Rhonda Bracey: At Random

I think I have discovered the ideal tradesperson (my new handyman)! Why? Well, here’s a list for starters:

• arrives on time (never more than 5 minutes after he’s told me, or else he’ll phone and let me know that he’s delayed and by how much)
• cleans up after himself
• protects my floors etc. with drop cloths
• explains what’s important on my list and what’s not
• explains in plain language why some issues are happening
• takes extreme pride in his work
• notices other things and fixes or lets me know (e.g. was checking something in ceiling and noticed a pinhole elsewhere in the roof, so fixed it there and then)
• charges a reasonable hourly rate
• works at a good pace but not so quick as to be rough-shod and not so slow as to eke out the hourly rate
• looks me in the eye when speaking to me
• tells me if something is beyond his capabilities (e.g. plumbing work other than minor stuff) and then offers his recommendation for another tradesperson (but only if asked, so he’s not trying to fob off others on to me)
• treats my house like his own (e.g. takes off his shoes when inside – without asking)
• can turn his hand to most things (though he’s quite young, he has built his last two houses himself)
• does a good thorough job.

Notice that ‘does a good job’ is not the first thing on my list, so while that is very important, all those other things add up too, and any one of them could have relegated him to ‘so-so’ status.

He’s an absolute keeper for future handyman work around the house and I’ve already recommended him to others. He’s only recently gone into business on his own, so I’m more than happy to give him my business now and in the future.

Update December 2022: He’s definitely been a keeper! Everything I wrote 9 years ago about Tony remains the same today, and even though he now lives about an hour away, I still get him to come and work through my ‘Tony list’ each year (typically just once a year unless there’s some sort of emergency) to keep our house in good condition.