Men for rent
A new online platform is available in Romania providing a variety of services to choose from.
Ana-Maria Cononovici, 30.08.2015, 13:05
Starting early this year, whether they need help with household chores or they just want to have some company without needing to commit, Romanians have a platform with a wide variety of offers to choose from. One category is “men for rent, and the offers are very serious. So, if your bathroom plumbing is leaking, your computer has a virus, your friends wedding is coming and you dont have a date, this is the place to go for help. The services will be much cheaper and much more easily available, according to the founder of this online platform. The initiator of this project, who prefers to be called Alex, brings us the details of this project.
“Everybody needs a service at some point or another: have your heating system or sink fixed. Or you might need private lessons. We have all needed something like that at some point in our lives. In situations like that you phone your friends and ask if they know someone who can help you. But this could be done in an organised manner, so I came up with the idea of a platform that brings together all offers, as well as the requests for offers. So, if people are good at something in particular, they can offer their services and find those who need them.
And since interesting ideas are born from day-to-day situations, Alex told us where his idea came from.
“The first drop in this ocean of ideas that I had was an argument with a former girlfriend: I came home tired from work and she accused we werent spending enough time together and werent doing enough things together. I felt she was wrong, that I was trying hard enough. All frustrated, I told her that what she needed was a baby sitter, not a lover. She got upset, we got into an even bigger argument, but the idea stuck. I recalled that, somewhere in China, wives can leave their husbands in rooms equipped with Playstations and “rent a man to accompany them on their shopping trips. I made the connection between my argument and these stories from afar, and this is how I came up with the idea of “renting men. Talking with friends about it, we thought we could add plumbers and private teachers. The idea was then nicely developed. When it became available online, and the platform started to be accessed, a lady asked if she could offer to make traditional soup. This is how we realised our platform did not include the possibility of ladies offering their services.
Because this project is a first in Romania, our guest says he doesnt know yet how this project will be received on the market, but adds that since the idea has been adjusted based on feedback from website users, its chances of success are high. He explains how these services can be accessed and how they are provided.
“In order to get more detailed access you need to create an account. There you will find offers and requests for offers. We have set up several main categories: the technical section includes repair, maintenance services, etc. Then you have consulting services, which includes private lessons and consulting in various fields. There will also be a category that I invented: original services of renting men and baby-sitting services. If you feel alone and need to talk to someone, there are times when you cannot open up to your friends because you dont want them to know what you are thinking, so at these times you can go out for a coffee with someone from this platform. “Night out is another service we have created and it basically means going out on the town, taking a stroll. For ladies we have household services such as cooking, weve tried to include all the ideas that the visitors of our page have come up with so far.
How much does it cost? This is something for you to decide through private messages on the platform. And since the need for service can appear again, you have a contacts list to which you can add your new acquaintances, based on categories: “the computer guy, the plumber, the math teacher are now saved on your friends list and can be contacted at any time. And since the initiators of the project realised that those who submitted offers would stand better chances if they had a way of proving their expertise, new features have been added to the platform.
“We have added an area where those offering their services can upload documents that prove their expertise. This field will be optional, but will give more guarantees to someone who wants to get that service, and it will prove that the service provider really has the professional background they claim to have and is indeed able to give private lessons or give a massage. We are now starting a beta version, our gift for people who dont have a partner and would like some company. In the final version we will activate extensions of our platform that will allow users to upload videos with presentations of their services, with posters, things will be more extensive.
After the service is provided, it will be possible to activate a feedback code so that the person who received the service can provide their impression: the code can be activated only once, and the feedback can be seen by all the other visitors, so they can get information about the quality of services and about potential problems.This all should help build a circle of professional friends who are always ready to help.
