoderer2• 14 years ago

I have no idea about NYC rates, but in San Francisco my wife did a lot of searching and screening and we ended up paying $30/hr. That was, I think, the cheapest or nearly cheapest option. And that's before tip. We keep it simple and just pay $100 for her 3 hours every 2 weeks.

dkaragas2• 14 years ago

> "The biggest issue I see is the risk of extra-market activity"

Demetri from Get Maid here...

This is something that has traditionally been a problem in the maid sector. It's not perfect, but we take several steps to minimize this. On the customer side, we provide things that individual maids can't, such as on-demand booking and cashless payments. All of our maids are also bonded and insured so if something breaks by accident, you’re covered; individual maids rarely are. On the maid side, we give maids an opportunity to fill their idle time by getting them bookings on days/time that they are not very busy and/or are close to their current location. In addition, we pay an above-average rate (which also helps us recruit quality maids).

estacado• 14 years ago

The first thing that came to mind was another good name would be "Maid in New York". But "Get Maid" is good too. Plus you don't have to change the name when you expand. Or maybe change it to "Maid in USA".

SatvikBeri• 14 years ago

Supplies included? That alone is surprisingly difficult to find. If I was still in Manhattan, I'd sign up right away.

joering2• 14 years ago

Was about to say after living 2 years. Never seen anyone on subway with cleaning supplies lol. I have no idea how would they go by car where most areas you can cruise for 2 hours before findng a spot and that alone will cost you dollars or tens of dollars. Anyone care to explain?

sgutentag6• 14 years ago

Our maids carry a backpack and come with the supplies, which are all-natural, they need to clean with except for a vacuum/mop/broom (kind of hard to carry these around on a subway!).

woah• 14 years ago

I know posting funny youtube videos is frowned upon here, but this is just sooo relevant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uklF7VtqJq8

masonhensley• 14 years ago

This is one of those services that doesn't make sense to me as a mobile first & only product(for now).

If you are home and see that your house needs to be cleaned, you are probably near a computer. This isnt like Uber where you need to use their service across town. They have just alienated a bunch or their potential user base by just being on iOS (for now, ok whatever). But that's just me.

Here is the link to the app in itunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/get-maid/id561621297?mt=8

sgutentag6• 14 years ago

Thanks for the feedback. Particularly in NYC, we felt that mobile-first would satisfy most people since they can book on their way home, and even if they're in their home, they usually have their phone next to them before their computer. Having said that, booking via desktop will come VERY soon. In the meantime, you can also book via mobile web (go to getmaid.com on any smartphone), not just iOS.

pakeha• 14 years ago

Please come to San Francisco! I would jump on this immediately. I hate the idea of trying to find, screen and co-ordinate someone to clean my apartment regularly. I've tried TaskRabbit for this, but I find the whole engagement cycle awkward.

jazzychad• 14 years ago

You could try Exec's new cleaning service in SF: https://iamexec.com/cleaning

adamcollingburn• 14 years ago

This, along with lockitron to let the maid in sounds like a perfect match

jawns• 14 years ago

This service is GREAT for a person who:

1) only needs maid service occasionally, and not on a fixed schedule

2) needs maid service fast, when they do need it

3) is willing to take a risk on the quality, and hoping that the premium price they pay is an indication that they'll get quality service.

So ... I'm thinking the target audience is bachelors, people who don't frequently entertain at home, etc.

The one thing that would worry me, as a customer, is whether the by-the-hour payment model might tempt the maids to work slower.

fwr• 14 years ago

> whether the by-the-hour payment model might tempt the maids to work slower

They purposefully work slower, they don't come next time.

nlh4• 14 years ago

In a traditional relationship, sure. But with these P2P Uber-like systems, I'm not sure that the consumer is convinced of that -- they're likely to say "that Get Maid person was slow. Not using the service again."

sgutentag6• 14 years ago

This is definitely a concern we take seriously. Our goal is to not only offer a service that's on-demand, but also provide one of the best cleans you'll have. We do a lot of work vetting and training our maids to ensure quality and trustworthiness. This includes 1) interview, 2) reference checks, 3) a demo clean, and 4) background check...before we bring them onto our system. We train our maids to be as efficient as possible and that it's much better to have a customer twice than to work too slowly once.

tspike• 14 years ago

Did you get the inspiration for this from /r/EntrepreneurRideAlong?

sgutentag6• 14 years ago

Nope, although after researching the space and working on the product, we did hear about it. We got the inspiration from having a kafkaesque experience trying to find and book a maid in NYC.

h1srf• 14 years ago

2 questions:

1. Is it not possible to schedule one using the website? I'm too lazy to download an app and 3G at my office is terrible.

2. If the maid steals something, can I file a claim with you?

dkaragas2• 14 years ago

Demetri from Get Maid here... 1) You can currently book on our mobile site as well as the app. Working on desktop booking. 2) Yes, we are fully bonded and insured.

encoderer2• 14 years ago

I was just talking about this with my wife.

We have a regular housekeeper that comes just twice a month but it would be great -- especially once we have kids -- to be able to get an on-demand maid the morning after a dinner party or a kids sleepover or whatever.

We love Uber, and I'd love to try this out.

TazeTSchnitzel2• 14 years ago

Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but the name sounds too much like "Get Laid" for my tastes...

The substitution of "maid" doesn't help.

Buzaga• 14 years ago

opened comments, ctrl+f "laid" because that's exactly what I thought

msg• 14 years ago

Get made - as in, initiate into the mafia through contract killing - I think is even worse.

TazeTSchnitzel2• 14 years ago

And what's the city it's launching in? New York, I tell you!

samstave• 14 years ago

That costs extra.

arbuge• 14 years ago

Local leadgen is hard. They'll have to do a monumental job of generating buzz to keep this going. Traditional routes like buying keywords on AdWords are very competitive. "maid service new york" currently goes for $6.33 per click there... could take many clicks for a single booking.

Show HN: Get Maid - Uber for Maid Service in NYC

Related Stories