Good communication is key
Right now, I’m a little miffed, but I’m seeking first to understand instead of automatically blasting the company on social media like so many seem to do nowadays.
We hired a local handyman service to complete some odd jobs around the house. The service has mostly good reviews and is backed by a local consumer watchdog group, so I felt comfortable having them do the job. Work was completed on Monday and I received the bill this afternoon.
I have zero issues with the handyman or quality of his work. The handyman was punctual, personable and did good work. The office manager initially estimated 5 hours of work time. She communicated that this estimate included time to secure materials needed to complete the job and that we would be billed cost + 20% for said materials needed to complete the work. Okay, fine. We have 3 hardware stores within 10 minutes of our house. I already had the garbage disposal, power cord and any screws needed to relocate some door guards in the garage.
The loose tile project became more involved once the handyman discovered the cause of the loose tiles on the curb of the shower. We had a similar experience in our first house, so I knew it could result in 2-3 extra hours of work to fix. The handyman had completed the garbage disposal installation in less than an hour, so I mentally adjusted our estimate for about 6-7 hours of billed labor plus about $125 for supplies.
The final bill was for 8 hours of handyman labor (which included 2.5 hours of shopping time because I tracked the time away from the job) plus materials – which leftover materials the handyman took with him.
Any other contractor has left surplus materials that we’ve paid for when the job was completed. Painters leave paint. Tile folks leave extra tiles, grout, sealer and caulk. Porch repair folks leave extra lumber and screws. Is it different with handyman services?
I’ve asked about being charged for so much shopping time (especially the 2nd trip) and to see itemized receipts for the materials purchased as my recollection of what was purchased doesn’t even come close to what we were billed (even with the 20% markup). We’ll see how the office manager responds.
Don’t worry, the bill will get paid as the work was done.
The question is: will we hire them again in the future? Adjust the bill to what I think is fair? Yes. Explain why the bill stands as is so that I don’t feel like I’ve been taken advantage of? Maybe.
UPDATE: The office manager explained their policies and reviewed the materials purchased to complete our job. An adjustment was made for both time billed and materials charged, which I consider a satisfactory resolution to the matter. I paid the revised bill upon receipt. So yes, I would hire them again.
