Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php

--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
...
Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php

--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

There are lots of 'not currently a member' entries and no members!!!!

AWEM

On 01/10/2011 15:11, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php


You are on it 'Not currently a member'.

On 01/10/2011 15:14, Andrew Mawson wrote:

"The Medway wrote in message
...
Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea& cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search& see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php

--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

There are lots of 'not currently a member' entries and no members!!!!

AWEM


It doesn't launch until 15th October - its a new service.

--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

In article , The Medway Handyman
writes
Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php

Think your Trading Standards Fair Trader accredited banner is of more
value but another crest on the website wouldn't do any harm.
--
fred
FIVE TV's superbright logo - not the DOG's, it's ********

On 01/10/2011 15:29, Part Timer wrote:
On 01/10/2011 15:11, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php


You are on it 'Not currently a member'.

Yes I know, I registered for free.

--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it brings
up?

The catchment area is ridiculously wide: well over forty miles, in my case.
And not one of the several excellent (very) local men and firms came up.

The postcode search includes a lot of names marked as "not currently a
member" which rather makes one wonder about the criteria for getting listed.

Bert

Tim Streater wrote:
In article ,
The Medway Handyman wrote:

Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php

Well, I read it as The UK Hand of Guiltymen to start with, and then
the UK Guilt of Handymen.

What have you been up to, Our Dave?

Knicker drawer?

--
Adam

Tim Streater wrote:
In article ,
The Medway Handyman wrote:

On 01/10/2011 15:29, Part Timer wrote:
On 01/10/2011 15:11, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php

You are on it 'Not currently a member'.

Yes I know, I registered for free.

Too many currents - are they baking a cake?

Not currantly, no....

The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Tim Streater wrote:
In article ,
The Medway Handyman wrote:

On 01/10/2011 15:29, Part Timer wrote:
On 01/10/2011 15:11, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php

You are on it 'Not currently a member'.

Yes I know, I registered for free.

Too many currents - are they baking a cake?

Not currantly, no....

...but they might be building a grid..:-)

On Sat, 01 Oct 2011 15:30:38 +0100, The Medway Handyman
wrote:

On 01/10/2011 15:14, Andrew Mawson wrote:

"The Medway wrote in message
...
Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea& cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search& see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php

--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

There are lots of 'not currently a member' entries and no members!!!!

AWEM


It doesn't launch until 15th October - its a new service.

It sounds to me like it might become another of these organisations
that pressurise the government into restricting d-i-y.

Remember gas; electricity...

--
Frank Erskine

On 01/10/2011 15:11, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php


In my case, it only came up with one member - and he was about 20 miles
away. It found a couple of dozen who are "not currently a member" within
a 35 mile radius - but *not* a bloke who is virtually on the doorstep.

The criteria for joining seem a bit dubious - including an on-line
competence test. I suppose you might demonstrate your rank
*incompetence* via an on-line (presumably multiple choice) test - but
how the hell do you demonstrate your *competence* in things practical
that way?

Ok, you also need a couple of positive customer reviews - but I'm sure
that even the BBC's Rogue Traders would have no problem in forging those!

I suppose if it catches on, you may have to become a member - and
presumably pay a fee - in order to get any work. But I suspect that it's
just a licence to print money for whoever dreamt up the idea - and not
worth a lot to the consumer.
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

On 01/10/2011 18:18, Roger Mills wrote:
...But I suspect that it's
just a licence to print money for whoever dreamt up the idea - and not
worth a lot to the consumer.

My view of most of these schemes, having been invited to join more than
one, usually for no good reason.

Colin Bignell

On 10/1/2011 1:18 PM, Roger Mills wrote:
On 01/10/2011 15:11, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php

In my case, it only came up with one member - and he was about 20 miles
away. It found a couple of dozen who are "not currently a member" within
a 35 mile radius - but *not* a bloke who is virtually on the doorstep.

The criteria for joining seem a bit dubious - including an on-line
competence test. I suppose you might demonstrate your rank
*incompetence* via an on-line (presumably multiple choice) test - but
how the hell do you demonstrate your *competence* in things practical
that way?

Ok, you also need a couple of positive customer reviews - but I'm sure
that even the BBC's Rogue Traders would have no problem in forging those!

I suppose if it catches on, you may have to become a member - and
presumably pay a fee - in order to get any work. But I suspect that it's
just a licence to print money for whoever dreamt up the idea - and not
worth a lot to the consumer.

Not a single entry for my postcode.

Roger Mills wrote:

On 01/10/2011 15:11, The Medway Handyman wrote:

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php

I suspect that it's
just a licence to print money for whoever dreamt up the idea

For my postcode it didn't bring up any names that I recognise from local
rags etc, but it did bring up a non-local handyman whose address was
coincidentally the same as the address of the guild!

In message , Andy
Burns wrote
Roger Mills wrote:

On 01/10/2011 15:11, The Medway Handyman wrote:

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php

I suspect that it's
just a licence to print money for whoever dreamt up the idea

For my postcode it didn't bring up any names that I recognise from
local rags etc, but it did bring up a non-local handyman whose address
was coincidentally the same as the address of the guild!


My search came with non-members in Sheerness, Gillingham, Chatham and
Rochester. They are all around 10 to 15 miles away from S.E. Essex (but
not by road).
--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On 01/10/11 15:11, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php


Searching WC1
20 listed, all "not currently a member", only three are really local,
none I have ever heard of, none I would consider using.


--
djc

On 01/10/2011 15:11, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php


_loads_ of entries around here. Not surprisingly no-one I know
(presumably if I used such services much I wouldn't be here). I did
find these two an amusing mix though:

Awesome Africa Handyman
AllWhite Handyman Service

Andy

On Sat, 1 Oct 2011 15:42:45 +0100, Bert Coules wrote:

The catchment area is ridiculously wide: well over forty miles, in my
case.

One of my hits was 46 miles away, the nearest 20...

The postcode search includes a lot of names marked as "not currently a
member" which rather makes one wonder about the criteria for getting
listed.

All of my results were for non-members. All had some version of
"handyman" so I suspect they may have trawled other online sources
for name etc.

--
Cheers
Dave.

In article ,
Andy Champ writes:

_loads_ of entries around here. Not surprisingly no-one I know
(presumably if I used such services much I wouldn't be here). I did
find these two an amusing mix though:

Awesome Africa Handyman
AllWhite Handyman Service

Probably the same person ;-)

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 1 Oct,
The Medway Handyman wrote:

Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php

Brought up loads but non local (11-50 miles away). None were members.

--
B Thumbs
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

In article ,
Andy Champ wrote:

_loads_ of entries around here. Not surprisingly no-one I know
(presumably if I used such services much I wouldn't be here). I did
find these two an amusing mix though:

Awesome Africa Handyman
AllWhite Handyman Service

He's got a 9" angle grinder and he's not afraid to use it ...

Nick
--
Serendipity: http://www.leverton.org/blosxom (last update 29th March 2010)
"The Internet, a sort of ersatz counterfeit of real life"
-- Janet Street-Porter, BBC2, 19th March 1996

On 01/10/2011 18:18, Roger Mills wrote:
On 01/10/2011 15:11, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php


In my case, it only came up with one member - and he was about 20 miles
away. It found a couple of dozen who are "not currently a member" within
a 35 mile radius - but *not* a bloke who is virtually on the doorstep.

The criteria for joining seem a bit dubious - including an on-line
competence test. I suppose you might demonstrate your rank
*incompetence* via an on-line (presumably multiple choice) test - but
how the hell do you demonstrate your *competence* in things practical
that way?

There was a multiple choice test, not especially difficult at all. Some
of the questions were a bit vague and you had 15 mins to answer IIRC.
Plenty of time to Google for the odd answer. I hit 90% in 4 mins, but
as I said, some of the answers were vague.

Ok, you also need a couple of positive customer reviews - but I'm sure
that even the BBC's Rogue Traders would have no problem in forging those!

TBH I could find dozens of positive reviews in 5 minutes. I'm hardly
likely to offer any negative reviews an I?

I suppose if it catches on, you may have to become a member - and
presumably pay a fee - in order to get any work. But I suspect that it's
just a licence to print money for whoever dreamt up the idea - and not
worth a lot to the consumer.

True, but at £22:50 a year its very cheap advertising.

--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On 01/10/2011 23:33, Nick Leverton wrote:
In et.uk,
Andy wrote:

_loads_ of entries around here. Not surprisingly no-one I know
(presumably if I used such services much I wouldn't be here). I did
find these two an amusing mix though:

Awesome Africa Handyman
AllWhite Handyman Service

He's got a 9" angle grinder and he's not afraid to use it ...

Nick

4" probably

On Sun, 02 Oct 2011 00:30:51 +0100, The Medway Handyman wrote:

On 01/10/2011 18:18, Roger Mills wrote:
On 01/10/2011 15:11, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php

I got four hits, all non members, two were 10 miles away, and two were upto
60-70 miles away.

snip

I suppose if it catches on, you may have to become a member - and
presumably pay a fee - in order to get any work. But I suspect that it's
just a licence to print money for whoever dreamt up the idea

My thoughts exactly.

True, but at £22:50 a year its very cheap advertising.

That ultimately depends on the integrity of the web site. If it acquires a
bad reputation, you will tend to be tarred with the same brush.

I'd put it on the back burner for a 12 month, see how active it is then.

--
The Wanderer

Caffeine isn't addictive as long as you keep taking it.

On 02/10/2011 00:30, The Medway Handyman wrote:
On 01/10/2011 18:18, Roger Mills wrote:
On 01/10/2011 15:11, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php


In my case, it only came up with one member - and he was about 20 miles
away. It found a couple of dozen who are "not currently a member" within
a 35 mile radius - but *not* a bloke who is virtually on the doorstep.

The criteria for joining seem a bit dubious - including an on-line
competence test. I suppose you might demonstrate your rank
*incompetence* via an on-line (presumably multiple choice) test - but
how the hell do you demonstrate your *competence* in things practical
that way?

There was a multiple choice test, not especially difficult at all. Some
of the questions were a bit vague and you had 15 mins to answer IIRC.
Plenty of time to Google for the odd answer. I hit 90% in 4 mins, but as
I said, some of the answers were vague.

Ok, you also need a couple of positive customer reviews - but I'm sure
that even the BBC's Rogue Traders would have no problem in forging those!

TBH I could find dozens of positive reviews in 5 minutes. I'm hardly
likely to offer any negative reviews an I?


I'm sure you could - and genuine ones at that. But the point I was
making that even if you were totally useless and/or a complete rogue, it
wouldn't be difficult to conjure up a few positive references.

I suppose if it catches on, you may have to become a member - and
presumably pay a fee - in order to get any work. But I suspect that it's
just a licence to print money for whoever dreamt up the idea - and not
worth a lot to the consumer.

True, but at £22:50 a year its very cheap advertising.


Still a nice little earner for the site owner. Get your customers to
recommend you on Which? Local - that's free!
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

On 01/10/2011 15:11 The Medway Handyman wrote:

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

I'm in the north-west of Leeds. Nearest was 2 miles, furthest 33 miles,
none of them members and never heard of any of them.

--
F

On 01/10/2011 21:16, Alan wrote:
In message , Andy
Burns wrote
Roger Mills wrote:

On 01/10/2011 15:11, The Medway Handyman wrote:

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php

I suspect that it's
just a licence to print money for whoever dreamt up the idea

For my postcode it didn't bring up any names that I recognise from
local rags etc, but it did bring up a non-local handyman whose address
was coincidentally the same as the address of the guild!


My search came with non-members in Sheerness, Gillingham, Chatham and
Rochester. They are all around 10 to 15 miles away from S.E. Essex (but
not by road).

When I searched for my postcode I got people in Tlbury & Grays in
positions 6 & 8.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Sat, 01 Oct 2011 17:57:13 +0100, Frank Erskine
wrote:

It doesn't launch until 15th October - its a new service.

It sounds to me like it might become another of these organisations
that pressurise the government into restricting d-i-y.

Remember gas; electricity...

Nah, it's more like one of those organisations that springs unbidden
into being, to make someone a buck or two. Just like the Guild of
Master Craftsment.

On Sat, 01 Oct 2011 21:25:54 +0100, Andy Champ
wrote:

Awesome Africa Handyman
AllWhite Handyman Service

It's like something out of White Van Man.

On Sun, 02 Oct 2011 23:31:59 +0100, Grimly Curmudgeon
wrote:

On Sat, 01 Oct 2011 17:57:13 +0100, Frank Erskine
wrote:

It doesn't launch until 15th October - its a new service.

It sounds to me like it might become another of these organisations
that pressurise the government into restricting d-i-y.

Remember gas; electricity...

Nah, it's more like one of those organisations that springs unbidden
into being, to make someone a buck or two. Just like the Guild of
Master Craftsment.

Actually it sounds extremely complicated. The term "handyman" is so
wide-ranging that you'll have to have Boy-Scout type badges for
numerous different skills. Just because somebody is "competent" (and
how do you define that?) in, say, wallpapering, doesn't mean that they
have a clue about laying decking (yuk!) or changing a light switch.

UNLESS the idea of this 'guild' is purely from a point of view of
business ethics, such as completing a job before accepting any
payment, giving a proper quotation for a job rather than just an
estimate, and so on.

--
Frank Erskine

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
...
Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it brings
up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php

--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

The only member to come up just happened to have the same postal address as
the Guild itself!

Lawrence

On Oct 1, 3:41*pm, Tim Streater wrote:
In article ,
*The Medway Handyman wrote:

Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php

Well, I read it as The UK Hand of Guiltymen to start with, and then the
UK Guilt of Handymen.

What have you been up to, Our Dave?

Harrassing cyclists.

MBQ

On 1 Oct, 15:11, The Medway Handyman
wrote:
Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk

FWIIW, I find that there is an inverse relationship to the number of
such free or low price logos (i.e. purchasing "respectability") and
the quality of the person on site

The MH whose posts indicate that he is well above average in quality
and experience surprises me with even considering such a punt. You
are far better than that. Let your work speak for yourself.

Chris

On 02/10/2011 13:42, F wrote:
On 01/10/2011 15:11 The Medway Handyman wrote:

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

I'm in the north-west of Leeds. Nearest was 2 miles, furthest 33 miles,
none of them members and never heard of any of them.

I am in Keighley and probably got much the same selection of 20 but my
closest are 2 in Bradford at 8 miles with the nearest Leeds one at 10.
Furthest away was one in Manchester at 30 miles (as the crow flies but
considerably more by the fastest route). I wonder how much his call-out
fee would be.

Oh well. Since I had the stone roof on my barn turned back in 1981 I
have only needed the services of a builder twice so I don't suppose I
will ever need to employ a handyman.
--
Roger Chapman

On 01/10/2011 15:11, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Any thoughts on the above?

Seems like a good idea & cheap enough for a punt.

Anyone care to try the postcode search & see if you know whoever it
brings up?

http://www.guildofhandymen.co.uk/index.php

http://www.housemartinservices.com is a valid member, but then he has
the same postal address as the Guild. The Guild web site says nothing
about the structure of the organisation or who runs it. Looks
suspiciously like an organisation run by one bloke - that's enough to
ring the alarm bells for me, as a consumer.

Biggles