How to Choose a Handyman

A little reminder from Chad of All Trades:

First of all, we understand that it is difficult to get a licensed contractor to even look at a "small job." That is exactly why we do what we do. We enjoy doing what we do. The problem is, when you get a price from a contractor for handyman type work, the price is going to be double at minimum compared to that of a handyman. We want to explaining why. Let us analyze the pros and cons of doing business with an unlicensed handy person versus those of a licensed contractor and/or handyman company:

Liability – Watch out, we live in an extremely litigious State

All contractors are required by the Contractors State License Board (CSLB – you will be hearing that a lot) to be bonded. The bond protects you in the event of a loss against damage caused by the contractor. Any claim against a bond is automatically reported to the CSLB where they can then take more serious action if needed. Bonds are usually not enough to cover a major loss, so most contractors carry liability insurance to give their customers an added security in knowing that, no matter what happens, they will be covered. Now, some handymen do carry liability insurance, but let’s face it, the amount of liability involved for small maintenance oriented work is very low. If you are using a handyman for work that you think might need liability coverage, you are putting yourself and that person in jeopardy. The law prohibits unlicensed trades people to do any work above $500.00 (including materials) per customer. So in all reality, a handyman carrying a $1,000,000.00 liability policy is acknowledging the fact that he is proposing jobs over and above his/her legal right because nothing that he/she would be doing should exceed a $500.00 loss.

Workers Compensation – Along the same lines, but really really important!!!!

All of that aside, the real liability is not in the job anyway for small jobs, it is in the people doing them. If an unlicensed person working at your house injures his/herself, and they do not carry workers compensation insurance, they can sue your homeowners policy for, not only the injury, but lost wages, and depending on the injury, future lost wages. If they were one of those few unlicensed persons carrying a liability policy, they could put a claim against that policy for their bodily injury damages up to the covered amount, but would not be eligible for compensation on future lost wages, and could very easily come after your policies. Hiring licensed companies with legitimate employees removes the desperation in a situation like that. For example: A very scrupulous, honest, hardworking handyperson might have good intentions, but in the event of a life altering injury while on the job, they may be pushed enough to sue in a situation that they otherwise may not have. They too have families to feed. However, a company with paid employees is not only contributing to workers compensation, but to unemployment, disability, social security, medicare, etc. The paid employee knows that he/she is taken care of, whereas the un-licensed, self-employed handyperson is never sure what tomorrow has in store, and therefore, potentially more desperate.

For those of you whom do not believe in contributing to the wages non-participating members of our society (i.e. drug dealers, arms distributors, non-citizens, and anyone else not paying taxes) it would be a philosophical hypocrisy to hire an unlicensed trade person for many of the same reasons. Though it may seem like you are saving money at the time, you are actually hurting the legitimate businesses out there that are contributing to your future social security benefits and medicare. For those of you already using these benefits, you are depleting your own resources.

Overhead and Profit – Differences may be in the long term results

There is one huge benefit of using an unlicensed handyperson, rather than a handyman company or licensed contractor, and that is that you are not going to be paying up front for all of the things just mentioned above. You are also not going to be paying for the office space, the administrative work, the advertising, the vehicle maintenance, the tool maintenance, the gas, and on and on . . . then on top of that a healthy profit for the company. But when dealing this way, it is important to remember that you will be the one in control. More importantly: you will be responsible if that person does an unsatisfactory job or decides not to show up for a few weeks to repair the leak on that new faucet they just installed. There are no systems of operations in place for that problem to be made into a priority. There are no governing agencies to help protect you. There is no one to call and get the result you want except the person who messed it up in the first place. It is all up to you.

With all of that overhead on the other hand: You have a legitimate place of business to refer to, management personnel to insure that you get the results you are looking for, clean vehicles that are reliable and well maintained showing up at your home – clearly marked so that your neighbors are not suspicious about who is at your house while you are away, reliable tools, and on and on . . .

Now, we are not saying that all contractors do business like this. In fact, there are many contractors who are not much different than unlicensed handypeople. But what we are saying is that their prices will reflect it. Anybody who is not in business to make a profit, or is only in business for themselves is not in it for the long haul. Ultimately, there will come a time when your needs will not be met by a company or person like this.

Laws and Regulations – Contractors have little room for working the system

Many contractors despise the CSLB, the Workers Comp regulations, and the high liability rates. Chad of All Trades, Inc. does not. Those agencies are necessary checks and balances, and safeguards for our consumers. Where most of the distention lies in this matter is that contractors are treated different than most business people.

Example: If you were a Computer Repair Company, you could hire on a bunch of technicians who were all great at repairing computers. But instead of putting them on the payroll (and assuming the aforementioned overhead), you could make each of them “independent contractors,” or “self employed consultants” all working under the hospices of my company. As long as they had a fictitious business name, and a city business license they would be able to file as sole-proprietors and pay all of their own social security, taxes and insurances. More importantly, they would all be legally independent of your company. You would have more of a service base than you could provide alone, and all of the “independent contractors” would not have the responsibility of getting themselves work. All in all it would be a pretty productive symbiotic relationship, and a great way to keep costs down. A great place for a small service oriented business to be.

But in the State of California, the CSLB prohibits any contractor to do business with any person, other than a direct employee, that does not hold a contractors license. And the Workers Comp companies know this. Therefore, there is no in between for contractors to grow. You are either by yourself, licensed or not. Or you are a company with legitimate employees, subject to all of the overhead and expenses that come along with it.

So how does a small, service oriented company stay in business under these rules?

Turn to Us – Remember that you always get what you pay for

Many people are of the old belief, “That if it ain’t broke, why fix it?” And that if it does break, put as little money into it as possible until it can be pawned off on someone else. Well... I will tell you a problem with this philosophy: Most people are living longer. The average life expectancy in this country is 93 years old. So when we used to think, “Hey, all I have to do is make this thing last another 10 years, the reality is that we need to start thinking about making them last another 30. Quick easy fixes by fly by night companies are not going to be the solution any longer. People need long term relationships with people that they can trust, and people that are dependable and qualified for the kind of repairs that are necessary. People need the security of doing business with someone who is in accordance of the laws that are currently in place.

Even though hiring a less expensive contractor or unlicensed tradesperson will seem like the best solution to your maintenance problems at first, in time, it will prove to be a mistake that you will ultimately pay for anyway. It will probably go something like this:

You will be very happy with the person that you hire; you may think that you discovered the only reliable handyman out there, at a very reasonable rate. You may recommend him/her to all of your friends, or you might selfishly keep your discovery quiet knowing that you do not want him/her to be spread too thin. Ultimately, it will not matter though, because your friends will all either hate you for recommending a dud, or laugh at you for being so foolish as to hire an unqualified person. Maybe you don’t even have any friends. I don’t know. But I do know, eventually you will get exactly what you pay for. It may not happen the first time. It may not happen the first 5 times. But it will happen. He/she will not show up when they were supposed to, or they will do a job just a little outside their expertise (even though they did great drywall work last time, does not mean they will do great electrical work the next), or you will start noticing little things (extra parts left in the box, or unpainted rails), or maybe they will charge you for repairing something that you felt should have been fixed the first time, maybe something they do ends up costing more than it would have if you would have just called a professional, and it would have been done way sooner. (Sound familiar?) Who knows what it will be or how long it will take, but eventually, you will be dissatisfied. When you are, your first inclination will be to find another handyman, or maybe a really nice independent contractor who does everything himself. But you will only be prolonging the inevitable, all the while spending more and more on the same old problems, slowly beating up the economic cogs of a slow ticking societal time piece. You will finally concede that a professional must do it. Whatever it is. From now on you will get what you pay for.

We hope that it is us. And if not us, then someone with the same unprecedented integrity. Someone with the foresight to write this letter and to explain to you what the future of home maintenance is going to be. A company that wants to have a very long term relationship with you and your home. If not Chad of All Trades, Inc., it better be a company that we are aspiring to be. But until a better company exists, we are determined to set new levels of customer satisfaction. We will revolutionize the way that home maintenance is approached. We will continue to try and earn your business. Look forward to hearing from you.

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Chad Arendsen,
And the entire Chad of All Trades, Inc. Family