BOISE, ID – A Treasure Valley start-up and a local Better Business Bureau have teamed up to make it easier for you to find the help you need, whether you’re looking for a plumber or a hairdresser. It involves new technology.
The Better Business Bureau in the Snake River Region gets more than 300,000 website hits a year. About a third of these visitors want to check out or find a local business. Dale Dixon with the Bureau wants to connect these people with their accredited companies quickly.
Dale Dixon: “So when we know that that many people are coming to us looking for companies, we’re looking for an opportunity to make their search easier and more productive.”
That’s where Locate Express comes in. The Treasure Valley start-up and the Bureau have a partnership. Potential customers go to the BBB’s website to request everything from electricians to movers. On the website, they fill in their contact information and describe what they need. Then, they press “connect.” Doug Joseph is the CEO of Locate Express. He says his technology uses the GPS feature in smart phones so that in about sixty seconds the closest service provider will be alerted to what you need.
Doug Joseph: ” . . . and if you’re available, you accept it. If you’re not available, it rolls to the second closest service provider.”
Locate Express and the Better Business Bureau will launch the technology first in Idaho. If it’s successful, they hope to take the idea to other Bureaus throughout the U.S.
Copyright 2012 Boise State Public Radio