EFrenzy Sends a Plumber Straight to Your Hand-Held
A variety of Internet companies are using the Web to hook consumers up to service providers. Now one of them, EFrenzy.com, is taking the concept a step further.
The San Francisco company is connecting consumers to auto repair shops, plumbers and other professionals via Web-enabled Sprint PCS phones. The company has also teamed with AT&T; Wireless and Oracle Mobile and plans this fall to support Palm-connected organizers, two-way pagers and other mobile devices, company representative Kira Klaus said.
My daughter’s car needs an oil change. So instead of stopping by the local gas station or bothering to go home to search the Web for a good deal, I picked up my Sprint PCS phone. First, I selected the Web browser option, selected shopping and then EFrenzy and, by following a few more menu options, submitted a request for a bid on an oil change.
That request will be sent by e-mail or fax to a nearby oil change business that, hopefully, will contact me with a bid on the job.
Instead of calling me directly, the business will submit a response to EFrenzy, which will forward it to my e-mail account and to my personalized “my account” page at https://www.efrenzy.com. That page will allow me to compare all the responses to see not only who offers the best price but to check out the service provider’s qualifications, credentials and consumer reviews.
*
The service is free to consumers, but businesses pay a $14.99 monthly fee (or $149 a year) to be listed. Businesses also pay a fee of $3 for each transaction completed under $100, $10 for services between $100 and $499 and $35 for those above $500.
The mobile version of EFrenzy lets consumers request proposals from the same types of businesses as the Web-based service, but mobile customers are more limited in the detail they can provide about what services they’re looking for.
In addition, the mobile version can be used to get instant information on services customers are likely to need in a hurry: say, if they’re locked out of their home or office. The instant services option includes a link to a locksmith, roadside assistance, airport shuttle and--the most critical of all emergency services--flower delivery.
Once you select an option, you get an 800 number that the phone dials automatically. The numbers take you to nationwide referral services, so local businesses must register with those services.
Frankly, if I weren’t reviewing EFrenzy, I probably wouldn’t use my cell phone or even the Web to get a bid on something as basic and easy to locate as an oil change, but the service is also used by a wide variety of other service professionals classified into 90 categories, including dog walkers, tax preparers, caterers, graphic design companies and just about any other type of business that focuses on services rather than products.
*
I would use EFrenzy for more complicated service purchases such as my current search for an arborist to take down a dead and potentially dangerous Monterey pine tree. For that I wasn’t able to use the cell phone service, but I did locate landscape artists on the EFrenzy Web site and, by specifying exactly what I needed, was able to get my request to local companies that can bid on the service.
For now, the mobile aspect of the service is available only to consumers and businesses requesting services, but the company plans to offer it to service providers as well. If you’re a plumber out fixing a leaky faucet in Reseda, you might get a message on your cell phone or Palm organizer directing you to a clogged garbage disposal in North Hollywood. Such instant notification could make a lot of sense for mobile service providers, especially those who don’t have the luxury of a receptionist to screen and forward important calls and messages.
EFrenzy has received venture funding from a variety of sources, including Trinity Ventures, Office Depot and Tribune Ventures, a unit of Tribune Co., publisher of the Los Angeles Times.
*
Technology reports by Lawrence J. Magid can be heard at 2:10 p.m. weekdays on the KNX (1070) Technology Hour. He can be reached at larry.magid@latimes.com. His Web site is at https://www.larrysworld.com.
