Los Angeles ‘on-demand’ services firm enters San Diego market

Dave Fidlin | Contributor

SERVIZ wants to be to home service repairs what Uber is to car sharing.

In mid-January, the emerging Los Angeles-based on-demand technological resource provider made its initial foray into most of San Diego — including all Downtown neighborhoods, from East Village, the Gaslamp to Little Italy.

Their entry into the city’s service market means residents will soon be able to use the app-based service to hire plumbers and electricians, get their carpets cleaned and their HVAC and other appliances repaired, among many other services.

Company CEO and co-founder Zorik Gordon said the 6-month-old company aims to take the guesswork out of finding affordable, reputable professionals.

“This is a way of bringing traditionally offline businesses online,” Gordon said. “We think the whole service industry has been kind of broken, and we see this as a next stage in the evolution for a lot of companies. Up until now, it hasn’t been a very transparent process.”

Gordon maintains SERVIZ is entering a new frontier with features in its app-based technology that are not easily replicated by competitors. The company serves as an intermediary, linking specific service providers with residential and commercial customers.

Prior to the company’s late summer 2014 debut in Los Angeles, Gordon said he and other SERVIZ officials embarked on an extensive research project that spanned several years.

As a culmination of that research, Gordon said the company has set fixed costs for such services as unclogging a toilet to mounting a 60-inch TV. The fixed costs take into consideration the average price providers are offering for a specific service.

“With technology constantly evolving and people using it for different reasons … we feel we can provide a better experience for consumers,” Gordon said when asked about the reasoning behind the creation of the company.

The goal, Gordon said, is to turn the previous practice of seeking out quotes from different service providers on its head. Gordon likens the company’s focus to the trust most online users have in purchasing items through mega online retailer Amazon.

In Los Angeles, SERVIZ links consumers to service providers in more than a half-dozen different categories. For the time being, Gordon said SERVIZ is providing San Diego consumers with resources for plumbing, handyman, carpet cleaning and appliance repair, and plans to expand that soon to HVAC, garage door and electrical repair and services.

To be included in SERVIZ’s directory, technicians need to jump through a series of hoops, Gordon said, including a background check and a high degree of customer satisfaction ratings. Additionally, the service providers are required to carry insurance and have all of the necessary licensure requirements.

As the southerly expansion continues, Gordon said he expects to link San Diegan mobile users with service providers in other industries as well.

“Right now, we’re focused on perfecting the model and making sure the early markets are working well,” he said.

While it is too early to gauge SERVIZ’s reception in San Diego, Gordon said user results in the company’s home base have been encouraging. Since the company’s launch five months ago in L.A., Gordon asserted the number of providers has grown by 50 percent in each recent month. And as of January, SERVIZ has booked more than 10,000 customer appointments.

Gordon, who built SERVIZ from the ground up with colleague Michael Kline, admits the company still has some bugs and kinks to work out as it perfects its business model, but he has grand visions on the not-too-distant horizon for SERVIZ.

The company recently received an infusion of $20 million in cash to continue fostering its advancements, Gordon said. Investors have included the backers of such high profile ventures as Groupon and PointGuard Ventures.

“Our goal, within the next 18 to 24 months, is to be in the top 10 to 20 markets,” he said. “We are definitely looking to continue broadening our coverage area.”

Steps for accessing the service: Download the SERVIZ app on your iPhone or Android device. Launch the app and select the service you need. Enter your preferred date of service or an appointment window. Enter your name and contact information. Hit “complete booking” and you’re done. For more information on SERVIZ, visit the company website at serviz.com.

—Dave Fidlin has been a professional journalist for more than a dozen years and has contributed to a variety of newspapers, magazines and websites across the nation. He has a special affinity for San Diego and its people. Contact him at [email protected].