Finding & choosing a pro

Browse the 10 service categories or type what you need into search - no account required for either. Filters narrow the results by price, duration, location type, and "speaks my language". Allow location access and near-me kicks in: every card shows the distance to that professional, so you can see at a glance who is actually close.

The filters in detail:

• Category - home cleaning, tutoring, personal training, and the rest
• Price - set a range that fits your budget
• Duration - how long a session runs
• Location type - at the pro's place, the pro comes to you, remote, or flexible
• Speaks my language - only pros who list your language

Results can be sorted by distance, price, rating, or newest. Sorting by newest is a good way to spot professionals who just joined, since they will not have reviews yet - that only means nobody has reviewed them, not that anything is wrong.

Once someone looks promising, open their profile: you will see their rating with review count, response rate, typical response time, languages, and their availability calendar. You can message any pro with questions before booking anything - you only need an account with a verified email to chat or book, not to browse.

Yes. Search has a "speaks my language" filter that shows only professionals who list your language. Every pro on Surrounders lists 1 to 3 languages when they set up their profile, so the filter works from what pros themselves declare, and the languages also appear on their listings for you to check.

Language matters more than people expect when hiring for services. Explaining exactly how you want your apartment cleaned, what your child struggles with in maths, or what a haircut should look like is much easier in a language you are both comfortable in.

In Limassol especially, the mix is real: some professionals work in Russian, some in English, some in Greek, and many in two or all three. The city has a large Russian-speaking community alongside English-speaking locals and expats, so whichever of these languages is yours, the filter will find pros who match.

A practical tip: even without the filter, you can open any profile and see the languages listed there. And since you can message any pro before booking, a quick hello in your language settles the question in one reply. The Surrounders interface itself is available in English and Russian, with Greek coming after a native-speaker review.

Compare professionals on 5 signals that every profile shows: price, reviews, response rate, typical response time, and languages. Reviews on Surrounders can only be written after a completed booking, so the ratings you are comparing come from real appointments, not drive-by comments. Tap the heart on services you like to build a shortlist in your favorites.

What each signal tells you:

1. Price - the listed price is the whole price. Pros keep 100%, so there is no hidden markup to mentally add.
2. Reviews - average rating plus count. A 4.8 from 30 reviews and a 5.0 from 2 are different stories. A pro with 0 reviews is simply new, not suspicious.
3. Response rate and typical response time - computed from the pro's actual history. Someone who answers within an hour is a different experience from someone who takes a day.
4. Languages - each pro lists 1 to 3. Pick the one you can describe the job to comfortably.
5. Location type - at their place, they come to you, remote, or flexible. This changes the real cost in time and travel.

When two pros still look equal on paper, message both. Chat is free before booking, and you can send requests to several pros in parallel - the first impression from a conversation usually breaks the tie.

Ask 6 things in chat before you book: what exactly is included, who brings supplies, how long the job will take, what the total will be, what access the pro needs, and how they want to be paid. You can message any professional on Surrounders before booking - all it takes is an account with a verified email.

The list, with why each matters:

• Scope. "Cleaning" can mean surfaces only or include the oven, windows, and inside cupboards. Spell out what you expect and let the pro confirm.
• Supplies and equipment. Does the cleaner bring products? Does the trainer bring mats? Small detail, common source of day-of surprises.
• Duration. Listings show a duration range, but your flat, garden, or project is specific. Ask what is realistic for your case.
• Total price for hourly work. An hourly rate times an unknown number of hours is not a budget. Ask for an estimate of the full job.
• Access. For at-home services: parking, building entry, pets, anything the pro should know before arriving. They see your exact address only after the booking is confirmed.
• Payment method. Payment is settled directly between you - cash, bank transfer, Revolut, or card if the pro accepts it. Agreeing on method and amount in chat before the first session avoids awkwardness later.

Five minutes of chat filters out mismatches better than an hour of profile reading.

There is no formal "request a service" feature yet, but you have 3 real options: search properly first, suggest the service by email, or invite your own professional onto the platform. Honest answer up front, because pretending a button exists helps nobody.

First, search before concluding it is missing. The 10 categories are broader than their names suggest. Handyman covers a wide range of repairs and odd jobs, beauty & spa spans far more than haircuts, and tutoring is not just school subjects. Try the search box with your own words, not just the category tiles - listings carry tags, and the thing you want may be listed under a phrasing you did not try.

Second, tell us. Email [email protected] with the word "suggestion" and describe what you were looking for. Every suggestion is read. Real requests for missing services are exactly how a young marketplace learns where to grow next.

Third, and most powerful: invite your own pro. If you already have a great cleaner, trainer, or teacher who is not on Surrounders, send them an invite link from the app. Joining is free for them, you two are connected automatically, and you can book them directly with a real calendar, reminders, and chat instead of scattered texts. You get your pro on the platform without waiting for anyone - and the next customer searching for that service finds them too.

Yes. Logged-in users can save a search - the query and the filters together - and rerun it later without rebuilding it. Your recent searches are also kept, so even without saving anything deliberately, you can pick up where you left off. Both live behind your account, which is why saving needs a login while plain searching does not.

A saved search is worth it when the search itself took thought. "Cleaning, under a set price, pro travels to me, speaks my language, sorted by rating" is five decisions - saving it means making them once. Rerunning the same saved search over time is also the practical way to watch a market: new professionals join regularly, especially outside Limassol where supply is still growing, so the same search can return more results next month than it does today.

Recent searches cover the lighter case: you searched something yesterday, closed the tab, and want it back without retyping.

The difference from favorites: a heart saves one specific service, a saved search saves the question. If you already know which pro you like, heart them. If you know what you need but have not chosen who yet, save the search and let the results refresh themselves each time you run it.

Tap the heart icon on any service card or service page and it lands in your favorites list, where you can come back to it anytime. Favorites are tied to your account, so you need to be logged in - one tap to save, one tap on the filled heart to remove.

Browsing Surrounders works without an account, but hearts have to be stored somewhere, which is why saving is a logged-in feature. The upside of account-based favorites: your list follows you across devices, so a service hearted on your laptop is waiting on your phone.

Favorites earn their keep in two everyday situations. First, shortlisting: when you are choosing between several cleaners or tutors, heart the candidates, then open your favorites and compare them side by side on price, reviews, response rate, and languages. Second, not-right-now saving: you spotted a cooking class or a photographer you will want eventually, just not this month. The heart remembers so you do not have to.

If what you want to remember is a whole set of search results rather than one service, saved searches do that - see the related answer. And once you actually book someone good, you will not need the heart for them anymore: past bookings have a "Book again" button.

Trending is a row of services that are popular on Surrounders right now. Think of it as the marketplace's pulse: instead of starting from a blank search box, you can start from what other people are actually booking and browsing across the 10 categories at the moment.

The trending row is a discovery aid, and that is all it claims to be. Appearing there is not a paid placement and not an endorsement - Surrounders does not sell positions, run ads, or take a commission that would give it a reason to push one pro over another. Popular simply means popular.

When is it useful? Mostly when you do not have a specific search in mind:

• You are new to the platform and want a feel for what is on offer
• You know you want "something" - a class, a treat, a useful service - but have not decided what
• You are curious what your city is into this season

When you already know what you need, skip trending and go straight to search with filters - category, price, duration, location type, and language will get you to the right professional faster than any popularity row.

One honest caveat: trending reflects demand, not quality. A trending service still deserves the same look you would give any other - reviews from completed bookings, response rate, languages - before you book it.