KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 — Your event photographer pulls out at the eleventh hour from your grandparents’ golden jubilee anniversary celebration.

Sure, you can take photos but you want someone professional to take candid shots of this memorable event.

But how can you get an experienced photographer at the last minute?

We have all been caught in a similar – if not exact – dilemma. That is why Malay Mail Online decided to partner with RecomN (pronounced as recommend) – an online platform that connects people to service professionals – to help you solve that eternal problem of “Where do I get a wedding photographer/renovation contractor/baker/etc.?”

From customised cakes to home renovations, all you need to do is type in your requirements according to category, select the area and boom! You get the results.

Jes Min Lua, co-founder of RecomN, said that within a matter of hours, you will be able to get a quote from at least four different established service professionals.

The service professionals are crowd-sourced from a community of 300 individuals who have tried and tested the services.

On the site, service professionals are rated and reviewed by customers. RecomN will always be free for customers, and service professionals can sign up and get access to jobs for free (for a limited time only).

How does it differ from word of mouth recommendations, social media or forums?

“At RecomN, you will be able to get reliable service professionals based on customer reviews. We have social media integration in our platform so you can choose service providers based on your Facebook friends who have used the services. Also, when you submit a request, you get a handful of service providers within hours,” said Lua.

It is targeted at busy people who do not have time to look through classifieds, calling suppliers up one by one. And on forums, you have to weed out a lot of irrelevant chatter before you decide on a service professional.

RecomN differs from other classifieds/forums in a way that customers can leave reviews and rate the service. That way, you know that the chances of being scammed or coming across bad service is reduced.

RecomN doesn’t edit or moderate the reviews and ratings. Service professionals with highest ratings (4 or 5 stars) will show up high on the ranking.

You will get a quote within six hours.

At this moment, RecomN focuses on home services and event-related services but there are plans to offer a wider spectrum of services.

The Malaysian-based platform also has plans to expand its network so you will be able to hire a party planner from East Malaysia, for example.

Started by Jes Min Lua and Alex Tan last July, RecomN has set its eyes on being a platform that provides bespoke services tailored to your requirements. T.C. Wu does the technology part of the platform, Lua does the business development while Tan manages the marketing and content of the site.

A RecomN mobile app for iOS and Android is also in the works.

They also recently partnered with Malay Mail Online so you can access great local service professionals that have been recommended by the community.

You can find RecomN on Malay Mail Online’s site.