Handy, a smartphone app that is something of an Uber for handyman work, announced earlier this week that it will pay its contractors a 50 percent bonus for jobs scheduled on Black Friday, at no additional cost to the customer.
“Any Handy booking made on the day of Black Friday itself (November 25th) — for a booking on the day or on any future date — will see their pro paid 1.5x their standard rate (that’s an extra 50% payment for pros, at no additional cost to Handy users),” the company said in a statement.
According to its website, Handy typically charges a “peak pricing” surcharge for jobs that are scheduled for “[w]hen there’s significantly increased demand.”
“By underwriting this initiative, Handy is helping customers express their thanks to the cleaners and handymen and women who have supported them throughout the year, and represents the first time that a platform in Handy’s space has created a customer-powered bonus scheme of this nature.”
Handy co-founder and CEO Oisin Hanrahan said in a company statement that it was his way to “extend the spirit of Thanksgiving and be part of the backlash against all that is wrong with Black Friday.”
A company spokesperson told The Washington Times that the most popular service calls on Handy over the extended Thanksgiving weekend are for house cleaning or furniture-assembly jobs as well as mounting TV screens and setting up Christmas trees.
The spokesperson added that Handy boasts more than 80,000 independent professionals who have “undergone rigorous background checks, including validation that they have the right to work in the U.S. and previous home services experience.”
“[M]ore than 90% of [our] professionals are women, and over 60% care for dependents in their household, with nearly 70% serving as the primary income earner for their household,” said the company rep in an email to The Washington Times. “Another 20% are students.”
Handy is currently available in 35 locations in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.
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