You post in the society WhatsApp group: does anyone know a good plumber?
Silence. Or five numbers with no context. You call one. Busy. Another. No answer.
The problem is not the plumber
It is where you are asking. A busy group chat is made for conversation, not for finding someone good. Your question competes with forwards and greetings, the one useful answer is buried within minutes, and next week someone asks the same thing again.
When you post, your number is also visible to everyone in the group, including people you have never met.
What you actually want
You want to hear from someone who lives near you, has used a plumber recently, and can tell you from their own experience that this person turned up on time, charged fairly and did the job properly.
That is what a neighbour's suggestion is: someone from your own neighbourhood, sharing what they know, with a reason behind it.
Asking your neighbourhood on Padosii
Padosii is a simple app for the people who live in a neighbourhood. When you need someone, you ask the people around you.
- Choose what you need and add a note if you like.
- Send it to your neighbourhood. Neighbours from nearby neighbourhoods can help too.
- A neighbour who knows someone good suggests them, with a note from their own experience if they like.
- You see who suggested the person, call or WhatsApp them from the app, and say thanks to the neighbour who helped.
Your mobile number is not shown to other residents when you ask.
Suggestions are checked for basic accuracy, completeness and duplicates before they appear. Padosii does not verify, employ or guarantee anyone, so use your own judgement. Suggested by neighbours. Verify before hiring.
It stays useful after you find someone
Checked suggestions stay in Neighbour Contacts, organised by category, so the next neighbour who needs a plumber can find one without asking again.
The same works for a tutor, a physio, a CA or anyone else a neighbour can speak for from experience.
Getting started
Padosii is free on Android and iPhone. Sign in with your mobile number, add your address and join your neighbourhood. If your neighbourhood is not on Padosii yet, you can request it in the app.