This is a little bit of a rant. If you haven't had to hire out services then you probably won't get this, but here goes.
Whatever happened to handymen? Seriously, it feels like the whole concept of a good, reliable handyman is just disappearing. Back in the day, if something broke—whether it was a busted pipe, a leaking roof, or a broken fridge — there was always that one guy you could call who’d show up, fix it, and charge you a reasonable price. Now all they want to do is replace things instead of actually fixing them. A leaky faucet? Nah, don’t bother fixing it, just slap in a new one for $200. Broken dryer? Forget about replacing the heating element, just buy a brand-new one!
And don't even get me started on the whole charging for a phone call thing. What happened to the good old days when you could just call up a handyman and have him handle an issue including dealing with other professionals? Now it feels like you’re paying for the privilege of just asking a couple of questions and them making a call to some parts house or electrician. It's ridiculous. I’m not asking for a full-blown consultation or general contractor job done, just a little "fix this light switch" — can’t we still have that without getting charged for every second?
These handymen are all the so-called “experts” too now, who claim they know everything about plumbing, drywall, or electrical work, but can’t even handle the most absolute basic stuff. They’ll tell you they’re pros when it comes to electrical, but ask them to wire up a 3-way switch, and suddenly they’re scratching their heads and needing to call an electrician. Or they say they’ve got plumbing covered, but when it comes to snaking a drain or fixing a simple leak, they’re "drowning" or have to pull up a youtube video to solder a copper pipe (WTF???). No thanks. I need someone who actually knows what they’re doing.
The worst part? It’s all just a money grab. They're getting worse than those indian guys that call you asking for bitcoin deposits. You’d think in today’s world, where sustainability is the name of the game, people would be more into fixing things instead of throwing them away. But nope—handymen today seem more interested in getting you to buy a whole new appliance or replace your stair railing instead of just fixing what’s broken. I get it, businesses want to make money, but this constant nickeling and diming, throwing perfectly good items in the trash, is wasteful and just plain frustrating. Maybe I don’t want a new fridge, I just want the door fixed. Is that too much to ask?
And then, you get the to the pricing. You’ll get one estimate over the phone, but when the job’s done, the bill is $200-800 more because "it was harder" - yeah, it was harder to find a youtube video of my model! Suddenly, that “simple” job turned into an all-day affair, and you’re left with a bill that’s double what you expected. Good luck getting any clear breakdown of where the money went, either. They’ll just leave you scratching your head, wondering what the heck happened and rubbing salve on your rear that mysteriously developed new pains.
Then when the job’s done, you don’t hear from these guys again. Call them up for another job maybe, or because something is broken/leaking/frying the cat - no answer. Back in the day, if a handyman worked on something in your house they’d check in after a few days to make sure everything was holding up. Not anymore. Once they’ve packed up their tools and gotten their money it’s like they vanish into thin air.
The bottom line is that Handymen today are falling short. They have no passion for the repair anymore. Where are the tinkers? Where are the mechanical guys? Where are the ones that fell in love with taking a toaster apart when they were young and found that they had a knack for fixing things? Posers today are focused on selling you new stuff, charging for phone calls, and pretending to be experts when they can barely figure out how to start their vehicles to come to my house. It’s frustrating because we’re not asking for perfection, just someone who can fix basic household items the right way without all the extra nonsense. There’s definitely still a place for good, old-fashioned handymen who actually care about fixing stuff, but they seem harder and harder to find these days. Maybe it’s time for the industry to take a step back and remember what it’s really about—helping people out, and making lifelong customers.
I do most of my own work, but sometimes I'm not in town and things need doing. I can run a breaker box, wire a light, patch drywall, and install a sink and drain, replace a toilet. No problem. This is normal homeowner things to do. Why is it so hard to find other people that can do the same things? Have none of these people ever owned a home before?
Ok, end rant.
Whatever happened to handymen? Seriously, it feels like the whole concept of a good, reliable handyman is just disappearing. Back in the day, if something broke—whether it was a busted pipe, a leaking roof, or a broken fridge — there was always that one guy you could call who’d show up, fix it, and charge you a reasonable price. Now all they want to do is replace things instead of actually fixing them. A leaky faucet? Nah, don’t bother fixing it, just slap in a new one for $200. Broken dryer? Forget about replacing the heating element, just buy a brand-new one!
And don't even get me started on the whole charging for a phone call thing. What happened to the good old days when you could just call up a handyman and have him handle an issue including dealing with other professionals? Now it feels like you’re paying for the privilege of just asking a couple of questions and them making a call to some parts house or electrician. It's ridiculous. I’m not asking for a full-blown consultation or general contractor job done, just a little "fix this light switch" — can’t we still have that without getting charged for every second?
These handymen are all the so-called “experts” too now, who claim they know everything about plumbing, drywall, or electrical work, but can’t even handle the most absolute basic stuff. They’ll tell you they’re pros when it comes to electrical, but ask them to wire up a 3-way switch, and suddenly they’re scratching their heads and needing to call an electrician. Or they say they’ve got plumbing covered, but when it comes to snaking a drain or fixing a simple leak, they’re "drowning" or have to pull up a youtube video to solder a copper pipe (WTF???). No thanks. I need someone who actually knows what they’re doing.
The worst part? It’s all just a money grab. They're getting worse than those indian guys that call you asking for bitcoin deposits. You’d think in today’s world, where sustainability is the name of the game, people would be more into fixing things instead of throwing them away. But nope—handymen today seem more interested in getting you to buy a whole new appliance or replace your stair railing instead of just fixing what’s broken. I get it, businesses want to make money, but this constant nickeling and diming, throwing perfectly good items in the trash, is wasteful and just plain frustrating. Maybe I don’t want a new fridge, I just want the door fixed. Is that too much to ask?
And then, you get the to the pricing. You’ll get one estimate over the phone, but when the job’s done, the bill is $200-800 more because "it was harder" - yeah, it was harder to find a youtube video of my model! Suddenly, that “simple” job turned into an all-day affair, and you’re left with a bill that’s double what you expected. Good luck getting any clear breakdown of where the money went, either. They’ll just leave you scratching your head, wondering what the heck happened and rubbing salve on your rear that mysteriously developed new pains.
Then when the job’s done, you don’t hear from these guys again. Call them up for another job maybe, or because something is broken/leaking/frying the cat - no answer. Back in the day, if a handyman worked on something in your house they’d check in after a few days to make sure everything was holding up. Not anymore. Once they’ve packed up their tools and gotten their money it’s like they vanish into thin air.
The bottom line is that Handymen today are falling short. They have no passion for the repair anymore. Where are the tinkers? Where are the mechanical guys? Where are the ones that fell in love with taking a toaster apart when they were young and found that they had a knack for fixing things? Posers today are focused on selling you new stuff, charging for phone calls, and pretending to be experts when they can barely figure out how to start their vehicles to come to my house. It’s frustrating because we’re not asking for perfection, just someone who can fix basic household items the right way without all the extra nonsense. There’s definitely still a place for good, old-fashioned handymen who actually care about fixing stuff, but they seem harder and harder to find these days. Maybe it’s time for the industry to take a step back and remember what it’s really about—helping people out, and making lifelong customers.
I do most of my own work, but sometimes I'm not in town and things need doing. I can run a breaker box, wire a light, patch drywall, and install a sink and drain, replace a toilet. No problem. This is normal homeowner things to do. Why is it so hard to find other people that can do the same things? Have none of these people ever owned a home before?
Ok, end rant.
