SEATTLE - Pro.com, A professional finder that compete's with Porch.com, Angie's List, Red Beacon from Home Depot, among others, has launched Text-a-Pro, a mobile messaging service that connects homeowners with home services professionals via Facebook’s Messenger app. Homeowners can receive instant and flat-rate prices on home projects and schedule appointments within minutes.
By sending a message to Pro.com in Messenger or by texting 776-776, homeowners will be immediately connected to a personal Home Project Manager to provide support during every step of the project through to its completion. Pro.com guarantees projects using Text-a-Pro up to a $1,000 maximum.
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Starting today, Text-a-Pro features will be available within Facebook’s Messenger app. By sending a message in Messenger, customers can experience the full Pro.com service conveniently on their mobile devices. Through Messenger, homeowners will have the additional benefit of read receipts, so they'll know when their messages have been delivered and seen, improving the ability to communicate in real time. People will also be able to use features from Messenger like stickers and GIFs for more expressive conversations. Pro.com is the first partner to offer home services inside Messenger. Pro.com plans to more deeply integrate with Messenger going forward, adding even richer functionality.
In limited trials over the past 3 months, more than 150,000 text messages were exchanged between Pro.com customers, Pros and Home Project Managers. “Many of my customers prefer messaging or texting over picking up the phone. Pro.com has made it easy for us to book and coordinate projects, especially when it’s across staff members in the office or crew members in the field,” said David Crompton, Owner of Monet Home Services.
Text-a-Pro is available today in Seattle and San Francisco and is actively expanding into the more than 5,500 cities where Pro.com operates nationwide. Standard messaging rates may apply based on the individual wireless carrier.
Text-a-Pro features include:
- Flat-Rate Pricing: Home projects come without any last minute surprises by providing homeowners with pre-negotiated prices on hundreds of home projects ranging from window cleaning to smart thermostat installation to hanging a flat-panel TV, all delivered by Pro.com’s network of trusted, Certified Professionals.
- Trusted Professionals: Text-a-Pro connects homeowners to Pros who meet Pro.com’s quality and service standards with verified licensing, insurance and customer feedback. Every Certified Professional is background checked and goes through an individual review process.
- Personal Home Project Manager: Pro.com’s service experts understand the dimensions of every home project to provide pricing and the right Pro to complete the job, along with management of the backend logistics, including scheduling and billing.
- Pro.com Guarantee: If a homeowner is not satisfied with the quality of the completed project, Pro.com will work with the homeowner and the Pro to make it right – if a resolution cannot be met, Pro.com will pay another Pro to resolve, up to the original amount paid by the customer, not to exceed $1,000.
Read Receipts, Stickers and GIFs Instead of Phone Calls
“Our customers don’t want to pick up the phone to call a Pro. Instead they want a seamless mobile-first solution that fits into their active lifestyles,” said Matt Williams, CEO and founder of Pro.com. “Text-a-Pro takes the hassle out of home services by offering price transparency, instant scheduling and easy access to Certified Professionals all through mobile messaging. There is no easier way to schedule, coordinate and complete home projects.”
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