General Handyman Services Competition

From the RealEstateJournal Archives
Nailing Down a Reliable
Dial-a-Handyman Service
by Sam Schechner
From The Wall Street Journal Online

January 17, 2005 -- Hiring a local handyman is a crapshoot -- if
you're not haggling over the bill, then you're sweeping up the bits of
plaster and dirt that he left on the floor.

In a bid to professionalize the business, several companies are
aggressively trying to create networks of independent contractors
around the country. The idea is that you'll be able to call a toll-free
number (or punch your area code into a Web page) and instantly
get a reliable handyman in your neighborhood to hang a dining-room
lamp or re-caulk your bathtub.

This push comes as America's housing stock is aging. Despite the
teardown trend that swept the country in the 1990s, the average
home in the U.S. is now 32 years old, up from 27 a decade ago,
according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.
At the same time, as America itself grows grayer around the
temples, more people are eager to farm out their home-repair and
-improvement projects, economists and contractors say.

That provides a ripe business environment for these new-style
handyman companies, which are opening additional outlets every
year. Their biggest problem at this point, though, is spotty
geographical coverage. Case Handyman Services, for instance, has
only about 50 outlets, and has no presence in 26 states. Another of
the bigger players, House Doctors Handyman Service, has 200
locations in 43 states, but only five in Florida and California
combined.

Most of the companies operate under a franchise model, with
franchisees paying a fee for the rights to a particular area, and then
hiring handymen to do the actual work. Some of the companies say
they screen for qualified handymen, while a few, including Mr.
Handyman, do follow-up customer surveys.

To check out the quality of the work and the companies'
responsiveness, we booked four of the largest services during the
busy holiday week between Christmas and New Year's. In the D.C.
area, we called Case's company-owned handyman division as well
as contacting ServiceMaster, a multibillion-dollar company that,
among other things, offers handyman service. We also scheduled
work with two major franchises, House Doctors and Mr. Handyman.
(A fifth service, the Handyman Connection franchise, was unable
to accommodate us on such short notice.) Most of the services
charge a one-time "dispatch" fee, plus a flat or hourly fee for the
work.

When we called ServiceMaster's toll-free number about a kitchen
leak, the company's subsidiary, American Residential Service, had
a plumber peering under our sink and offering a quote that same
day. Two days later, after we'd purchased a new gooseneck faucet
(ARS didn't have any to our liking in stock), he installed the
whole thing in an hour and a half. But it wasn't all sweetness and
light. We had to pay a $45 "diagnostic" fee during the initial visit,
even though we had been told that it would be waived. A company
rep later said it usually charges a diagnostic fee, and in our case,
there had been a miscommunication between the call-taker and the
technician.

Case's handyman was particularly memorable. He managed to work
expeditiously while also waxing about his work life and
relationships.

In most cases, the handymen we tested were refreshingly attentive.
Carl Manthe, the owner of the House Doctors franchise in Chicago,
e-mailed the night before to confirm the time he would be coming
over. Despite the holiday, Mr. Handyman's San Francisco outlet
called promptly to reschedule when one employee called in sick.
(The branch changed the time of the appointment, however, by
almost an hour.)

But like a doctor's house call, this level of attention doesn't come
cheap. In three and a half hours, Case's affable electrician hung and
wired a wrought-iron Guatemalan lamp on our patio, installed a
motion-activated flood light, covered an exposed wiring box, and
fixed our broken doorbell. The tab: $406.35.

Even at House Doctors, which offers a free estimate and a flat rate,
the prices range from reasonable to pricey. Merely hanging a large
mirror set us back $30, but Mr. Manthe quoted us a price of $629.42
to supply and install a crown molding in our hallway, which seemed
fair. He said his average job runs about $900.

NAME: Case Handyman Services (www.casehandyman.com)
COVERAGE: About 50 locations in 24 states
TASK/TIME/COST: Hanging and wiring lamp, installing automatic
floodlight, fixing doorbell; three and a half hours; $406.85 ($95 per
hour, plus $30 "trip" fee and $44.35 for parts)
SERVICE: Handyman was a stickler for details but still worked
quickly
BOTTOM LINE: Was able to work, drink coffee and tell stories all at
once

NAME: Mr. Handyman (www.mrhandyman.com;
877-MR-HANDYMAN)
COVERAGE: 140 locations in 33 states
TASK/TIME/COST: Re-cutting and sanding two table tops, sealing
a garage leak, resurfacing the bottom of a kitchen drawer, and
replacing three old light switches; two hours; $220 ($90 per hour,
plus $40 "dispatch" fee)
SERVICE: Called to reconfirm appointment time -- but for one hour
later than we expected
BOTTOM LINE: Handyman had 15 years of experience and made
the jobs look easy

NAME: House Doctors Handyman Service
(www.housedoctors.com; 888-HOUSE-DOC)
COVERAGE: 200 locations in 43 states
TASK/TIME/COST: Hanging a heavy mirror; 30 minutes; $30
SERVICE: Owner of local franchise let our 3-year-old son play with
his flashlight while he worked
BOTTOM LINE: A personal touch, but in the end free estimates can
still cost you

NAME: ServiceMaster (www.servicemaster.com;
1-888-WE-SERVE)
COVERAGE: 60 locations for ARS; 150 technicians through
Pegnato Handyman Services
TASK/TIME/COST: Fixing kitchen sink leak by replacing a faucet;
two hours; $436.77 (including $45 "diagnostic" fee and $150 for
the new faucet)
SERVICE: Neat, clean, and prompt; the plumber even wiped his
feet at the door
BOTTOM LINE: We had to pay a $45 "diagnostic" fee, even though
we were told it would be waived

-- Mary Lu Carnevale, Neil King, Joe Hallinan and Sarah Tilton
contributed to this article.