App on finding reliable service providers

Good to know: Lua (right) and Tan showing off the app on their digital devices.

PETALING JAYA: She was frustrated when all the video recordings of her wedding were lost by an amateur videographer she hired over the Internet.

But this misfortune led Jes Min Lua, 34, to come up with an application that enables users to find services that have been tried and approved by their friends.

“Amid our disappointment, we learnt that you would never know certain things about a service provider like quality and professionalism until you’ve paid or the work is done,” Lua said.

“These things only previous customers can tell you. This is why we came up with the application.”

Called “RecomN.com”, the application, currently available as a website, enables users to search for service providers who have been recommended or reviewed by their friends.

Lua, the founder and general manager of RecomN.com, said it also helped service providers – even a regular plumber – to create a high quality business profile online and gain credibility.

“We hope to release an iPhone and Android app by the end of the year,” she said, adding that consumers could use it for free.

The application, said Lua, increased the user’s chances of finding a trusted service provider compared to random searches as it was driven by social network. Users can also post reviews to help other friends find good service providers.

Lua said she and her co-founder, Alex Tan, would be launching an updated version of the application in the third quarter of the year with the introduction of RecomN in Singapore.

“When a service provider delivers you great service, what better way to say ‘thank you’ than to recommend the person to your friends? That way, everyone wins,” she said.

Tan said RecomN.com was currently running a contest for the best review and users could participate by logging onto the website.