Hiring a professionally trained handyman for smaller home repair and maintenance jobs in India is not all that easy. Local service industry like handyman, painter, plumbers, electrician etc is yet to mature here in India. So when you want to get smaller repair works done, you have to rely on local classified channels (both online and offline) or ask a friend or a neighbor for a number that you can call and ask for help. Even if there are a few professionally managed company that offers handyman services in India (in different cities), but mostly we turn up to the street corner electrical shop or hardware shop for an electrician or a plumber to avail handyman services in India.
Let me share s small little experience I had a few months ago. Our submersible water pump stopped working for some reason. I sent my security guard to find an electrician. He had to visit the electrician several time before he finally brought the electrician with himself. After inspecting the electrician said it’s not an electrical issue as wiring and current flow is all okay. You need to contact a plumber who can check the motor pump. Had to pay Rs. 100 and then started the search for an electrician who can check and fix the water pump. How we got it sorted is a different story and I am sure most of us have experienced this with handyman related jobs.
But today when you need to hire handyman service providers, you can do it online and avoid quite some hassles of searching and calling randomly. But finding handyman companies for home repair jobs is just the beginning. You still have to know quite few things about their expertise, charges and minimum visiting fee etc.
In his post I am going to give you a good overview of what to do and how to hire handyman services and do it right. So are you ready?
Be specific with the task
Handyman is a broad category and it could mean plumbing to carpentry and small electrical installation and repair to exterior painting of your home or office. It’s important to be as specific as possible so that you don’t get mismatched. All electricians may not have expertise in repairing water pump and similarly all handyman companies may not offer carpentry services.
It’ll make more sense if you could explain your repair and maintenance job in detail. This is going to help the handyman in assessing the task.
Skill and training
So if you are looking to get some small electrical repairing work done, you should find a handyman company / service provider who is skilled to offer electrical repairing work. Proper training is essential because if the technician is not trained properly then he may end up creating a bigger mess.
License
Certain handyman service requires licensing, like if you want to hire a plumber work on main water pipe line, you should hire a licensed plumber only. Handyman service that you are looking for may not require license, but usually it’s a best practice to always work with a licensed plumber or electrician. Chances of getting right will simply double when you are hiring a licensed handyman.
Photo ID proof
When hiring a handyman, always make sure to check the photo id proof of the technician unless you know him personally (e.g. hiring an electrician from a neighborhood electrical shop). This is for your own safety.
Modern handyman companies usually do background check of their own as well as get police verifications done to ensure safety of their clients. But some responsibility lies with the consumer as well to check the id proof before allowing someone to enter your premises.
Charges of handyman services
Charges of handyman services for smaller repair and maintenance jobs are usually not fixed. So if you hire an electrician or a plumber randomly, chances are he will charge you depending on the face value, not the actual fees. This is an unorganized sector and charges are never transparent and fixed.
But as I said there are plenty of well placed handyman companies out there in mega cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and other cities who have transparent billing process. So just before you finalize a handyman, ask them for their rates of whatever services you want to take from them.
Visiting charges of handyman service pros
Some handyman companies may charge you a nominal flat fee; they call it the booking charge or visiting/inspection charge. Inspection charge could be anywhere between Rs. 100 to Rs.300 and some of it may be adjusted in the overall service bill.
So just check with the handyman company if they are going to charge anything just for inspection. It’s better than arguing later if you don’t avail the service.
Rates including materials
A professional handyman companies like the one we recommend on ServiceSutra would give you two options. You buy the materials and they offer the service. Or you may ask them to buy the materials and get it repaired/installed.
It makes more sense to ask for both types of quotes so that you know what you have to pay once your job is done to your satisfaction.
References and comparison
Always ask for references of some of the past customer hey have worked with. This reference check will help you evaluate them better. Also it would be wise to take estimates from a couple of handyman companies or some idea of costs involved in your home repair and maintenance before you finally hire one.
Conclusion
Finding a reliable and affordable handyman company for smaller repair and maintenance tasks is not all that easy. From finding a handyman for plumbing or electrical repair works to checking their background and finding their rates and charges and ensuring that the handyman is skilled and licensed; its hell lots of tasks. But it’s worth it because that’s the only you can ensure that you are working with the right handyman company and that too at the price which is right for you.
