BALLYMUN entrepreneur James Redmond has launched a new kind of delivery service that brings anything to local homes, from snacks and cans to cough medicine or Ikea furniture.
Still in its pilot scheme, Fetch is limited to Ballymun, but James told Northside People he’s planning to expand soon. He said locals have been quick to get on board, especially with recent bad weather making it extra tempting to stay indoors.
“We had a job go up last night at 9.20pm - it was taken within a minute and completed within 20 minutes,” Redmond said.
“It was to the local shop for Pringles, a six pack of cans of Coke and, I think, smokes.”
In its first week, the company had 15 drivers or ‘go-getters’ signed up and over 100 downloads of the app from Google Play store. They’re going live on the Apple store soon, and at the start of next month will be having a big launch.
“We want to be like Just Eat, but for everything,” says James. As for alcohol and cigarettes, he says they have checks in place for both job-setters, who make the order, and go-getters, who deliver, to make sure only adults are served.
“Anything you want – every member is verified as over 18. So, on the job setter’s side, they have to verify they’re over 18 and obviously they need a bank card.
“On the other side, the go-getters are verified with their IBAN, passport, driver’s licence, phone number, name, address, date of birth. So, we send it off to a third party, which is Stripe.
“So if you wanted six cans or whatever it is in the off licence – put up what you want, and the go-getter will go and purchase it.”
The total cost to a customer is currently €6.50, which includes Fetch’s fee and the go-getter’s payment.
“At the moment, because we’re only starting up, it’s €1.50 to get access to our drivers. So, we charge €1.50 to post a job, we get that, and then you can pay cash on delivery which is €5 to the go-getter. Whatever the go-getter earns, they keep.
“There’s nobody else doing it that way.”
James says he hopes to make the cost more competitive for customers in time, by negotiating with local businesses. So far, Fetch partners with four – SuperValu Ballymun, Shangan Centra, Centra Off Licence and a local nutrition shop. He’s also talking to other supermarkets and a 24-hour garage, but says customers aren’t limited to shopping with these.
“If anybody wants something in any shop, they just make up the job themselves. We don’t even need to be partners.”
However, partnering offers benefits for customers, as they can make price lists available on the app instead of typing things in manually.
“It’s a win-win for any business – It’s free business. We don’t need accounts, we don’t need credit. It’s a no-brainer.”
James is confident the business will grow quickly, and follow in the footsteps of the likes of Deliveroo and Just Eat.
He’s proud to already be contributing to the local economy, and says as he grows, he expects to employ more people and spread the business further.
Ballymun locals should keep an eye out for the big launch on March 1, and remember Fetch the next time it’s blowing a gale and they forgot to pick up dinner.
REPORT: Ciara del Grosso Bates