We're trying to solve the problem of a) needing help in a store and b) not being able to find an employee.<p>Specifically, we want the service to handle both a) where is x? and b) what do I need to accomplish y or to make z?<p>http://www.helpping.co/<p>You're lost in the store, but there's a "magic" button in front of you.<p>Would you use it?
I don't mean to sound cynical, but are you sure this is a problem worth solving?<p>Yes, it's a problem, but it's along the lines of my microwave getting dirty over time, or needing to fill a car tire occasionally. I don't need or care about a service that only cleans microwaves or only fills tires.<p>If you want to improve on brick-and-morter, feet-in-the-store retail problems, why not, say, show me a big pinterest-style list of everything in every grocery store around me? That would save me some time instead of perusing up and down aisles and not being sure whether I should visit that farmer's market that <i>sometimes</i> has interesting stuff.
There's no app/service for this already? This is a pretty good idea.<p>I like the "chat" aspect especially since (on the backend) it could be taken care of with machine learning & automation. Most of the time looking for a store employee I just want to know what aisle product X is in.<p>As a third party service for smaller stores and a white label solution for larger chains, it sounds like a nice business model.
One of the problems we're running into is that this problem (need for location and advice) does not seem to be an acute problem for users. In other words, most people are bothered by it, but not bothered so much that they pull out their phone to download an app.<p>What's HN's thoughts on this?<p>Should we keep searching for users for whom this is "a hair on fire" problem? or, try to find a different related problem that's more painful (for more people)?