Things started out fine with Eddie Barrera from On Demand Handyman in Redlands (I realize now that…read morewas the "passive" phase of his passive-aggressive behavior). I had a few weeks worth of work for him, upgrading all the fixtures in my recently-purchased home. As the days went by, I quickly realized he leaves projects 90% finished then moves on to the next thing, does not clean up after himself, and became frustrated when I wanted things done my way instead of his. Each day, Eddie became more and more scattered. It got to the point where every morning, I'd have to police the house, bring him things he'd left sitting around the day before, and ask, "Is this trash? Is that trash?"
Eddie's immaturity really shined through when I brought in outside workers to do my flooring. After that, his professionalism and motivation started to drastically decline. For example, I caught him drinking a beer one afternoon and peeing behind my shed the next day. Speaking of the shed, Amazon reviewers said it takes two adults 3-4 hours to put it together. It took two professionals (Eddie & his assistant) a day & a half. 90% of the time during those two days when I went outside, Eddie was just sitting there doing nothing.
In the end, Eddie ultimately refused to come back to my house to finish the projects. The very last day, he texted me the day before to say he was not going to come back for an additional week (I'd already waited a week). I put my foot down, and Eddie agreed that the next day his assistant David would come at 8:00 am & he'd be there at 10:00 am to finish everything. Eddie no call/no show-ed.
When I attempted to hold Eddie accountable for the unfinished work, he said I was making "ridiculous demands" and trying to control him. When I asked for a refund for the unfinished work, Eddie made up a list of things that had inconvenienced him while working at my house and told me I actually owed HIM money. For example, he said I owed him money because I was present in my own home while he was working.
RED FLAGS:
- Eddie has a license number listed on his work truck next to his logo. The California State Licensing Board does NOT license handymen, only general contractors, which Eddie is DEFINITELY not. I'm no lawyer, but it seems as though Eddie's trying to make it seem like he's a licensed contractor by displaying a license number that he does not have (He told me he's not a licensed contractor). This first caught my attention when I noticed his last name isn't even on his business card, nor any social media, website, or even his true first name (Eduardo). Then I remembered licensed professionals are supposed to always display their licenses on their marketing materials. I don't know what's going on with that, but it's a huge red flag.
- After installing two bathroom vanities (one of which, he charged me $300 extra for re-piping), he told me he didn't know anything about plumbing, and that I should watch for leaks under the sinks because this was his first time doing any plumbing.
- Eddie told me to my face that he doesn't like white women. I'm a white woman. His assistant would also regularly do a racist impression of an Indian accent. I was horrified as I had just asked my friend Parvinder if she wanted to come see my new house
- Both Eddie and his assistant left the toilet seat up everyday for weeks--it was a daily hassle. Sometimes they couldn't even be bothered to flush.
- One day I'd hear Eddie say, "Remind me to bring my texture sprayer tomorrow so I can patch this ceiling" (where he had left holes). Then three weeks later when it still wasn't finished, he changed the story to, "That project is finished 'as is.'"
- The front door of my home was left unsecured (gap in the door, deadbolt not functional) because On Demand did not know how to properly install a deadbolt. When I asked Eddie to fix it, he blame-shifted, telling me it was my fault because I had bought the wrong hardware, which was not true.
-Eddie stopped keeping track of accounting, projects, and payments after the first few days. He relied on me to do it, then after a passive-aggressive explosion, was upset at prices I had had to guess at because he had quoted me a range (never giving me a specific number).
- At one point, Eddie recommended I hire his "buddy" Bryant to do some of the work. Bryant was late three times in a row before I fired him. He had no tools (not even a measuring tape or an extension cord). The day I fired Bryant, I had asked if he needed anything from Home Depot because I was running over there. He said nothing. Once I left my house, Bryant texted me to say he was too hung over from the night before and was on his way home.
-- Eddie recommend I skip the primer when painting over my wood paneling and just sand it instead, so I did. Now my daughter's walls scuff if you just brush against them. SIGH!!!!
Keywords: Redlands Handyman, Eddie Barrera, Eduardo Barrera, Eddy Barrera, On Demand Handyman, On Demand Handy Man
