Bob, you get my first one star review. It's nothing to celebrate, only something to notice.
Yelpers, if you read ALL the reviews, they're pretty spot on. The good and the bad. In the end, I don't need a nice guy, I need a kick ass handyman... a handy problem solver. If you hire Bob, you will get more of the former than the latter. (even the really "curious" one where Bob or someone he knows is sleeping and living in the home while the client is away, without permission)
I confirmed over the phone with Bob the areas of repair I needed help with -- PRIOR to his arrival and PRIOR to inviting him to come out to help. An outlet that somehow isn't working, cabinets that needed to be trued and drawers retracked, reinstalling a door stop, tightening a door handle, and replacing a window screen. Pretty simple stuff, I had imagined, for most handymen.
Apparently not.
Bob shows up, nicely dressed, jumpsuit and tools and all, on time, nice demeanor. It seemed from the phone call he was up for the gig, so with reasonable reviews, I felt optimistic.
The end result... Bob stinks. Literally and Metaphorically. After arriving and entering my space, he smelled like he hadn't showered in days. I missed the earlier review about him or his 'staff' living in someone's home unauthorized, which he still won't comment about, and my brain wonders if he has a place to stay. If this is your hustle Bob, good on you. Look at the ratio you have on Yelp, and I'd say, nicely done.
He suggested replacing the outlet as a solution. It didn't work. He suggested I call an electrician. This is what I wanted to avoid by talking to him beforehand, but at least we had other things to get to.
Then came the cabinets and drawers that were slightly starting to not sit flush with each other. Bob investigated and said he had not yet worked with this kind of cabinet and drawer. I think he's referring to the manufacturing brand company or system, and I have to think... at any foundation, it's a drawer, it's a cabinet. These are not anything patented that require a special contractor to fix. He resigned that he could not fix it and recommended I find out who installed it.
Next was the window screen that had a tear and needed a replacement screen. He simply passed and said it's not something he can do. (Oh... pardon me, Bob, but I didn't call you here to window shop and cherry pick your tasks... we talked about it all prior to your arrival)
Then, I said, well I guess it's just the door stop and door handle. The door stop just needed to be screwed back into the wall and patched. He put it in a new location, which I now realize won't work there, and left the other hole where the original location was, as it was. No attention to detail and cleaning up or completing a job. The door handle was a simple fix involving an allen wrench.
We were 20 minutes in, barely, and Bob said that he wanted payment AND had to get going to another job. So, you're in a hurry? Did you anticipate coming for less than an hour, and then billing me for it? This looks and smells like a TOTAL CON. Then when you insist on being paid, after hearing my account that we talked about all the things that need repair, and that only the two basic items could be addressed, I start to get the impression that you only focus on basic level work. Things I would not call a handyman out to do.
As we get into the weeds of what unfolded... You tell me it took you time to go get the outlet at the store. Turns out your solution didn't work, and as some times it's no guarantee... but I can see that there is a lack of willingness to solve the problem, combined with a limited skill set. And over the course of the 20 minutes, our 2 minute disagreement about services rendered (and lack thereof) and services that you wanted to bill for, was lost in perspective and story.
Bob then later messages me to tell me that if I can find someone who can fix the cabinets/drawers, to let him know. Sir, I am not your teacher, nor the master here. That's what I'm calling you for. Please, do not work the handyman business like the ticket scalping trade.
10 out of 10 times, I do not recommend Bob to anyone that wants actual results from a handy problem solver. Bob is NOT that.
If you're looking for a nice guy, go for it.
You're better off trying to call someone else, and several others, before calling Bob. read more