Sanchit Gaurav is the CEO at Housejoy, a leading tech-enabled service provider that helps fulfill all house construction, renovation and maintenance related needs of homeowners. The Bangalore-based company operates in 13 major Indian cities and provides unmatched end-to-end services. With almost 16 years of experience in the Indian real estate market, Sanchit has gained immense insight and expertise in the industry.
Over the course of two decades the world has witnessed a slew of epidemic disease outbreaks that have shown brisk transmission. Currently, apprehension is growing over the relentlessly rising in Covid-19 infections in most parts of the world and the ability to sustain a decline in others. All organizations face elephantine challenges as they try to combat the covid-19 pandemic and safeguard employees from being infected at work. Though it seems the pandemic has marginally come under the control, the world has no explicit confirmation that it has been quelled. There are a lot of conundrums and anxiety over covid-19’s rise again.
On the flip side, life happens, even as the pandemic prevails; during such conditions, the washing machine can break down, the sink and roof leak, closet disorders, maybe the stove stops cooking your delicious homemade cuisine. Life cannot come to a halt or these repairs and maintenance be delayed longer. These things have to be maintained irrespective of the situation. If the home is not maintained properly, it potentially invites hazards to your well-being.
If the home is not kept congruously, it becomes an unsafe place to dwell. Living in perilous housing conditions may contribute to health inequities and be a factor in chronic diseases (depression, anxiety, etc). The covid-19 pandemic has exposed or dragged us into a life that we have never experienced before. These include remote working, online class and prohibition of guests entering homes, be it relatives, friends or acquaintances, because of high Covid-19 transmission. This situation has forced people to spend roughly 90% of their time indoors and it signifies the impact housing can have on a person’s health.
Therefore, home maintenance services became imperative to keep one’s home safe. The demand rose during the pandemic with services ranging from appliances repair to carpet and duct cleaning. But then it becomes strenuous to cajole people to allow home servicers into their home, as the health department has instructed all to be cautious in letting outsiders in. The companies have to fulfil necessary precautions before sending their service people to the client’s homes in order to ensure safety of both of them from covid-19 transmission.
People’s safe lifestyle was a pressing and significant requirement for service companies, and hence they drafted fundamental rules in accordance with government guidelines and these had to be strictly followed before service personnel can set their foot inside a customer’s place.
Before scheduling, visit for inspection
Initially, the company reaches out to customers in response to their enquiry on their home maintenance to ensure whether anyone in the household has been diagnosed with covid-19 or is being quarantined for potential exposure to the virus. Likewise, the company is obligated to share details of the service person’s health to the clients to verify whether the service person is infected or potentially exposed. This procedure provides safety to both parties and builds trust with the customer. Companies would never want the customers to feel suffocated or unsafe during house inspection for their maintenance problems.
All parts of the agreement would be completed digitally to avoid physical touch of documents, pens etc because coronavirus could remain on some surfaces for hours or even days.
Request to prepare their home before the visit
It is necessary to prepare the work area, whichever may need maintenance. Customers will be instructed to remove items which may hinder the work or could be touched while servicing. This protects the service person in the event the virus is at the house, even if the customer is unaware. Additionally, customers may lay a floor protection by using disposable plastic or paper or washable sheets on which the worker can walk and place their tools. It is entirely optional to the customers but highly recommended to considerably reduce virus transmission.
During home maintenance service
The moment the service pro has reached the customer’s place, customers are requested to stay away from the maintenance area and can keep an eye on the work being done from a distance. Servicing pro wears a mask and hand gloves during the work which would limit virus transmission. The entire process has been carried out without the intervention of the customer because they have to be protected and feel safe.
If there were to be kids at home it is recommended to keep them out of the site because these service elements would be an intriguing factor for them. They will be restless and would go to any extreme to be part of the work, which may put the child at risk.
After the repair work
Once the maintenance work is completed, the servicing pro instructs the customer to use the recommended safety measures to clean up the spaces used by the service provider. It always becomes a concern among customers on how to clean it up because of uncertainty of the presence of the virus. Therefore, the service pros are always meticulously careful during the work.
Challenges
It won’t be a straightforward task to promote home maintenance services during the pandemic and provide a safe lifestyle for customers. Because the pandemic has generated greater fear and unpredictability in the world, which makes everyone circumspect in everything. It has become highly essential for home services to create a better lifestyle for customers though there are lots of challenges in it. People cannot dwell in unsafe houses for a long period which can cause many health troubles. Therefore, it has become an obligation for service companies to remove the worries of people by providing timely and safe services.