Centrica plc has announced that its digital service, Local Heroes , which helps people to find trusted local tradespeople, is now offering new trades: painters, decorators, locksmiths, tilers, and handymen and women.
- On-demand home services market is now worth £5.7 billion
- Digital service connecting people with local tradespeople adds five new services
- 7,000 tradespeople available across the country
- More than 30,000 Local Heroes jobs booked since launch
Local Heroes already connects people with local plumbing, heating, electrical and draining experts across the country. The digital on-demand service works by linking the customer-tradespeople journey seamlessly, from searching for a job and providing a price estimate, through to confirmation and online payment. All work that is undertaken is backed by a 12-month British Gas guarantee.
The introduction of new services, which sees Centrica firmly establish itself in this market, will bolster the company’s presence in the £5.7 billion on-demand home services market whilst providing more choice when it comes to finding people to carry out work in the home.
New tradespeople joining the Local Heroes network are qualified, accredited and insured, and price estimates are provided before work commences. The company is also working with the Master Locksmiths Association and the Tile Association to engage locksmiths and tilers respectively.
Mat Moakes, Local Heroes Director commented: “Through Local Heroes, Centrica is now providing home services that go beyond its traditional boiler repair, electrics and plumbing offering. This means that we’re able to give people more choice when it comes to finding a trusted tradesperson to carry out work in their home.
“Since our launch, we’ve seen that people place real value on a quality service backed by the peace of mind that a British Gas guarantee can provide. It’s the reason why we’re going to continue to invest in technology to enhance the service that customers receive.”
Local Heroes has completed more than 30,000 jobs since its nationwide launch in June 2017, and consistently deliver a ‘world-class’ service with an average Net Promoter Score of 81, a globally recognised tool for measuring customer satisfaction. Customer research has highlighted that a quarter of people chose to use Local Heroes because of the British Gas guarantee.
Existing British Gas customers can benefit from Local Heroes offers via the company’s Rewards website: www.britishgas.co.uk/rewards
Since its inception, Local Heroes has captured data from its platform, which provides a snapshot of the nation’s use of on-demand home services:
- The majority of people look for the services of a tradesperson on a Monday
- There is peak demand for painters and decorators on Wednesdays
- Most people book the services of a Local Hero between 10-11am on weekdays and 11am-12pm at the weekend
- Locksmiths are in more demand between 1-2pm
- The four most common jobs for Local Heroes relate to boilers, toilets, lighting and leaks
- There is a greater demand for handymen and women in Hampshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire