... and then there's the other side of the coin...
 

Most of the time people like me who will do handywork can tell on the phone whether the caller would be worth the time and hassle. If you think there's even a slight chance they could be an azzhole, they certainly will be. Customers tend to know it all and look down on anyone considered a jack of all trades. And if you do handywork you have to have more than one trick in your bag or you're not a handyman. So there you have it, as soon as you say 'handyman', you fall into a perceived lower class of worker when in fact you're the opposite. Successful handymen/women have spent considerable time culturing a following. They give off a polite but firm attitude that they aren't to be out guessed, put off by people too busy to take the time and lots more crap than that. They are on time and are neat in their work.

Denis is correct that there is a lot of running around that goes with the business. More specialized handymen will have the tools and supplies for a few types of jobs but when the "while you're here" syndrome occurs, that's when things slow down. Now you're looked upon as ill prepared and try to get paid for time spent chasing down a part. If they can't see you humping they figure you're taking a snooze.

To show you what it's like to do this work, go work for a landlord at an occupied unit. The renter can't be bothered even if they have something broken that is causing an inconvenience. If it's not an inconvenience you might as well just let them punch you in the face because that's how you'll be treated.

50 years in the trades here and I've seen it all, I mean all. Couples going at it in the next room, roaches so thick you have to keep your tool box closed and wash it before putting it back in the truck and everything in between.

I don't treat customers poorly. In fact I bend over for them. Make one mistake after working now and then for any particular customer and that's it. You're a bum. And you're out. If you work alone and charge a flat fee, and then get the job done quickly and efficiently, you see always see the wheels turning in their head figuring out how much you made per hour never considering any of the background work that goes into being a handyman. You'll even hear things like I don't pay my accountant that much.

People tend to suck. I don't go out on jobs for people that aren't referred by others. It's too overwhelming to educate a new customer. How many times have I finished busting my ass and someone says great, I've got more work to be done and I'll call. Then they don't. Promises are like the full moon — if not acted on immediately they just wane away.

I like contract work. Here's what it costs upfront, take it or leave it. I hate changes and I'm in the wrong business for that. People are also fickle. And cheap.

There's just no love in the handyman business. You need alligator skin.

Don't get me started on trying to find a landscape crew that will show up to bid on work.

As long as everything you could need is at one of those stores 10 minutes away and you have every tool you could possibly need, you are right. Piece of cake. I’ve done hundreds of small jobs that would be the equivalent of handyman jobs in the course of doing larger jobs, so I know what’s involved. I just can’t imagine the economics of it, I can’t bring myself to overcharge people for small tasks and that is what would be required to make it work, it seems.

My BIL was quite a handyman DIY type guy and was laid off. He bought a van, already had tools - and started jobs. Sort of became focused on door and window repair/replacement. His labor charge was $60 an hour. He'd show up to give a quote and the customer would hire him on the spot. Seems the other 3 or 4 contractors that were contacted first never showed up! He got jobs on referrals - I don't think he ever paid a penny to advertise or market his work.

Why is that Zeke? Im down there snaking out their poopy pipe on my own time ,a clog not caused by me, and they are all salty, and bothered by my presence there . God forbid, I dont have everything I need to finish, and have to come back tomorrow evening .
People are nasty

Yep, if you show up when you said you would and do decent work in a professional manner, you will be buried in work. I’ve been surprised to hear that this is sometimes harder to find in the heartland than in a city, where maybe the competition is tougher(?)

The interesting thing is that you don’t even have to do fantastic work, just decent and be professional wrt work ethic. I’m NOT saying that your FIL does not do great work, maybe he does but in my experience, it isn’t necessary. I’ve seen people get rich w simply a good work ethic and a decent but not great product in the trades. Knowing how to run a business helps, obviously. :cool:

Like Milt says, you need thick skin. I’ve found that you need to base your self esteem on something other than the way others treat you, sometimes.

So many times , Ive wanted to throw the plunger at them, and say fk you, have at it on your own. See ya .
I mean, it was not broke when we gave you the house, I have not been in the place in 6 months, yet the spaghetti noodles clogging the kitcen drain and the inconvienence caused by it is somehow my fault .

Had to fix that. And that's mouthful either way. I kinda put my esteem into having a nice, clean work vehicle. I did house painting early on in my career and you all know what the typical painter's truck/van looks like. You could tell a painter from behind before you saw any signs on the doors because the bumper was covered with spilled paint.

I hated that. People might think if he's got a clean work truck then he does neat, clean and excellent work.

Not always.

A guy I used to work with drives a 1990 3/4 ton truck with a utility box. He's never washed that truck in probably the last 20 years. He's not a bad painter, actually.

Okay - that made me laugh! We could do a whole separate thread on synonyms of this subject.

I'll start:

" Hi misses X, I'm here to fix your you electrical problem, what is the exact issue?"

"Well...........Richard.......uh may I call you Dick? - you see it's my box, constantly shorting out, surges and all. I tried getting my husband to look at it, but he's just not interested....."

This is an interesting topic to me.

I am trying to start up an "Elder Support Program" in my neighborhood association.

We have a lot of elderly homeowners who are 75+, widowed, increasing mobility issues, children live out of state, their long-time neighbors are themselves elderly. They are on fixed incomes, usually sufficient but not necessarily expansive. They are also targets for scammers and don't always know who to trust. But they want to stay living in their homes and we (the neighborhood) want them to be able to age in place. 'Cuz we're all going there sooner or later.

Our neighborhood association (NA) has been around forever, many of these elderly neighbors were active in the NA when they were younger, they recognize and trust the NA. So I want us (the NA) to do more to support them.

I've been thinking about what we can do. The NA is a volunteer organization, we don't want to ourselves be providing transportation services, grocery shopping services, etc. There's obvious reasons for that, bandwidth and insurance being some. And we shouldn't need to, because there are a lot of elder service providers out there. The problem is that elderly neighbors don't know about those services, because they usually don't have the greatest computer skills/access and the world is going all online.

So I plan to have our NA find those resources, do the research, put together a booklet with lists and phone numbers, and hand-deliver the booklet to all of our elderly neighbors (and everyone else too - young parents and the rest of us can use help sometimes too). I've got some contacts and am starting the research.

The biggest "hole" I see is the topic of this thread: handyman services. Elderly people are like checkbooks to some contractors, they get ripped off, charged $5,000 for something that should cost $1,000. What I am trying to do is recruit some reliable and honest local handymen to be our referral list. The concept is the elderly neighbor can call one of the handymen in the booklet, the handyman comes over and looks at the leaking plumbing or non-functional electrical or window/door that doesn't work, etc; if he wants to take the job himself, he does; if it is too big a job, he charges the elderly neighbor a consult fee ($50?), gets her connected with a contractor that he knows to be reliable, and then circles back to find out if the work was done well and if the bill was reasonable. I figure this gives the handyman a good source of referrals right in his neighborhood, and if its not a suitable job for him, he gets $50 for some advice and Rolodex. And if the elderly neighbor has a bad experience with the handyman or contractor, we (the NA) find out about it and if there's too many bad reports, we drop the handyman from the booklet.

What do you all think about this idea? Zeke, if you lived in my neighborhood, what would you need to see for this program to be attractive for you?

Just showing up on time to the estimate meeting puts a person deep into the “yes” pile. There is usually one name on the list.

I use my old real estate agent for handymen. She knows everyone and they are pretty solid people.

^^^ One smart pelican imo :). John, if anyone can pull this off...you can...best of luck!
. A fantastic idea imo...

Maybe a little off topic but a friend of mine has a house in the Lake Tahoe area. His roof has developed a leak. Roofers he has contacted have told him Two years before they could get to him. That’s crazy.

Learn Spanish and start contracting with crews from the Home Depot parking lot.

good call on the real estate agents, I've done similar

So frustrating to 'schedule' time with someone and they go MIA. Pretty simple to be honest and tell me they are busy, dont want the work or whatever. Part of why I'm busy at home is finding good help is so hard. The one guy that showed up wanted $4500 to install a window. Uh, no thanks.

Painters are the worst. Half azz job and want to be paid NOW. I’m about to fire the company I’ve got. They come back 8-10 times to finish the work. Supervisor says they can’t can’t keep coming back. I say, tough *****. Do it right the first time and we’ll all be happy.

Well, strike 3. He told me to call him when I got there. I did, and he picked up right away. Said he was finishing up with another client , and would call back in 10 minutes . 3 .5 hours no call, no text . He is out .
The life of a landlord. A never ending pile of crapppy little jobs and no one , but me to do it . My partner sucks at this kind of stuff, and I've yet to find a good steady helper that can work his way out of a paper bag .
I'm not used to needing peoples help. I take care of everything in my life myself. It's frustrating to say the least . I feel sorry for people who have to depend on other people for repairs .
They should have mandatory classes in school to teach this stuff to people . I don't know how the modern world is going to function .
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1553220524.jpg

Too much competition. Where do you think the rest of them get people from?

I had a guy that did good work, then he got his contractors license. Prices went up a little and he hired more guys. I needed them to redo a Formica countertop and his guys came and did it. Tenant calls and tells me I should take a look. Those jokers used nails to secure a seam!