Tipping Your Professional
A deeper dive into the process behind our new tipping feature.
Last week, we launched a new feature allowing customers to tip their pro without worrying about cash. Now that it’s live across all of our markets, we wanted to do a deeper dive into the process of making this update happen.
Every time we consider adding a feature to Handy, we think about how that feature will fit in with our overall product vision. The grander idea behind Handy is to build a seamless platform for on-demand home services, so the ability to add tips is a pretty easy to justify. Eliminating cash from the equation reduces friction, which makes the platform more seamless and easier to use.
For the customer, this alleviates the stress caused by worrying about tips. Now, there’s no need to make a trip to the ATM, and the process is clearer: tips are always optional, but they’re an appreciated reward for a job well done.
For the professionals, we hope that customer tipping will offer an extra incentive to continue providing top-notch service. This feature demonstrates how our platform for home services is superior to the old way, where every professional was burdened by managing every aspect of their business. So now, not only is Handy a significantly easier way for the professionals to connect with customers and manage their schedule, but it also has the potential to be more lucrative. Plus, 100% of the tip is paid directly to the pro.
When the team was going through the design process, we had a handful of UX decisions to make. For example, we had to decide if customers would be able to tip even if they gave a poor rating. We decided that they should, in case the reason for their rating wasn’t directly related to the pro, and after they go through the rating flow, they’re funnelled into a feedback form. We also know that many customers weren’t able to tip their past pros even if they had wanted to at the time, so we added the option to retroactively tip. This way, customers can reward their favorite pros even if they didn’t have cash on hand at the time of the booking.
Another question the team dealt with was whether or not this feature should exist on the web. We noticed that although there’s a fairly even split between customers making bookings on the web vs. in the app, once the booking is in progress, people are much more likely to manage the process and engage with the product on their mobile device. So, since tipping is the final step in that management process, we decided it should be built directly into the mobile flow.
We’re very excited to see how this feature improves the experience (we’re already seeing strong adoption), and we’re paying attention to the data to understand how to improve the product even further in the future.
Thanks to all of the team members who worked on this project:
- Annmarie Akong, Product Designer
- Anton Vaneev, iOS Engineer
- Cole Kennedy, Copywriter
- Ondrej Dolejsi, Android Engineer
- Ricardo Rodriguez, Engineering Manager
- Ricky Quinones, Software Engineer
- Roumwelle Sta Ines, Android Engineer
