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SERVICE MARKETPLACE

Hiring home repair — reality map

Not a process diagram — a wall of what the person actually experiences, A to Z. One sticky = one thought, decision, action, problem, or cost. Color reveals where ailb deletes, simplifies, or takes over.

Rana, 38, Achrafieh — the water heater died Friday night, her husband is in Dubai for two weeks, and the natour "knows a guy" who knows a guy.
Steps
192
Time
~8 days~24 h
Days stuck home
31
Pain points
152
Disruption score
7.8 / 10
Trigger / thought
Action — a thing I do
Decision — a choice I make
Pain point / fear
Cost / fee / waiting
ailb takeover opportunity

Something breaks

It's never a convenient thing, and it's never a convenient time.

triggerWater heater died. Cold shower in February.
triggerAC gave up and it's August in Beirut
triggerBrown stain spreading on the ceiling — leak from upstairs?
painIs this urgent-urgent, or can it wait till payday?
decisionDo I try to fix it myself first?
actionYouTube the problem. Open the panel. Close the panel.~40 min, made it worse

The hunt for "a guy"

There is no directory. There are only people who know people.

actionAsk the natour if he "knows someone"
actionPost in the family WhatsApp group: "had 3ando kahrabje mni7?"
actionSearch the FB recommendations groups~45 min scrolling
pain40 comments, 12 different numbers, every one "the best in Beirut"
painHalf the recommendations are someone's cousin
decisionThe natour's guy or Aunt Mona's guy?
painNo reviews, no photos of past work. Just "trust me, byaaref shou 3am ya3mol"
actionSave 5 numbers as "Plumber FB 1", "Plumber FB 2"…
costTwo days gone and I haven't even called anyone yet~2 days
ailb takeoverailb diagnoses the problem from a photo of the heater

Making contact

Phone tag with people whose office is their pocket.

actionCall number 1 — no answer. Call again. No answer.
actionCall number 2 — "off service". He changed numbers, apparently.
actionWhatsApp number 3, get a voice note back3 hours later
pain"Bkam?" — "lezem shoufa." Nobody prices anything unseen.
decisionSend him a video of the problem? He says he still has to come.
painThe visit to give a quote is itself an appointment I have to win
costA day and a half of phone tag~1.5 days
ailb takeoverailb gets fixed quotes from vetted pros using my photo — no visit

The waiting

"Ba3d el dohor" is a window of time that extends to never.

actionHe says "bukra ba3d el dohor" — I block the whole afternoonhalf day hostage
pain4pm. Nothing. "Wenak?" — "3a tariq."
pain6pm. He's not coming. No call, no apology.
actionReschedule for Saturday — cancel my actual plansfull day lost
decisionKeep waiting for this one, or start over with FB number 4?
painOne week without hot water now. Heating pots like it's 1990.
costTwo full days waiting at home for someone who maybe comes2 days, $0 earned
ailb takeoverailb confirms a real slot and tracks the pro's live ETA

The visit & the work

The price is a function of your building's marble, not the broken part.

actionHe finally shows up. Looks at the heater for 5 minutes.
painThe quote doubles once he's seen the lobby — "hay sha8le kbire"
painIs $120 fair or robbery? I genuinely have no reference point.
decisionNegotiate, or just pay to make it end?
actionHe needs a part — "berja3 bukra." Disappears for two days.
painIs the part new or pulled from someone else's dead heater? No receipt.
actionWithdraw fresh dollars — he won't take lira at any sane rate
cost$120 labor + $30 mystery part, cash~$150 cash USD
ailb takeoverailb fixes the quote before anyone enters my house

Aftermath

The warranty is a feeling.

triggerIt works! …for now.
painDrips again after 10 days — now HE doesn't answer MY calls
painNo invoice, no warranty, no recourse. Complain to whom?
actionSave his number as "Heater guy GOOD?" for next time
painLost the actually-good electrician's number when my phone died in 2023
ailb takeoverailb follows up after the job and holds the warranty
ailb takeoverailb remembers every pro who ever touched my house

It's not linear — it loops

Draw the arrows and the "process" collapses into a few tight feedback loops. These are where people get stuck, re-decide, and abandon.

Call No answer Back to the FB thread
The number carousel. Each dead number sends you back to fishing for new numbers — and the new ones don't answer either.
"Bukra ba3d el dohor" No-show Reschedule
The waiting loop. You burn a day at home, he doesn't come, and your only move is to offer him another of your days.
Unknown price Unknown quality
You can't compare quotes without visits, and you can't afford the days visits cost — so you accept the first human who actually shows up. That's not a choice, it's surrender.

Where ailb takes over (gold)

The strongest opportunities aren't the happy-path clicks — they're the things people genuinely don't want to do.

goldDiagnose from a photo / video before anyone moves
goldMatch a vetted pro — track record, not a cousin's opinion
goldFixed quote upfront — the lobby marble changes nothing
goldBenchmark the price: "$120 is fair for this job in Beirut"
goldReal scheduling + live ETA — no more hostage afternoons
goldAuto-dispatch a backup pro if he no-shows
goldFollow up at day 10 — hold the warranty so he answers
goldKeep my home's full repair history and the good pros' numbers

The ailb flow — same outcome, 5 steps

What survives after delete → simplify → automate. The human only does what only the human can do.

STEP 1
Send a photo
You WhatsApp ailb a photo or video of the dead heater. That's your whole job.
STEP 2
Agent diagnoses
The agent identifies the likely failure, parts needed, and the fair price range — and tells you if it's DIY-able.
STEP 3
Agent dispatches
A vetted pro accepts a fixed quote and a confirmed slot. Hunting, calling, haggling: deleted.
STEP 4
You open the door
The one irreducibly physical moment. ETA tracked; backup auto-dispatched on a no-show.
STEP 5
Agent closes the loop
Payment record, warranty held, day-10 follow-up. If it drips again, the agent chases him — not you.

Verdict — should ailb disrupt this?

9/10Pain density
7/10AI collapse ratio
8/10Frequency × market
7/10Demo feasibility by Saturday

The map is nearly all red: every step between "it broke" and "it's fixed" is search, phone tag, waiting, and price anxiety — none of it is the repair itself. The photo-diagnosis + fixed-quote + dispatch chain deletes almost everything except the visit, and photo diagnosis alone is a jaw-drop demo moment that needs zero real supply. Recommendation: hackathon demo flow — demo the diagnose→quote→dispatch conversation with 2–3 seeded pros.