Whatever happened to real handymen?

[16colt]

The incompetency doesn’t stop at the handyman level. Contractors are just as bad. The guy that comes out and gives the quote and tells you how much experience he has and what great work he can do rarely is involved with the actual labor. They seem to hire the cheapest hands they can find so they (contractor) can put more money in his pocket when the job is completed. Very little concern anymore for quality results of a given project. In my experience, this has been the case for roofers, carpenters (frame and finish), concrete guys, masons, and painters.
If you DO spot a good one, you better get his number for future reference and next time, deal with the guy directly.

 

[BillM]

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
...SNIP!!!
Ok, end rant.

My grandfather was a newlywed during the Great Depression. He was in the habit of fixing or making his own stuff. And when he didn't know how to do something, he'd find a way to learn. Libaries had books, and he'd read them. Or he'd find someone doing a job, and get them to show him how it was done. Sometimes he worked with them to get the teaching, sometimes he'd pay. Might be a six-pak or two, or some of my grandma's cooking. She was doing plain cooking for lumberjacks when he met her, and also wonderful deserts. He taught me. Dad was perennially broke, with too many kids and a 2nd wife, but learned a lot of DIY stuff, too. Both of them did some of their growing up on farms. Farmers mostly have to know how to do everything, or do without. I mostly grew up in the city, but learned a lot from both of them. Both bought old houses that were too small, and made them better. I helped where I could, when I was old enough. Brother and I got a G.I. Joe each when I was Bout 10. They had steel swords, spear & arrow points, and functional long bows. Cold forged out of coat hanger wire. When grandpa wore out his 61 Falcon, he gave it to me. And I tinkered with it. Grandma may have been the prototype for the Little Old Lady from Pasadena. Had 61 Falcon of her own. And ripped the rear bumper into an L shape. Grandpa replaced it from "mine." And I straightened hers with a propane torch, ball peen hammer, and wet rags. Reversed that 90° bend, and made it look like new. Except there was a crack in the chrome plating where the bend used to be. Bit later helped dad do warranty appliance repair work for Sears appliances in Delta County, CO. Plus wor on his new house in Western Colorado. Was a log cabin, built in 1868. Sided over. Some of the plumbing was made of tarpaper. Helped dad set up his new workshop in a small barn, and his ham shack in a lean-too off the barn. Was with him when he paid $5 for a 128lb London pattern anvil. And when he used it to fit horseshoes to our horses & Welsh pony. And made a horse shoe belt buckle for my 3rd stepfather...

Few years later I enlisted in the USAF. Wound up working on F-111D fighter jets as a mechanic. Actually glorified gas station attendent mostly. But quickly wound up as the crew chief on a series of hanger queens, and making them fly again. Was working on my own cars again, too. 1963 Impala SS, among other things. Like a buddies 1972 Jaguar XJ-6. Also wrecked my knees. Made lots of mistakes, broke a lot of stuff. Fixed some of it. Bought my firsy house, fixed a bunch of stuff in it. Retrained to be a photographer for the USAF. Documented problems with equipment, worked on more cars, and an couple of trucks, including a 1953 IH pickup. Had a glass bowl in the carb, and I chipped it. Never could get a seal on it again. Or find a replacement bowl. 'Nother lesson learned. That was just my first five years, of 24, in the Air Force. Got involved in computers in '78...
Since then, I have worked on autos, medium & small trucks, home and industrial laundry and other appliances, micro & mainframe computers, though I missed the mini-computers... LF through SHF radio transmitters & recievers and antenna systems, including satellite dishes up to 40' diameter. That on was originally set up to communicate across non-synchronous satellites. High performance jets, photographic and both manual and continuous automatic photo-processing equipment, plumbing, wiring for systems from 12vdc to 440ac, bit of HVAC work, etc. Also was the editor & publisher of a baseline newsletter at Pirinclic AS, outside Ditarbakir, Turkey. Back when cut & paste was still done with scissors and a glue pot. Though I was using a Heath H89 computer for composition...

Lots of sometimes weird experience. Had my own junkyard when I lived in Las Vegas. Was putting the undercarriage of a Deuce & a half truck under a 60's era school bus. Had a stack of 6 Austin Healy "Bugeye" Sprites in the yard. Put a 350ci chevy engin in a Vega. Engines &/or transmissions in a number of cars. But I've never actually rebuilt an engine or transmission myself. Done a bit of farm welding. Brazing on pipe & silver-soldering on jewelry. Cut, ground, polished & mounted cabochon stones in jewelry I'd finished. Made and fought in medieval-style armour. And had my left forearm broken in a swordfight, live on Channel 8 (IIRC) news in Las Vegas at their first Ren Faire. Just a bit of amateur gunsmithing, too. I have fixed an broken a lot of stuff over the past 60-some years. Starter in the truck my youngest is driving to work, too. Long, complex trouble shooting process found the nut holding the wire from the starter relay to the solenoid on the starter motor had worked itself lose over the past year or so. Replaced it with a tighter nut, washer, and a lock nut. Likewise for the battery wire, just in case... As I apparently wasn't paranoid enough last time I was in there. As I was saying lots of experience, but kind of spotty...

 

[retrieverman]

The incompetency doesn’t stop at the handyman level. Contractors are just as bad. The guy that comes out and gives the quote and tells you how much experience he has and what great work he can do rarely is involved with the actual labor. They seem to hire the cheapest hands they can find so they (contractor) can put more money in his pocket when the job is completed. Very little concern anymore for quality results of a given project. In my experience, this has been the case for roofers, carpenters (frame and finish), concrete guys, masons, and painters.
If you DO spot a good one, you better get his number for future reference and next time, deal with the guy directly.

I’m going to make a statement, and I really don’t give a chit if any of you think it racist or not because the truth sometimes hurts. There’s a common theme to the decline in quality of trade work, and it’s when the vast majority of the folks working on construction sites quite speaking english.
You can shun me, ban me, or whatever, but you can’t prove me wrong.

 

[16colt]

I’m going to make a statement, and I really don’t give a chit if any of you think it racist or not because the truth sometimes hurts. There’s a common theme to the decline in quality of trade work, and it’s when the vast majority of the folks working on construction sites quite speaking english.
You can shun me, ban me, or whatever, but you can’t prove me wrong.

You are correct. Racism has nothing to do with it.
My opinion - Contractors are not hiring folks because they are “craftsmen” in their trade. They are hired because they are cheap. Hence the minorities. Are there Mexicans that are craftsmen and can do a great job? Sure, but that is not what the contractors are looking for because they can demand more money. The folks that are hired do not have to worry about providing a quality result. If the job goes south, the contractor will simply fire the guy and brag about how he “took care of it”. The guy that was fired will simply hire on to another crew down the street and continue with the same shoddy workmanship. No accountability.

 

[turkeyrun]

I believe the biggest factor is parts availability. Parts are almost non-existent. You have to purchase a sub-assembly. Then add in overheads and labor, costs are ridiculous to outrageous and beyond.


I rebuilt some OLD meters for a customer. Figured out the parts I needed. and went to Radio Shack. Bought basic components for $9 + 1 hr labor.
A new, comparable meter was $11k. Every replacement part available was a sub-assembly, at $700 and up, plus labor.

Somehow, I feel the system is due a major reset and it will not be easy.