UberSquare

General

1. What is UberSquare?
2. How does it work?
3. Why can't I just ask my friends or family for referrals?
4. Why can't I use the yellow pages?
5. Is UberSquare available in my local area?
6. What types of local services are available on UberSquare?
7. What is a picture's URL?
8. How are the service providers on the home page selected?
9. How many free credits do I get when I sign up?
10. How many free credits do I get when I refer a friend to sign up at UberSquare?
11. Why can't I send a message to <user XYZ>?
12. I can't find an answer to my question.

I'm a consumer

1. How do I start?
2. Who can see my service provider reviews?
3. How much does it cost?
4. I've received a proposal for my project. What's next?
5. How do I find a good and trustworthy service provider?
6. I received a proposal in an email. What should I do?
7. After browsing UberSquare, I found a promising service provider that I want to hire for my project. What should I do now?
8. I've seen projects that include a cool video/animated pictures in the description. How do I do that?
9. What does this button do?
10. My service provider has now completed my project. What do I do now?
11. When I read a service provider review, I can't see the information of some of the reviewers? Why is that?
12. Why can't I edit my project?
13. Why can't I comment on my project?
14. How do I contact a service provider who might not be aware of my project?

I'm a service provider

1. How do I start?
2. I've submitted a proposal. What's next?
3. I've finished a project for a customer. What should I do now?
4. How much does it cost?
5. What types of payment does UberSquare accept?
6. What are the pending transactions in my transaction history?
7. How do I add a video in my proposal/comment?
8. Can I submit a proposal when someone else has already submitted a proposal for the same project?
9. Why can't I comment on a project?
10. Why can't I submit a proposal for a project?

General

1. What is UberSquare?

UberSquare is a venue for consumers and local service providers to meet online. It's not always easy for a consumer to find a good service provider such as a lawyer, an accountant, or an interior designer, etc and vice versa. UberSquare aims to solve this problem by providing a venue for consumers and various types of local service providers to connect.



2. How does it work?

UberSquare allows a consumer to get recommendations of service providers easily from either friends and family or other users of UberSquare.




Additionally, a consumer can create a project on UberSquare that includes a detailed description. Service providers can then contact the consumer by submitting proposals. Once initial contact have been made, both parties then work on the project details either on UberSquare or offline. When the project is completed, feedbacks are left by both parties.



3. Why can't I just ask my friends or family for referrals?

We believe using referrals from friends and family is one of the best ways to find a qualified service provider. Sometimes it's easier to call your friends and family to get referrals. At other times, it may be easier to get referrals from your friends and family online. Here at UberSquare, we have tools for you to gather your family and circle of friends so that you'll have instant access to their trusted service providers. We're sure you'll love this tool.




It's also possible that our friends and family don't have referrals because they haven't had the need to do what you need to do. In that case, UberSquare provides you a way to find a service provider effectively.



4. Why can't I use the yellow pages?

Yellow pages overwhelm us with hundreds of businesses in each service category. We know none of the businesses and it's very difficult to find a qualified service provider effectively. Do we want to call and screen each service provider? As a service provider, do you want to change your business name to start with the letter 'A' so your business will be placed in front of others in the yellow pages listing? There has to be a better way.



5. Is UberSquare available in my local area?

UberSquare currently provides coverage in these areas. We're always looking to increase our coverage. Please free free to suggest additional areas on that page.



6. What types of local services are available on UberSquare?

Several types of services are currently available on UberSquare. We're always looking to add more types of services. Please free free to make suggestions on that page.



7. What is a picture's URL?

A picture's URL is the web address of the picture. You can share that picture by copying the URL and pasting it into your email, documents, etc so that other people can click on the URL to see the picture easily.



8. How are the service providers on the home page selected?

The service providers on the home page are just a small subset of all the service providers registered at the website, and are random for the most part. However, a number of factors affect the selection currently. If a service provider has pictures in his/her gallery, we tend to put him/her on the list for the reason that pictures can tell a better story of the provider's work. If a service provider is active on the website, we also tend to include him/her on the list.



9. How many free credits do I get when I sign up?

Each account comes with 5 free credits. Signing up for an account is absolutely free.



10. How many free credits do I get when I refer a friend to sign up at UberSquare?

You earn 1 credit if a person you send an invitation to successfully signs up for an account at UberSquare. So refer as many friends as you want to earn credits! Note that your friends need to activate their accounts before your referral credits are deposited into your account.

Please note that we reserve the right to limit the number of credits you can earn through referrals.



11. Why can't I send a message to <user XYZ>?

Unless you're a friend of this user, you can't send him/her a message if he/she has an active project.



12. I can't find an answer to my question.

Please send your questions to service@ubersquare.com for additional help.

I'm a consumer

1. How do I start?

If you are happy with a service provider that you've used in the past, you can share this contact with your friends and family by writing a service provider review. Your service provider reviews can be seen by all users but your user name is only shown to your friends and family.




Another way of finding a service provider is to simply create a project on UberSquare with a description and optionally provide your budget. By default, you'll receive an email when service provider submits a proposal for your project. So sit back and relax and let the service providers come to you.



2. Who can see my service provider reviews?

Your service provider reviews can be seen by all users but your user name is only shown to your friends and family. We respect your privacy so that you can be honest in your reviews.



3. How much does it cost?

It is absolutely free for consumers. We only charge serivce providers a nominal fee.



4. I've received a proposal for my project. What's next?

If you like what the service provider is offering, reply to him/her by adding a comment to answer any questions he/she may have and include additional information. You may continue to exchange messages with the service provider on UberSquare, or you may also work with him/her offline on the project details, price, etc as sometimes it's more efficient to talk face-to-face or on the phone.



5. How do I find a good and trustworthy service provider?

Meeting a service provider on UberSquare is only a start. We encourage you to also do the following:

• examine the evidence of the service provider's past work such as pictures, documents, or to actually look at the results of his/her past work if available;
• ask for at least 3 references and check them;
• meet with the service provider face-to-face;
• if you're in the United States, check with the Better Business Bureau http://www.bbb.org/ and http://www.bbbonline.org/index.asp for any complaints filed against the local service provider.


6. I received a proposal in an email. What should I do?

We disallowed the use of email spams at UberSquare. However, if you feel the email is a legitimate proposal, feel free to follow up on the proposal. After all, UberSquare is about making it easier for consumers and service providers to meet. We do encourage you to work with the service provider to submit the proposal using UberSquare. The documented proposal and any comments and feedbacks will help other users who will be involved in a similar type of projects in the future.



7. After browsing UberSquare, I found a promising service provider that I want to hire for my project. What should I do now?

Create your project on UberSquare if you haven't already. Then click on the 'Send to a friend' link on your project page to let the service provider know of your project.



8. I've seen projects that include a cool video/animated pictures in the description. How do I do that?

You can include a YouTube video in your project description by including the YouTube embed information:
 

• Go to UberSquare and create a new project(or edit one of your existing projects);
• type your project description in the project editor. Then click on the HTML button . This pops up the HTML editor;
• open your YouTube video and copy(CTRL-C) the embed information
• go back to the UberSquare Html editor and paste the embed information into where you want the video apear in the description. Then click on the Update button;
• you're now back in the project editor. Click on the Post button(or the Save button if you're editing a project) to save the project and you're done!



You can also include videos and pictures from photobucket.



9. What does this button do?

By clicking this button, you are simply saying you intend to work with the service provider to complete your project. This is also a way to let other service providers know that you're no longer accepting new proposals.




Clicking on this button does not mean you're entering a service contract. You should meet with your service provider to finalize the details of the project if you decide to have him/her complete the project.




After clicking on the button below, both you and your service provider will be able to leave feedbacks on the project in your account profile.



10. My service provider has now completed my project. What do I do now?

Go to your project page and click on the 'Choose service provider...' button within the service provider's proposal. Doing so simply indicates that you've received a service from the service provider. This also allows both you and the service provider to leave feedbacks for each other.



11. When I read a service provider review, I can't see the information of some of the reviewers? Why is that?

Protecting the privacy of our users is a top priority. UberSquare hides the reviewer's name unless the reviewer is a friend of yours.



12. Why can't I edit my project?

You cannot edit your project when you've already chosen a service provider by clicking on the 'Choose service provider...' button that appears in the project proposal.
You also cannot edit your project when you've already received a proposal. You can at this point add information to the project by adding a comment on the project page.



13. Why can't I comment on my project?

You cannot comment on your project when you've already chosen a service provider by clicking on the 'Choose service provider...' button that appears in the project proposal.



14. How do I contact a service provider who might not be aware of my project?

Simply click on the 'Send to a friend' link on your project page to contact a service provider.

I'm a service provider

1. How do I start?

Browse UberSquare for projects you want to work on. Once you've identified a project, you may then submit a proposal for the project by clicking on the 'Make a proposal' link on the project page.



2. I've submitted a proposal. What's next?

UberSquare automatically notifies the project owner when you submit your proposal. If the project owner is interested in finding out more about the proposal, he/she may respond to your proposal on UberSquare. You may also add additional information by adding a comment on the project page. We also encourage you to talk to the project owner face-to-face or on the phone for more effective communication. UberSquare provides a venue for consumers and service providers to meet effectively. Once you're connected with your potential customer, don't be shy to work out the details offline!



3. I've finished a project for a customer. What should I do now?

Ask your customer to 'finalize' the UberSquare project by clicking on the 'Choose service provider...' button that appears in your project proposal. Doing so indicates that you've provided a service to your customer. This also allows both you and your customer to leave feedbacks for each other.



4. How much does it cost?

Every time a serivce provider submits a proposal, 1 credit is subtracted from the service provider's account. Each account comes with 5 free credits. Additional credits can be purchased on your account profile page. Currently, there are 3 purchase options: (1) 3 credits for $3.00 USD, (2) 6 credits for $5.00 USD, (3) 15 credits for $10 USD.



5. What types of payment does UberSquare accept?

UberSquare accepts major credit cards and PayPal.



6. What are the pending transactions in my transaction history?

A pending transaction indicates that you have made a purchase using your bank funds via PayPal. It may take 3 to 4 days to clear a pending transaction. As soon as the pending transactions are cleared, the purchased credits will be added to your account.



7. How do I add a video in my proposal/comment?

See the instructions here.



8. Can I submit a proposal when someone else has already submitted a proposal for the same project?

Absolutely.



9. Why can't I comment on a project?

You cannot comment on a project when the project owner has already chosen a service provider by clicking on the 'Choose service provider...' button that appears in a project proposal.



10. Why can't I submit a proposal for a project?

You cannot submit a proposal for a project when the project owner has already chosen a service provider by clicking on the 'Choose service provider...' button that appears in a project proposal, or you have already submitted a proposal for this project before.