GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — There are still two months of winter left, which means you'll likely have to shovel or plow again at some point. But if you don't want to do it yourself, like many things, there's an app for that.
If you've ever used a ride share program like Uber or Lyft, you're already ahead of the game. QuikPlow uses a similar matching technology which matches service providers with customers.
When you need your driveway, sidewalk or parking lot plowed, you open the app and select the service you're looking for: whether it's a plow, a snow blower or shovel. It'll tell you how many verified service providers are in your area.
"The job is requested, service providers see the jobs pop up. They actually get text messages when a job populates in the area and they can deny it or accept the job," QuikPlow co-founder Ryan Crawley said. "You've got to be 18 years or older to sign up. You can be a shoveler or a snow blower and you don't have to be insured. Everyone who is using a snow plow truck must be insured, so when you go on the app and you sign up for the app we make sure we register and document that insurance."
Over the weekend, the app stopped working because of how many people were attempting to utilize the service. The back-end developers were able to fix the bugs and it's now back in service.
"We've got people sending messages saying 'Hey, when are we going to be available.' It's like 'Well tell a buddy who's got a plow.' One provider in the area will enable people to start seeing requests," Crawley said. "It will certainly overwhelm one driver if he starts getting 50 requests. But over in Grand Rapids we had a guy over two days complete 12 jobs for over $500 take home."
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