Business Corner: The Maintenance Shop, a free repair-request app with hourly estimates and tech profiles

Disclosure: This Business Corner feature is about a company in the same family as True News. The Maintenance Shop is run by Maintenance 215 LLC, and both are part of Bagley Enterprises, founded by Len Bagley. The details below are the company's own description of its service.

Maintenance 215, a Philadelphia facilities maintenance company, has opened The Maintenance Shop, a website where homeowners, landlords and businesses send repair requests and local trade contractors can sign up to do the work, according to the company.

The company says signing up and sending a request are free, and that customers pay only for work they approve.

How a request works, according to the company

A request takes three steps on a phone: the customer picks what's wrong, such as a leak, no heat, an electrical problem, a clog or a broken lock; the app shows a few things to try first; and the customer picks how urgent it is, adds photos and sends it. The company says its app tells anyone who smells gas to leave and call 911 or PGW from outside. That is the app's guidance, not advice from True News.

Each request has a tracker that moves from received to scheduled, working and done.

How the price is set

The company says the person who will do the job sends in the labor, either by the hour or as a set price, and what the materials will cost. Maintenance 215 reviews it and sends the customer the estimate, and the customer approves or declines it before any work starts. Prices are shown in the app after a customer signs up.

Knowing who's coming

Each technician and contractor has a profile with a photo, a short bio and their skills, the company says, and customers see that profile on their request so they know who is coming to their home or business.

For contractors

According to Maintenance 215, trade businesses can join its contractor list for free and are paid by the hour for the jobs it sends them, plus the materials they buy, after the customer has paid. Contractors upload a W-9 and proof of insurance before they are paid, and can see their jobs and payments in one place. Maintenance 215 says it especially encourages Black-owned firms to join, and that all qualified firms are welcome.

For landlords and businesses

The company says owners can add all their properties, with notes for the technician, and let tenants or staff report problems for a specific property. The app also includes Ask a Pro, an AI helper for general repair questions.

The service is starting in the Philadelphia area, at themaintenanceportal.app.

The Maintenance Shop in the Business Corner · Visit The Maintenance Shop

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/874