Dubai: Whether it’s time to get a pet groomed, get the car washed, or have clothes tailored, Dubai’s busy lifestyle and traffic makes it extremely difficult to get things done on the same day.
But then came hundreds of home services in Dubai that arrive at people’s doorstep to make life much easier and hassle-free. But most of the time it comes at an extra cost.
The growing home delivery market caters to almost any imaginable need in the UAE by making services a click or a phone call away from residents. These services could range from beauty, health, food delivery, to even getting an oil service for your cars at home, saving you plenty of time.
The idea of expanding a traditional tailor shop business into a tailor truck, for example, is a quite recent concept that has made customising Kandoras for Emirati men easily accessible and convenient.
Emirati businessman Majid Al Awadhi’s Dar Al Hay mobile tailoring truck is making a buzz around the country, especially among Emiratis looking to cut the long process of getting everything they need to get a full traditional look.
“We have been getting calls for appointments from all across the UAE because people love the idea of getting a door-to-door service without having to leave their homes. After taking their measurements, it takes us only a few days to complete it and deliver it to them for free,” Al Awadhi told Gulf News.
Apart from customising traditional attire, he said, the delivery service launched a month ago has also made headpieces, trendy caps, perfumes and undergarments available.
“Inside here, we have everything an Emirati man needs from head to toe. From choosing the fabrics they want and getting their exact measurements by the tailor to choosing their headpieces and even undergarments.”
Just like calling a doctor to schedule an appointment, Al Awadhi, who also operates brick-and-mortar tailor shops in Dubai and Ajman, says people can call to book their service using a toll free number. The mobile tailoring truck comes with a salesman and a tailor and spends approximately 45 minutes at each location.
“The truck is usually being booked for a maximum of seven customers a day and sometimes even hailed by people for a quick service down the road.”
Clothes are not the only thing that need to be clean and tidy, says the co-founder of Keno, an app that allows people to order a car wash wherever they are. Though the idea is not new, the demand for the service is high.
“People in the UAE care about their cars, so we wanted to come up with something that will change their negative experience of car washing and queuing under the harsh weather conditions,” said Rayyan Hassan.
Hassan said the service is available to homes, offices or any other private and public parking spaces and reaches clients within an hour. “At a capacity more than 160 cars per day, we are close to competing with major car washing stations in the country.”
He added that his service helps people save at least an hour and a half of their time for an extra Dh5, or Dh10 extra for the service.
Likewise, taking care of a pet in the past required extra time to fit in the schedule, but now with mobile grooming services it can be completed from the comfort of one’s home.
Dog grooming company Shampooch launched the first mobile grooming business in Dubai in 2006 when they realised the potential.
“We are a family-run business and we thought of coming up with a service that comes to people rather than have them put their dog in the car for a 30-minute drive. A lot of dogs get sick and people don’t like hair on seats,” said Shaheen Shahani, managing partner of the 10-year-old family run business.
The fully equipped mobile grooming van in pink and yellow manned by a team of trained professionals will go anywhere in Dubai, giving dog owners the time to run other errands, he added.
Mobile grooming does come at an extra cost as opposed to being groomed at their salon, he said, “but most people don’t mind paying the extra cost for the convenience we offer them.”
Clients speak
Ibrahim Abdul Hadi, Palestine, 25
The services I usually prefer to avail of while sitting at home is the car wash service. I have relied on it for many years and it really saves me a lot of headache, one of them being the hassle of waiting in queues at car wash stations. Also, among the advantages is that home car washing companies take their time to clean the car and are more efficient. While it does come at an extra cost, I can sit back and relax until they are done.
Wessam Zaid, Jordan, 26
It is possible to have everything at home nowadays. There are plenty of services I have been hearing about such as the car serviceyou can get done while you relax at home or attend to something else. Having home services does make people lazy, but also saves a lot of time and energy driving to a place to get it done. One of my favourite ones is war service — they pick up your car, fix it and drop it back. The idea of mobile tailoring is also a brilliant one and definitely one I would try.
Nargiza N, Kyrgyzstan, 28
Every girl likes to take care of her beauty and there are quite a few salons that offer beauty services at home for your hair, nails and even make-up, which I think is great especially when you have an occasion and don’t have enough time to go to a salon after work. They usually come on time as well. I usually have a manicure and pedicure service around four times in six months. They definitely cost way more but I can say the quality is the same and maybe even better.
