Ignoramus19425 wrote in
:

On 2011-10-11, Larry Jaques wrote:
On Mon, 10 Oct 2011 22:07:08 -0500, Ignoramus20811
wrote:

I had a few occasions, when I had to hire some laborers or handymen
(read, people who do simple one time jobs).

My experience with them has been abysmal, in the sense that most of
them are very unreliable. They can show up 1.5 hours later, or not at
all. They do not even think that it is a big deal.

Is that my own isolated experience, or has anyone else seen the same?

It's that way everywhere, especially in the sub-$10/hr arena. My
neighbor has been through half a dozen guys in the past year, and she
only wants help for 3-4 hours per week in the summer. They either show
up late or on a different day than scheduled, and they never, ever
call to let her know there's a problem.

I, on the other hand, always show up on time or call if I can't, but I
get a bit more than that for my work. Some jobs take longer than I
estimate or planned for, tools break and have to be replaced
immediately, power goes out, clients change their minds, etc.


Larry, I am sure that you treat your clients fairly.

I mean, I would be OK if they just called and said that they are not
coming today.

In the Boston area, we are covered by "Checkbook" and Angie's List, both
of which are independent contractor reviewing operations. Not everyone
who is good in the area is listed, but if you find someone with rave
reviews, you can pretty much count on them. It takes a hugh amount of
the guesswork out of the process. I won't hire anyone for even a small
one time job without a personal referal from someone I trust, or a good
review on one of those two (preferably both). Fortunately, the Boston
market is big enough that you can usually find several outfits to get
bids from on major jobs.

We are about to have our bathroom re-done, and all the contractors we've
talked to have been very good. Some of them even have discounts for
members of Angie's List. That shows that they know they will get
reviewed, and they are confident enough in their work to want those
customers.

Doug White