In the wake of the pandemic, many non-essential businesses have either suspended operations or, unfortunately, permanently shut down. Some of these businesses include bars, movie theaters, gyms and other recreation centers, and even salons and barber shops. But as the pandemic persisted and lockdown measures eased, more and more people are beginning to seek these non-essential businesses again.
Fortunately, on-demand service provider MyKuya has risen to the occasion and introduced new and unique offerings, including barber services in partnership with Felipe and Sons.
Users can now hire a personal barber through the MyKuya app to give them a haircut or a shave in the comfort of their own home or office. They can also request the barber to give them a quick shoulder and head massage as part of the service. For health and hygiene purposes, the MyKuya partner barbers will attend to requests wearing their set of personal protective equipment and bringing their own sanitized equipment.
The partnership is beneficial to both MyKuya and Felipe and Sons—MyKuya is able to help its users get professionally-done haircuts without leaving their homes, while Felipe and Sons is able to leverage technology to reach more customers and track its barbers when they go out to complete an on-demand request.
MyKuya has expanded its existing roster of on-demand offerings, such as office assistant services, to lend a helping hand with physical menial tasks in workplaces so regular workers can spend more time doing high-level work.
MyKuya will also offer L300 van services in response to the growing demand from business owners whose operations are flourishing amidst the pandemic. As more and more small businesses seek careful and trustworthy couriers, MyKuya is ready to meet their delivery needs.
As the Philippines continues to operate in the new normal, MyKuya will continue to create new and unique services to serve more Filipinos, as well as provide more job opportunities for those who need it.
”Our goal from the very start has always been to help Filipinos with their errands and other needs. With the pandemic still keeping people from doing what they need to do outside, we’re happy to be of help to them in any way we can,” MyKuya founder Shahab Shabibi said.
In the early months of the pandemic with quarantine restrictions in place, non-essentials workers were forced to stay at home and only permitted to go out to purchase essential items. In addition to their original range of services—which include grocery delivery, pabili, bills payment, and cleaning services, MyKuya launched home services for Filipinos those needing help with house fixtures. The company was able to hire handymen, carpenters, painters, electricians, plumbers, and aircon cleaners.
MyKuya also partnered with several commercial establishments—such as SM Supermalls, Robinsons Mall, Ayala Malls, Ortigas Malls, and more—to bring them closer to more Filipinos who continue to stay indoors.
The company also offers assistant services for business owners, namely MotoToday and BizHelper.
In all of these services, MyKuya partners practice safety protocols such as wearing face masks and shields and sanitizing their hands with rubbing alcohol.
“We feel astounded by the amount of requests we received in the past few months. We also feel proud for being able to provide laid off workers the opportunity to work with us and be part of a wonderful community,” Shabibi said.
MyKuya is also expanding its business to cities outside Metro Manila such as Damariñas, Bacoor, and General Trias in Cavite; Lucena City in Quezon province; and Santa Rosa City in Laguna, and is looking to expand to Zambales and Pangasinan.
In all these efforts, MyKuya is not only supporting its customers but its partners as well. With its goal of providing 1 million job opportunities by 2022, MyKuya is continuously hiring Kuyas and Ates, especially those who were laid off during the pandemic. At the beginning of the lockdown period, MyKuya hired more than 7,000 new Kuyas and Ates. As the company expands in other cities, Filipinos in the provinces will be given more chances to work and earn for their families.
“We’re happy being able to achieve so much in the past few months, but we won’t just stop there,” Shabibi noted, “We at MyKuya promise to do more as we believe we have the resources to help those in need during this difficult time. Together, we can weather this pandemic and enter the new normal strong.”