Handyman Connection of Austin-Westlake

I called the Handyman Connection because of an Angies list special of 2 hours work for $75. They receive highly favorable comments on Angies List, so I gave them a call and spoke with the owner, Rene Salazar. He scheduled Louis, the craftsman, to come out to give an estimate and perform the work. After I made the appointment, the Handyman Connection sent me an email confirming the date and arrival time of the service. Louis showed up right on time, and I appreciate the punctuality. He performed the work on our list, and we are very happy with the entire experience. i would highly recommend the Handyman Connection to my friends.

My appointment today was for 11:30. At 11:30 the handyman called to say he was running an hour late. At 1pm (an hour and a half later) he called to tell me that his co-worker's truck had broken down so he needed to drive him somewhere then stop by home depot to pick up screws to fix the fence. I do not have hours to sit around and wait for someone to show up, so I cancelled. He sounded surprised that I was not going to wait another half hour (2 hours past my scheduled appointment time) for him to get there. Why does a handyman not have screws with him, or have picked them up before my appointment time? VERY disappointed. The only positive about my experience is that the handyman was polite each time he told me he would be late.

Rene Salazar is the owner of the company. I spent about $150 on the job. He made sure that the plumbing was not leaking and it was put in right. He inspected if it was all okay. He told me that I need not put in more grout between the countertop and the back. He was excellent. I would use his services again in the future. He would be the one I call if I need anything.

Excellent experience. Handyman was smart, efficient, polite and professional. He had to go get some parts after assessing the work and did so quickly and inexpensively.

Shane was almost to fast for me. I had a coupon for $75.00 for two hours of work and he was done so fast I had to find more work for him to do. He did a great job.

We couldn't be happier with the quality of the work, the speed at which it was performed, and the overall professionalism. Work areas were always left clean, the workers were friendly and communicated very well about what they were doing, and the price for each job was well worth it! I felt that the guys truly cared about helping us get our home into shape, and we'll be calling them again as there is still so much to do! My husband and I are NOT handy, and we're so grateful for this service! Thanks, guys!!

The handyman arrived on time. I was surprised as soon as he drove up to see that he didn't drive a truck. Indeed he didn't even have a ladder and had to use ours. Although he was very nice, he really didn't give us the impression that he was quite sure what he was doing. He gave us one answer about a job and then talked to someone at the office who gave him a different answer so he had to change what he told us. We knew some of our jobs were beyond the scope of our two hours so we wanted bids on a couple of things. He didn't have the forms with him. The office called and we asked to have one bid emailed to us and cancelled a request for a second bid.. The bid we requested hasn't arrived yet. Again, the handyman was very nice and did complete some of our projects successfully but we can't see any reason to use this company again. Perhaps part of the problem came from buying two hours of service. I think just calling and having someone come out and give us an estimate might work better.

I contacted Handyman Connection after seeing their excellent scores on Angie's List. I made an appointment to meet a representative to look at my job. On the day of the appointment, I got to the site on time, only to be told that somebody had been by looking for me a few minutes earlier. I looked around the parking area, but saw no one. I found that I had received a call from the rep, saying that he was available early, but apparently I didn't hear the phone. I tried to return the call, and it went to voicemail. I left a message. I waited for an hour, and finally called back. The rep answered, but he had another appointment to tend to, so he couldn't make it out to see me until much later. I didn't like his attitude, and told him to forget it.

I was happy with his services and would use him again.

I have a home office and I needed to have some tile put in, in place of carpeting, but we didn’t just take out all the carpeting and put in the tile. He had to cut a section out of the carpet and put the tile in there. Other than the labor, they provided some of the materials and we provided the tile and the grout. This is the first time I have used them and I got their name on Angie’s list. We called them, they came out, looked at the job, and did the job. We had another bid that was higher and so we decided to go out with Handyman Connection. They set it up to meet our schedule. Because we thought it was going to be a two-day job, we asked for the work to be done on a Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. They called back later and said that their schedule had kind of changed and asked if they could come out on a Friday instead of Thursday and Friday. We said that was fine. They came out, weren’t quite able to finish it on Friday, and so they came back on Saturday and finished the job. We were tired, so the change in schedule wasn’t a problem. We are pleased with the job, and it looks good. The office staff that I talked to, Kevin who made the bid and Rebecca, were real pleasant to talk to and deal with. Sergio is the man who came and did the work and he had a helper. They were also very pleasant to deal with and very professional. They kept the work area clean. I had no problem interacting with them. They met the schedule and we are pleased with it.

After signing up for Angie's List Big Deal, I called them and set-up an appointment. During the phone call, we discussed the list of potential repairs and created a list of materials I would need to have on hand to complete the repairs. On the day of the actual appointment, they called well ahead of the appointment to see if I still wanted them to come that day since it was raining and some of the repairs on my original list were exterior repairs. I had a long list of interior repairs too, so we decided to keep the original appointment. The handyman showed up right on time, introduced himself, quickly made a plan for the most efficient use of the allotted time and got straight to work. He was friendly, professional, and cleaned up after himself. He took the time to answer questions when I asked about particular repairs. I recommend using their services.

I had the Handy man Connection come to my house to do repair work they were thorough and professional. They did explain what they were going to do and quoted a price that I thought was fair. He finished in a timely manner and cleaned up. I would use him again and I do recommend him.

Very well. Doug always arrives when scheduled, gives a detailed estimate and performs the work in a timely manner. He cleans up everything so no mess is left behind.

Called and was able to get an appointment within a week due to my schedule. Rebecca who took the call was very professional and took care of this in a timely manner; responsive. The electrician Steve and assistant came out to install a motion sensor light in my front entry. On time, quick, professional. I did not have the right light bulbs so he ran to Home Depot and got them. He did need to return 2 days later but did so very quickly without issue. The sensors were off but not his problem just a setting. Great job and a really nice person.

It went well. He came earlier than scheduled which when working from home it can be disruptive to my work schedule. He performed the job well and within an hour. My only feedback was he left a mess in my bathroom (which is spotless) whereas other contractors or others have cleaned-up. Plaster, etc in tub, on floor. But can't complain since I could not complete this myself.

I spoke with Rebecca at Handyman Connection on the phone a couple of times to talk about what work I needed done and she was very friendly and helpful. Shane came out and changed the bulbs on several high ceiling light fixtures, shop-vacummed the bathroom where the wall mirror had fallen off and shattered, installed four window coverings, and attempted to replace a part in the toilet, but determined that a plumber needed to be called instead (the water would have to have been shut-off, and additional parts will need to be purchased). Shane showed up on time and was very professional and personable. He did a great job and I would definitely use him again.

He was not friendly at all and broke a light bulb trying to change the light bulbs. He was not able to change the bulbs and told me to go to the store to buy something to put the bulb in myself. The company was fantastic; it is just that the guy who came out was not very friendly. I will use them again in the future but I will be sure they send a different handyman.

My experience included unprofessional work, bad communication, overcharges, being charged in full before job completed, damage to floor and baseboard due to a spill accident, and more harm than good in the end. After the sink installation: The plumber spilled bright blue plumbers glue on the stained concrete floor that covered a square foot, plus more at the doorway from his shoe and a splash at the other side of the bathroom. The oil-based glue could not be removed from the water-based stained floor. He felt bad and said he would try to repair it and had experience with concrete floors, but admitted he was not familiar with the type of flooring I have installed. The supervisor came to see the damage and had some ideas about repairing it, but I did not want the repair of this highly visible room to be an experiment. I called the person who installed the flooring to fix it. Repairing the damage: My concrete flooring installer returned to repair the floor at an estimated cost of around $200 and ended up at $240, but Handyman Connection refused to pay anything over $200. I had called other concrete repairmen and they wouldn't even show up for less than $500. HC did not have the ability to match the stain or the ability to replicate the flooring I had, so it was unsettling that they were so limiting with the cost of repair they were at fault for and unable to fix themselves. They also expected me to pay him out of pocket or not to pay him until they paid him later or reimbursed me, which is not how they expect payment for their own work. A new handyman was sent to undo the plumbers bad wall patch and it was re-done beautifully.The sink was caulked and loose parts were tightened. The supervisor who inspected the job was very helpful and knowledgable. This company does seem to have some very good people working for them, but my experience was that three out of four did more damage than repair. The damaged bathroom floor had to be stained a darker color in order to cover the blue paint spill and now does not match the rest of the house. This is the centrally located guest bathroom that is visible from all living areas and hallway, and part of the stain remains in the hallway where it could not be repaired without changing the entire floor. The spill accident portion of my complaint is significant in both permanent damage and how it was handled, and how all accounting was handled by both the plumber and the office. Payment: Prior to the job, I paid $45 for the estimate and was told the amount would be credited to the bill if I hired this plumber for the job. I also had received a call from HC headquarters in Canada, who offered me a 15% discount on the next job I requested. I was told the plumbing job could be discounted and confirmed this with the owner, Rene when I scheduled the appointment. At the end of the job-even though the job was not complete and repairs to the spill not even started, I was told they still had to collect payment. I understood needing a credit card on file, but did not realize they would charge it at this time with pending repair and damage, so I did give my credit card information. When I mentioned using either a $25 coupon or the corporate discount, he was not happy and I felt guilty about the discounts- until he told me the charges. At first the plumber asked for $650 for a $400 job because he accidentally added the cost he had originally estimated that included installing a second sink. That work was not done. He looked at his notes and agreed that he made an error and I was charged the correct amount, but without crediting the $45 estimate fee. I did not authorize payment at this time due to the job being unfinished and did not sign the invoice, but instead wrote on it "Pending repair", but my card was charged for the job AND for a higher amount. In addition, the customer service manager decided to change the 15% discount to 10% without telling me. When I told her that the owner had approved the 15% discount prior to the job, she said " we never give discounts over 10%". This was eventually corrected, but I had to send numerous email requests to clarify the charges and ask that all charges be credited until the damaged floor was repaired. It took over two weeks of begging for me to get her to refund the charges. Communication was very difficult with the CSR throughout the process and she eventually became rude, which only added to the stress of the situation I was dealing with due to this company's mistakes. All emails regarding unprofessional work, incorrect charges, and damages were copied to the owner, Rene. However, he did not contact me once. I was never contacted about the problems I was having with his company or the damage that was caused. I am not happy with the work done or handling of problems and do not recommend Handyman Connection. UPDATE: The response by this company is disconcerting. $500 is a correct amount paid.The cost was 450 for the job including their charge for materials plus the 40 I had to spend on damage repair they refused to cover. The $200 deducted from their invoice was to repay me for paying the flooring repairman. I paid him $200 cash. I do not owe HC that amount. In their response they say "when she called us and said the job was unsatisfactory...we refunded her money fast" and this is not true. I spent 2 weeks asking to be refunded.I have emails and receipts regarding the final payment made and don't know why they say I owe anything, this is the first I have heard. I am happy to provide email correspondence and photographs if requested.

They came on time, finished in a timely fashion, cleaned up, and took out the trash. They did a great job.

Mark installed baseboard in two secondary baths that I had remodeled. I am a perfectionist, and there was one section that didn't look perfect to me. It was the part of a baseboard that had to be cut, where part of it goes under the cabinet. I asked him to apply a little caulk to disguise it, which he did, and it looked much better. Now I don't even notice it and think it looks great! The price was terrific! They had a $79 special for two hours work. It took him a little over the two hours, and although I offered to pay the difference, he refused. I got a great deal, and again, it looks great! I would hire this company again.

Thank you Handyman Connection! This was a great feeling to get all this done.

Called the office and they were kind and professional. Sent out Bart (who eventually did the work) to do the estimate. They gave me a written estimate on the spot. I called to schedule and they gave me the earliest time that met my needs. The work was done in a timely fashion and done to my level of expectation.

I needed to get an appointment within a few days. They arranged for a time that fit within my schedule. The handyman arrived exactly on time, explained to me what he was going to do, performed all the tasks quickly and well. Couldn't have been better.

He cannot take simple directions. I was looking directly at him and he could not follow simple directions to get to me.

This company showed up on time, assessed the situation, and gave me a bid for $75. Because the job took an hour longer than the person thought it would, they charged me an extra $25. I was not advised of this beforehand, and this is why I gave them a B on price. I was pleased that the person doing the work was wearing booties over his shoes before he entered the house. But he didn't clean up the (small) mess he made fixing the doors. Nevertheless, I would recommend hiring this company for handyman jobs. Even the people scheduling the work were very pleasant.