GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A new app is on its way to West Michigan to help you get that incoming snow out of your driveway.
"We knew Grand Rapids was a market we wanted to launch in sooner than later," says Gene Caballeros, co-founder of GreenPal. "And it just so happened to be you guys had some snow coming your way!"
GreenPal describes itself as "Uber for snow removal." But unlike Uber, it doesn't have its own employees. Instead, the app partners with local snow plow businesses. Customers just enter the job details and are introduced to local companies.
"That alerts all the pre-screened vendors in the area to bid on the property," explains Caballeros. "All those bids will go to the homeowner. The homeowner can see the vendors ratings, reviews and price, and then decide who they want to work with."
Caballero says the program is a win-win for both customers and local businesses. Customers can easily find the service best for them and the vendors cut out some promotional costs.
"Typically they would have to advertise or hang door fliers or something like that," says Caballeros. "Homeowner behavior has changed and so has consumer behavior, and so you kind of want everything on demand."
And in a time where people are trying to cut physical interaction to a minimum, keeping payments and bids digital helps all parties involved stay safe.
"Traditionally landscaping and the snow removal industry has been cash and there's a lot of interaction that has to happen," says Caballeros. "We've kind of removed those barriers from this."
GreenPal is available now on iPhones and Androids, or you can use the company's website by clicking here.
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