FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
I have some items that I have completed so often that I have set pricing (ceiling fan replacement as an example.) These prices are posted on my website. 90% of the time, I price by the project. I find that hourly pricing isn't always fair to the customer or to myself. So when I am asked for an estimate I will rely on past experience to provide a fair price to the customer. I do have a $120 minimum to do any job. It costs money to operate a business and I can't schedule a job without knowing that I'm going to make a minimum amount to cover costs. As an example, I charge $85 for a standard sink faucet replacement. But if that is the only project that you need completed, the price would round up to the $120 minimum charge.
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
I respond to customer requests the same day unless the request comes thru after 8pm (in that case I will respond the next morning.) My commitment is to communicate in a timely, professional manner. I am operating a business, not a side-hustle so I treat my customers as what they are: the lifeblood of my business. 99% of the time I can provide an estimate without coming out to look at a project. Text / email and pictures will give me the majority of the information I need.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
My training is of the old-fashioned, on-the-job variety. When I was a kid, my parents bought an old farm house. It was what they could afford in 1981. My dad set about transforming that house over the years with enclosing and adding-on to modernize it. My dad thought every project was DIY. He owned those old Time-Life books on how to do electric, plumbing, framing, etc. I was his assistant. When I bought my own house, I did the same. I had Home Depot books that taught me fencing, tiling, deck building, etc. Over the years I became the "handy" friend that helped all kinds of people with all variety of projects.