HANDYMAN SERVICES

They were expensive. They charged me $50 to just come and then the guy looked at it and told me that I would have to pay $450 which is almost like the price for a new one. He just looked, he did not do anything, he did not even check what was wrong. I did not go with him since he was charging about $450 to $500; I would rather buy a new one. He did not do anything I was so surprised.

I would give them an A grade. He was very good. I would use him in the future. I’m intending to use them in the future.

I recently moved into a new apartment and needed to get the locks changed, but the landlord did not not have anyone he could recommend to do the work. So I asked around, and a Realtor friend of mine gave me a flyer for a "handyman" that he thought was reliable and could do the work. Although I remember thinking the flyer should read: "handy person" instead of "Handyman" I decided to go ahead and give the guy a call. I left a message and Mark Goodwin called me back about an hour later. I explained what I needed to get done and he said he can usually do that for about $150.00 and he keeps a supply of unopened locksets on his truck just for that purpose. I made arrangements to meet him the next day when I got home from work. He was waiting on the street in his truck when I arrived home about 10 minutes before our appointment. He was well dressed and professional looking. After introducing himself, he offered to put "booties" on his shoes before stepping on my carpet (wow) but I told him that wouldn't be necessary. He assessed the existing locks and had two that would fit (so I got my choice of style and color) He gave me a written quote, which I signed and he said it should take less than an hour. Actually the work took just over an hour because the old door frame needed some reinforcement and alignment, but he didn't charge any extra. I remember when he open the package, the first thing he did was give all the keys to me. He said he would need me to bring them back after to check them. So actually, the keys never left my sight, pretty cool. So the charge was actually less than the estimate, I paid by personal check, thanked him, and he was gone. Totally painless. Also he showed me some things I can do myself to save money next time. Another thing, my landlord has authorized me to have the blinds replaced and I have talked with Mark about it, so he will be back next week to measure.