JP/Multa Firdaus

Home to about 10 million people, Jakarta provides various services for household and personal needs to its residents. Some of these itinerant peddlers come right up to residents’ doorsteps, while others offer their services while cruising around residential areas and markets, on foot or on bicycle. Here are five of the most well-known services.

Watch repairmen

These tradesmen are a big help to Jakartans who are either too lazy or have schedules too packed to make the trip to the nearest watch store to repair their broken watches.

Such residents can count on the watch repairmen often found wandering the city’s streets to get their broken timepieces ticking again. Equipped with boxes full of batteries, screws and various glues, watch repairmen mainly peddle their services in residential areas. To repair a single watch, the fee is between Rp 15,000 (1.2 US cents) and Rp 25,000.

Umbrella repairman

With the myriad of repair services in Jakarta, residents rarely have a need to replace any broken items, even a broken umbrella.

Whether it is to save money ahead of the rainy season or for sentimental reasons, some people still choose to fix their umbrellas instead of buying a new one.

Luckily, there are people whose source of income comes from repairing umbrellas.

Umbrella repairmen usually stroll through residential areas knocking on front doors to bring their service directly to the people.

The fee for umbrella repair is around Rp 10,000. So while you can pick up a new umbrella for as low as Rp 20,000, why not save the money and effort of buying a new one next time an umbrella repair man knocks at the door?

Shoeshine boys

Ever stepped off of a train or a bus with dirt on your black shoes? No need to worry, as getting your black shoes shined every day is not a difficult thing to do in Jakarta.

In various crowded areas including train stations, bus terminals and markets, dozens of children can be seen ready to do the job. With a brush, a couple of shoe polishes and small chairs, they stroll around offering their services to people with dirty shoes.

Like other cities in the world, the shoeshine profession is strongly associated with little boys, who rely on the work as their source of income.

For around Rp 10,000 or less, they will offer you the use of their slippers as they brush your shoes while going barefoot.

However, make sure that you tell the shoeshine boy what color you want. You will be surprised to see how they can make a shabby pair of shoes look as good as a new pair.

Bicycle tailor

Bicycle tailors offer their services by riding around on specially designed bikes with a sewing machine on top of a table. Residents can get them to adjust jeans and repair any torn clothes or fabric, and all without any fuss or need to take time to look for professional tailors.

Often seen offering their services in residential areas, the tailors are ready to take customers’ orders in an instant, whether it is shortening a pair of trousers or fixing the button on some jeans.

The bicycle tailors are also very affordable, starting at Rp 10,000.

Knife-sharpener

When a knife-sharpener comes to a residential area, usually on a bicycle, many residents will leave their kitchens and come out to the streets to get their knives and scissors sharpened.

To carry out his task, a knife-sharpener uses only a grinding machine that is spun manually using a crank, with the blades of a knife or a pair of scissors held lightly against the spinning grindstone.

The price for sharpening a single knife is around Rp 5,000.

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