how can “minor repairs” break out of the vicious circle of “residents have needs but repairmen have no business”?
2024-09-18
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a topic "4.8 yuan for refrigerator parts but charged 1,610 yuan" has recently become a hot search in beijing, reflecting the difficulties many residents encounter in life - it is not easy to meet the low-frequency and just-needed "minor repairs" such as shoe repair, home appliance repair, clothing alteration and key duplication. either the distance is too far and inconvenient, or the price is too high and not cost-effective. at the same time, the "minor repair" masters also have difficulties: if the price is too low, the cost cannot be recovered; if the price is too high, customers will be lost. gradually, fewer and fewer craftsmen are engaged in this industry.
how can "minor repairs" be managed in an orderly manner and develop healthily, while maintaining their own operations and better serving residents? during the visit, the reporter found that some streets and communities have made gratifying explorations.
local help shoe repairmen no longer have to worry about where to stay
early in the morning of september 10, a simple container-type shed was set up in a corner outside the east gate of zhichunli west community. a signboard of "zhongguancun street convenience service station" was hung, and various tools for shoe and car repair were displayed, which soon attracted many residents.
"it is much more convenient for us to do minor repairs now." ms. chen, an old resident, said that zhichunli west is an old community with many elderly people and children living there, and the demand for "minor repairs" is relatively high. if shoes and bags are broken or the zipper of clothes is broken, it would be a waste to just throw them away, and it is not worth the high price to repair them. if you encounter a damaged bicycle or a flat tire, you have to push it for a long way to find a repair shop. some residents called the 12345 hotline to reflect that it is inconvenient to not have "minor repairs", but they are also worried that "minor repairs" will occupy the road and charge too much.
now, seeing the repair service price notice board posted in the service station, everyone feels relieved. bicycle tire repair costs 5 yuan, shoe soles cost 10 to 15 yuan, zipper head replacement costs 5 to 10 yuan... all services are clearly marked with prices, which are not expensive. in addition, management regulations, business content, supervision phone numbers and feedback channels are also made public, and services and prices are subject to supervision by residents and the street at any time.
ms. wang just had her zipper repaired at a service station. a while ago, her zipper broke, and she looked everywhere for a place that could repair it. she finally found one, but the repairman asked for 80 yuan. "now it's right at my doorstep, and the price is very reasonable. it only costs ten yuan to repair it. it's so convenient!"
mr. li from the service station said that he has worked in beijing for more than 30 years and has worked in chaoyang, haidian and xicheng districts. repairing shoes, cars and zippers is a craft, and although ordinary people cannot live without it, there is not much demand after all, which makes it difficult for "small repairs" to survive: if the price is too low, the business will not be able to continue; if the price is too high, it will scare away the customers that have been found with great difficulty. many people in this business are unlicensed peddlers and can only hide from place to place.
now he can get out of this predicament, thanks to the help of the street. zhongguancun street helped him find a suitable business site and built a service station, so he has a fixed place to stay without spending a penny. master li smiled and said to the reporter: "i can make money now and serve everyone. i won't leave even if i am asked to. i will work hard here."
"residents are worried about not being able to find a place to do minor repairs, while master li is troubled by having no place to do business. both parties have needs for each other, and they are a perfect match for each other." heng dong, director of the zhongguancun street citizen activity center, said that this service station was established for this reason.
since 2020, zhongguancun subdistrict has started to uniformly manage "minor repairs" within its jurisdiction, upgrading them to officially certified convenience service outlets. with continuous exploration and practice, a set of "smooth" service management standards has gradually been formed. today, there are about 30 "minor repairs" outlets in the jurisdiction, and the site selection of each site has been negotiated and demonstrated many times and filed with the relevant departments of haidian district. the staff used vacant houses and carports in the jurisdiction, or selected aisles that did not affect residents' passage to set up outdoor containers, built service stations with a unified appearance, and equipped them with unified signs and logos to facilitate residents' identification.
"while providing assistance, we also carry out supervision and management." hengdong said that vendors need to sign a contract with the street, promising not to expand their business without authorization, not to connect power cords indiscriminately, not to force purchases or sales or defraud consumers, and to maintain the hygiene of the outlets and surrounding environment... the street supervises various services and charging standards, and the contract is signed for one year. if the vendor violates the management regulations, he will be disqualified from signing the contract.
the reporter learned that each "minor repair" master also signed a letter of commitment, promising to participate in community governance as a volunteer and provide free door-to-door services to elderly people living alone or widowed. behind this letter of commitment is a kindness and warmth. hengdong said that most of the masters are from other places, are relatively old, and have a skill. letting the masters participate in volunteer activities can make residents' lives more convenient on the one hand, and on the other hand, it can also allow the masters to better integrate into the community, which benefits both parties.
master li said that he now has a "home" in beijing. as long as his physical condition allows, he will continue to do this. the street helped him, turning him from an unlicensed peddler into a regular business operator. he now has a place to shelter from the wind and rain, and no longer needs to hide from place to place or worry about rent. he also wants to set fair prices, do his work carefully, and give back to the residents better.
master li is nailing soles for residents.keep up with the changes and tailor shops adapt to the needs of young people
in a bungalow in hongmiao beili community, zhang jianhua and his wife run a tailor shop. every day, not only the elderly in the community but also many young people come to the shop to have their clothes altered. the tailor shop is not big, but it is well-known on the online platform. although the business is not booming, it can always meet the residents' needs for minor repairs.
two 60-year-old men came to zhang jianhua's tailor shop with three pieces of old cloth with floral patterns. they searched for a long time, hoping to find an expert who knew these old cloths and get a fair price. they accidentally found zhang jianhua on the internet. "it's great, old silk material, at least ten years old." zhang jianhua recognized it immediately when the three pieces of cloth were spread out in front of the sewing machine. the two old people were overjoyed: this cloth was left by the previous generation, but the era of finding a good tailor to tailor clothes is gone, and they can't find a suitable tailor, so the cloth has to be kept at home. zhang jianhua's words made the old people seem to have found the familiar old times again.
zhang jianhua told reporters that most of the time he encounters elderly people who bring ready-made clothes for alteration, and their needs are varied. one elderly person said that the reason why he has worn a piece of clothing for so long is either because it has special meaning or because he likes the old style. as he ages, his height, weight and body shape change, and his clothes need to be altered. "in fact, there are many stores in the large shopping malls around my home that can perform 'minor repairs', but the prices are high. i understand that the rent in the mall is expensive and the merchants have to survive, but the clothes themselves are only a few dozen yuan, and it costs hundreds of yuan to change the waist and sleeves, which is really not worth it."
how to ensure their livelihood and provide residents with satisfactory prices is the balance that zhang jianhua and his wife have been looking for. the reporter first interviewed zhang jianhua in 2019. at that time, his tailor shop was in a basement, which was not as big as it is now, and there were not as many sewing machines as there are now. over the years, not only has the number of equipment increased to seven or eight, but the rented place has also become much more spacious, and the rent has naturally increased, but the price of alterations is not much different from a few years ago.
zhang jianhua said that he understood the concerns of the elderly, which is why he has never considered opening a shop in a large shopping mall after working as a tailor in beijing for 20 years. "it seems that there are more customers and the brand is more well-known, but the cost has also increased greatly. if the price is not raised, how many trouser legs do i have to sew in a month to earn back the rent? but if the price is raised, it goes against the original intention of providing convenient services."
if the tailor shop wants to find a way out, it has to make changes. zhang jianhua found that more and more young people come to him to have their clothes altered. "nowadays, young people are used to online shopping and pursue individuality. they like a certain style, but the clothes they buy online may be too big. if they change to a smaller size, they feel it is too tight or the pattern is not right, so they come to me for help to make changes. my technology and ideas have to change accordingly, and i have to add equipment. look at these seven or eight sewing machines, each of which has different functions. some are specialized in altering t-shirts, and some are specialized in altering leather."
zhang jianhua said that in the past, the street helped him contact nursing homes, which not only made things convenient for the elderly, but also gave him more business, the best of both worlds. but he knew very well that if the "minor repair" industry was to survive, it would not only rely on the help of relevant parties, but also require him to have unique skills, find a way out, and adapt to changes in the market and environment.
the reporter noticed that in the tailor shop, although zhang jianhua was busy with small jobs worth a few yuan, hanging behind him were wedding dresses worth tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of yuan. since he became a tailor, the main business of his shop has been to alter wedding dresses. after decades of experience, he has also made a name for himself in the high-end customization circle. those who ask him to help alter wedding dresses include not only newlyweds preparing to get married, but also many merchants of well-known wedding dress brands.
"if i only relied on minor repairs, i might have collapsed long ago. i have maintained my livelihood by relying on high-end customization, and i can lower the price in terms of convenient services. i don't want to talk about selfless dedication. i am a tailor and it makes me happy to tailor clothes for people. 'minor repairs' are a demand, and as long as there is a demand, the service cannot be absent," said zhang jianhua.
zhang jianhua is altering clothes.journalist's notes
solve the problem of "want both" for low-frequency rigid demand
"minor repairs" are in demand but inconvenient, which is a common problem reported by citizens: there are fewer and fewer "minor repairs" near home, and when you finally find a store, they either cannot provide personalized services or the prices are too high. but the complaints of "minor repairs" are just the opposite: there is demand for changing a zipper or cutting a trouser hem, but it is not much, and they only make a few yuan each time, which is difficult to balance the operating costs. they have to raise prices, but if they raise prices, no one will come.
on the one hand, residents are in urgent need, while on the other hand, it is difficult for repairmen to do business. as "minor repairs" are low-frequency and rigid needs, can both sides "have both"? from the reporter's visit, the answer is yes.
firstly, it is precisely because citizens generally have a demand for the "minor repair" industry that local governments need to think about and find ways to help. in recent years, they have provided suitable venues to reduce or waive rent for repairmen, or helped with promotion so that repairmen can have more business... these grassroots governance innovations have helped "minor repair" repairmen to operate in a standardized and healthy manner, thus solving the pain point of low-frequency and high prices.
secondly, in this ever-changing era, if "minor repairs" want to seek better development, they must follow the changes, adapt to the changes, keep up with the changes, and make changes. master li, who moved into the convenience station, only knew how to repair bicycles in his early years. later, as more electric vehicles appeared, he learned new skills. tailor zhang jianhua relies on custom wedding dresses to maintain his business, so he has the spare capacity to reduce the price of convenience services.
only when all parties work together and seek breakthroughs, and get out of the vicious circle where residents have needs but masters have no business, can a win-win situation be achieved, and people's "minor repairs" can be more convenient.
