Judith wrote
Rod Speed wrote

But there are downsides with always quoting in person,
and always quoting higher than your opposition does
because its costs them a lot less to do the quote.

Its not as if you will always try to charge more with
all jobs when you show up, you only do that when
it turns out that you couldn't see the real problem
in the photo or video. When say someone tells you
that they can no longer unlock a door and you can
see from the photo what sort of lock is involved,
and just do the job for what you quoted, you have
avoided the real cost of showing up in person for
every quote.

As a user of such services (not a handyman at all !!)
if I contacted someone and asked then for a quote -
and they said send some photos and I will give you
the quote - I would avoid them with a barge pole.

More fool you. You are always free to pay a higher
price to those who have to pass on the cost of
showing up in person to do every quote if you like.

I want someone to visit me: ask them some questions,
and also assess the person myself. Does the guy turn
up in a van, a car or on a pushbike? All an indication
of the professionalism of the tradesman.

You are always free to pay a higher price to
those who have to pass on the cost of showing
up in person to do every quote if you like.

I want a fixed price for doing the job after their assessment.

You are always free to pay a much higher price
when they always quote you for the worst case
from what they can see of the problem.

Personally I much prefer to have a quote for what
looks likely needs to be done with the tradesman
free to tell me that it became clear that the problem
was more serious when he started to do the work
and asked me if I wanted to pay the higher price
that would be needed to do the job properly.

And I am not stupid enough to demand a quote
that will never be exceeded because I know that
if I do that, the only viable approach is to quote
for the worst case that it might end up being
and that is much higher than it can be if it turns
out to be a simple quick fix instead.

I'm not even interested in agreeing to the worst
case quote with the tradesman free to tell me
that it turned out to be easy and cheap to do
and only charge me for the cheap fix, because
I'd rather have the option to not pay for the
expensive work if I decide it makes more
sense to just scrap the device and get a new
one when the tradesman tells me that its
****ed and not worth expensively repairing
when he has diagnosed the fault.

On 14/03/2014 08:34, Stephen wrote:
On 13/03/2014 22:26, Andy Burns wrote:
Stephen wrote:

Do customers make voice calls to Handymen or do they email instead?

reason I ask is that I am deaf so voice calls would be a *BIG* problem
for me as it is not possible to lipread on phones.

I think you'd have to have a permanent answerphone message to the effect
that "Thanks for phoning, but because I'm deaf I need you to send me an
email"


or send me a Text message....

The elderly don't text much. They will use an answerphone.

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

On 13/03/2014 21:46, tony sayer wrote:

Landline number and divert that to the mobile when not in the orifice...

Isn't that very expensive?

However, I agree that a landline gives confidence. As does a name and
address on your adverts.

Looking at TMH's website, he charges for time taken, although he may
give quotes as well. I assume that for small jobs it simply makes no
sense to give a quote. As an example, even a simple job such as
replacing a tap washer can take 5 minutes or it can take hours. It
depends… Is there an isolation valve? Is the tap head easy to remove?
does the mains stop cock work? It seems to me that the only sensible
approach is to charge for the callout and the time taken. There is no
way that you can rely on the customer to answer those questions so you
can give an accurate quote. Once you have a reputation for being a
decent workperson and acting fairly, people will trust you to turn up
and just get the job done as economically as possible.

On 14/03/14 07:41, Judith wrote:

As a user of such services (not a handyman at all !!) if I contacted someone
and asked then for a quote - and they said send some photos and I will give you
the quote - I would avoid them with a barge pole.

I want someone to visit me: ask them some questions, and also assess the person
myself. Does the guy turn up in a van, a car or on a pushbike? All an
indication of the professionalism of the tradesman.

I want a fixed price for doing the job after their assessment.

The last chap who did some tiling for me does not have a van. He was
brilliant.

My roofers did have a van, also brilliant.

A previous builder had a van and he was a bodger.

I had a quote for some clearance work (relative) done by sending in a
video. That worked. I offered some extra fo rthe loft which had more
stuff than I could see from the hatch. We agreed the extra with mutual
satisfaction but the main quote was bang on.

I'm not seeing a real world correlation here...

In article , GB
scribeth thus
On 13/03/2014 21:46, tony sayer wrote:

Landline number and divert that to the mobile when not in the orifice...

Isn't that very expensive?

Well we get calls to mobiles around 7 pence a minute so no not really
saves the cost of having to have someone to answer them....

However, I agree that a landline gives confidence. As does a name and
address on your adverts.

Yes but of course mobiles are becoming far more common but old habits
break hard;!...

Looking at TMH's website, he charges for time taken, although he may
give quotes as well. I assume that for small jobs it simply makes no
sense to give a quote. As an example, even a simple job such as
replacing a tap washer can take 5 minutes or it can take hours. It
depends€¦ Is there an isolation valve? Is the tap head easy to remove?
does the mains stop cock work? It seems to me that the only sensible
approach is to charge for the callout and the time taken. There is no
way that you can rely on the customer to answer those questions so you
can give an accurate quote. Once you have a reputation for being a
decent workperson and acting fairly, people will trust you to turn up
and just get the job done as economically as possible.

--
Tony Sayer

On 14/03/2014 08:33, Stephen wrote:

Yes, born profoundly deaf in bopth sides. I need to lipread as well....

Sadly, shamefully even, this will be a really major problem for someone
starting up a new handyman business. I would strongly expect that most
customers currently ring up and discuss the work that they want done.

If you go down the email/sms route that will be a new experience for
most of your customers. I think you will have to be very up-front about
this and try and make it a positive selling proposition. There must be
some people for whom it is beneficial to book by email/sms.

You would have to explain why it is necessary, and you will rule out say
90%+ of your potential customer base. After all, TMH reports that he
does jobs like assemble flat-pack furniture. Anyone incapable of that is
probably incapable of booking a handyman by SMS.

It matters where you are geographically. If you are in London, say, you
can afford to rule out 90% of potential customers. You just make your
catchment area a bit bigger. In some areas, though, ruling out 90% of
the customer base will leave you with too little business to survive or
leave you travelling huge distances.

On 14/03/2014 08:17, The Medway Handyman wrote:

I get quite a lot of e-mail enquiries & some text message enquiries.
Do these proceed to booking by email, or are these simply requests to
telephone?

On 13/03/2014 19:42, Rod Speed wrote:
Dave Liquorice wrote
John Rumm wrote

Its still a routine deduction made by accountants for directors of
Ltd companies working from home (at least partially). So long as the
space used is not wholly and exclusively used for business, then
business rates / change of use ought not be an issue.

That is my understanding as well. So keep that bed in the spare
bedroom you use as an office.

I doubt something as trivial as a bed makes any difference.

I claim a small amount as an expense in my accounts for "use of home as
office". No part of my home is set aside exclusively for office use.
However, I undoubtedly have additional expenses, for example heating and
lighting. HMRC have never queried this few hundred pounds of additional
expenses, nor would I really expect them to you, as we are really
talking about say £100 of tax. I would be really surprised when they
came round to inspect the office space.

On 14/03/2014 09:07, The Medway Handyman wrote:
On 14/03/2014 08:34, Stephen wrote:
On 13/03/2014 22:26, Andy Burns wrote:
Stephen wrote:

Do customers make voice calls to Handymen or do they email instead?

reason I ask is that I am deaf so voice calls would be a *BIG* problem
for me as it is not possible to lipread on phones.

I think you'd have to have a permanent answerphone message to the effect
that "Thanks for phoning, but because I'm deaf I need you to send me an
email"


or send me a Text message....

The elderly don't text much.

Unless you have a smart phone with a keyboard entry option, which a lot
probably won't, texting is a PITA.

They will use an answerphone.

IME messages on answerphones or voicemail have a very high failure rate
for replies, so I just ring off if I get one.

Colin Bignell

On 14/03/2014 10:08, Nightjar wrote:

The elderly don't text much.

Unless you have a smart phone with a keyboard entry option, which a lot
probably won't, texting is a PITA.

I find that text thing is a PITA regardless of the type of phone I am
using, although I have never tried a really posh phone like an iPhone.
My fingers are just far too big for the little tiny keys.

Having said that, a lot of the very smart phones now offer speech
recognition for texting. So, I could become a convert.

I am over 60, but I do not regard myself as elderly yet. More, late-40s.

On 14/03/2014 10:20 GB wrote:

I find that text thing is a PITA regardless of the type of phone I am
using, although I have never tried a really posh phone like an iPhone.
My fingers are just far too big for the little tiny keys.

Try turning the phone landscape rather than portrait: some of them offer
a larger keyboard when they are in landscape.

--
F

Rod Speed put finger to keyboard:

www.GymRatZ.co.uk wrote
dennis@home wrote
Stephen wrote

7. Anything I have missed out with my thinking?

Keep your job,

Not such a bad idea.
Keep the day job and offer services Sat. , Sunday and evenings.

Unlikely to appeal to someone who wants to work 9-5 and to have 6 weeks
holiday a year.

Not as a permanent situation, no. But ideal for dipping a toe in the
figurative water.

GB wrote:

I find that text thing is a PITA regardless of the type of phone I am
using, although I have never tried a really posh phone like an iPhone.
My fingers are just far too big for the little tiny keys.

on Android you get (or can get for older phones) various "swipe"
keyboards, instead of hunting and pecking, you just draw a swirly line
that roughly travels through the letters you want (works better if you
don't think about it too precisely, just trust that you know roughly
where the letters are, and the phone will work it out). Of course it
uses an element of prediction so sometimes you get the wrong result, but
I wouldn't go without it now ...

http://youtu.be/Ak6iprnqVv8

On Thu, 13 Mar 2014 18:19:48 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:


I'm a sole trader so there isn't a me/company distinction but my
accountant always puts a few hundred quid "Use of Home as Office"
against tax into my tax return.

I claim 70% of telephone (including internet) and 15% heat and light
for business (working from home) use. An item in the Observer by a
contributor from Gran Thornton, accountants, recently suggested
claiming a per centage of water and council tax as well. It also said
that HMRC will accept a claim of £4 per week for minimal use of the
home, writing up records etc, without quibbling.
I think they key thing is not to designate an explicit part of the
house for work purposes. Doing that is why doctors with home surgeries
get caught by capital gains tax when they sell.

On 14/03/2014 10:44, F wrote:
On 14/03/2014 10:20 GB wrote:

I find that text thing is a PITA regardless of the type of phone I am
using, although I have never tried a really posh phone like an iPhone.
My fingers are just far too big for the little tiny keys.

Try turning the phone landscape rather than portrait: some of them offer
a larger keyboard when they are in landscape.


That's what mine does. It makes it just about usable, not that I am an
avid texter. However, I have a cousin who is.

Colin Bignell

On 14/03/2014 09:59, GB wrote:
On 14/03/2014 08:33, Stephen wrote:

Yes, born profoundly deaf in bopth sides. I need to lipread as well....

Sadly, shamefully even, this will be a really major problem for someone
starting up a new handyman business. I would strongly expect that most
customers currently ring up and discuss the work that they want done.

While the point is valid, I would contend that the discussion does not
have to be with the person actually doing the work. So long as the
person doing the "interfacing" has a good enough grasp of the basics to
hold an intelligent conversation, and find out the broad outline of the
job etc it should work out ok.

If you go down the email/sms route that will be a new experience for
most of your customers. I think you will have to be very up-front about
this and try and make it a positive selling proposition. There must be
some people for whom it is beneficial to book by email/sms.

You would have to explain why it is necessary, and you will rule out say
90%+ of your potential customer base. After all, TMH reports that he
does jobs like assemble flat-pack furniture. Anyone incapable of that is
probably incapable of booking a handyman by SMS.

For many kids these days SMS is an extension of their arm!

It matters where you are geographically. If you are in London, say, you
can afford to rule out 90% of potential customers. You just make your
catchment area a bit bigger. In some areas, though, ruling out 90% of
the customer base will leave you with too little business to survive or
leave you travelling huge distances.

Its really just a case of working out how to deal with phone calls...
any reasonably conpetent PA should be able to discuss a job, take
details, book appointments, explain charges and rates etc, and then SMS
the spec along to the handyman.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 13/03/2014 19:42, Rod Speed wrote:
Dave Liquorice wrote
John Rumm wrote

Its still a routine deduction made by accountants for directors of
Ltd companies working from home (at least partially). So long as the
space used is not wholly and exclusively used for business, then
business rates / change of use ought not be an issue.

That is my understanding as well. So keep that bed in the spare
bedroom you use as an office.

I doubt something as trivial as a bed makes any difference.

What is important is whether the room is *exclusively* for business use.
With a bed in it, you can say it is a spare bedroom as well as an
office. If a valuation officer ever turned up, which is unlikely in
itself, he would be very unlikely to dispute that.

Colin Bignell

On 14/03/2014 08:34, Stephen wrote:
On 13/03/2014 22:56, Nightjar wrote:
On 13/03/2014 22:24, John Rumm wrote:
On 13/03/2014 19:17, Nightjar wrote:
On 13/03/2014 18:56, Stephen wrote:
Thank you every one for all your comments, I have learned a lot.....

I've had a few more thoughts.....

Do customers make voice calls to Handymen or do they email instead?

reason I ask is that I am deaf so voice calls would be a *BIG* problem
for me as it is not possible to lipread on phones. So I would prefer
customers to email me. I'm content to have a 3G enabled Apple Ipad in
the van for this purpose.

You would have to make it a selling point; to avoid interrupting my
work, I don't take phone calls while working. I suspect it will cost
you
business though.

and/or use a PA service to handle calls and take bookings. There are
plenty about that will answer with the correct script for the business
being called etc.

Probably the best answer, if the cost is acceptable. They will take the
phone calls and translate them to email.



or to text message.......

Can you sign? If so, you could find you have a niche market you could
exploit and they would understand why you can't take phone calls.

Colin Bignell

On 14/03/2014 12:48, Nightjar wrote:
On 14/03/2014 08:34, Stephen wrote:
On 13/03/2014 22:56, Nightjar wrote:
On 13/03/2014 22:24, John Rumm wrote:
On 13/03/2014 19:17, Nightjar wrote:
On 13/03/2014 18:56, Stephen wrote:
Thank you every one for all your comments, I have learned a lot.....

I've had a few more thoughts.....

Do customers make voice calls to Handymen or do they email instead?

reason I ask is that I am deaf so voice calls would be a *BIG*
problem
for me as it is not possible to lipread on phones. So I would prefer
customers to email me. I'm content to have a 3G enabled Apple Ipad in
the van for this purpose.

You would have to make it a selling point; to avoid interrupting my
work, I don't take phone calls while working. I suspect it will cost
you
business though.

and/or use a PA service to handle calls and take bookings. There are
plenty about that will answer with the correct script for the business
being called etc.

Probably the best answer, if the cost is acceptable. They will take the
phone calls and translate them to email.



or to text message.......

Can you sign? If so, you could find you have a niche market you could
exploit and they would understand why you can't take phone calls.

You may have a point here.

A joiner friend is gay, and has completely cornered the gay market
around here (not literally... ;-)). Apparently some can be uncomfortable
with the attitude of some tradesmen. He is also very popular amongst
single women looking for a joiner.

He's been self employed for 15 years and has yet to spend a penny on
marketing etc - all referrals from happy customers.

On 14/03/2014 12:48, Nightjar wrote:
On 14/03/2014 08:34, Stephen wrote:
On 13/03/2014 22:56, Nightjar wrote:
On 13/03/2014 22:24, John Rumm wrote:
On 13/03/2014 19:17, Nightjar wrote:
On 13/03/2014 18:56, Stephen wrote:
Thank you every one for all your comments, I have learned a lot.....

I've had a few more thoughts.....

Do customers make voice calls to Handymen or do they email instead?

reason I ask is that I am deaf so voice calls would be a *BIG*
problem
for me as it is not possible to lipread on phones. So I would prefer
customers to email me. I'm content to have a 3G enabled Apple Ipad in
the van for this purpose.

You would have to make it a selling point; to avoid interrupting my
work, I don't take phone calls while working. I suspect it will cost
you
business though.

and/or use a PA service to handle calls and take bookings. There are
plenty about that will answer with the correct script for the business
being called etc.

Probably the best answer, if the cost is acceptable. They will take the
phone calls and translate them to email.



or to text message.......

Can you sign? If so, you could find you have a niche market you could
exploit and they would understand why you can't take phone calls.

Colin Bignell


I am unusual for someoone who is born profoundly deaf, I don't use sign
language at all..... I hear with hearing aids, listen, lipread and speak....

On 14/03/2014 09:20, GB wrote:
On 13/03/2014 21:46, tony sayer wrote:

Landline number and divert that to the mobile when not in the orifice...

Isn't that very expensive?

However, I agree that a landline gives confidence. As does a name and
address on your adverts.

Looking at TMH's website, he charges for time taken, although he may
give quotes as well. I assume that for small jobs it simply makes no
sense to give a quote. As an example, even a simple job such as
replacing a tap washer can take 5 minutes or it can take hours. It
depends… Is there an isolation valve? Is the tap head easy to remove?
does the mains stop cock work? It seems to me that the only sensible
approach is to charge for the callout and the time taken. There is no
way that you can rely on the customer to answer those questions so you
can give an accurate quote. Once you have a reputation for being a
decent workperson and acting fairly, people will trust you to turn up
and just get the job done as economically as possible.

Some people want fixed price quotes - they end up paying more.

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

On 14/03/2014 10:02, GB wrote:
On 14/03/2014 08:17, The Medway Handyman wrote:

I get quite a lot of e-mail enquiries & some text message enquiries.
Do these proceed to booking by email, or are these simply requests to
telephone?

Both. With e-mail they don't always give a number, they tend to be
preliminary enquiries e.g. can you do/are you interested.

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

Just an example of the calls you get;

Picked up the answer phone messages for today. Three messages, all from
the same bloke wanting his gutters cleaned. He was shouting at the
phone each time & sounded like a raving loon. I won't bother calling
him back.

This morning, lady wanted a battery replaced in an alarm - could I do it
today?

She hadn't actually got the 6v lead acid battery & had no idea where to
get one.

She complained that another handyman she had booked hadn't turned up &
wouldn't answer her calls.

I quoted £45 - she was horror struck. No idea what the handyman who
didn't turn up had quoted, but I can guess why he didn't turn up.





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

On 14/03/2014 13:52, Stephen wrote:
On 14/03/2014 12:48, Nightjar wrote:
....
Can you sign? If so, you could find you have a niche market you could
exploit and they would understand why you can't take phone calls.



I am unusual for someoone who is born profoundly deaf, I don't use sign
language at all..... I hear with hearing aids, listen, lipread and
speak....

Pity. It could have been a good USP for your business.

Colin Bignell

Judith wrote:

I want someone to visit me: ask them some questions, and also assess the person
myself.
I guess if the guy turns up and smokes in the house and is generally an
uncouth thicko you would take him off the shortlist...

Does the guy turn up in a van, a car or on a pushbike? All an
indication of the professionalism of the tradesman.

I often used to use the car if I was travelling any distance to look at
a job. Nicer to drive, faster, and possible to park in a multi-storey.
Daft to use a great hulking 3.5 ton van.

I never actually have cycled to a customer's house, but if it was local
and a nice day and all I needed was myself and a camera I probably would.

Bill

The Medway Handyman wrote:

Some people want fixed price quotes - they end up paying more.

When people insist on a fixed price for a job in which the snags won't
be apparent until the job is underway, the only possible quote will be
based on the assumption that anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
You really can't risk quoting on an optimistic basis.

Bill

GB wrote:
On 14/03/2014 08:33, Stephen wrote:

Yes, born profoundly deaf in bopth sides. I need to lipread as well....

Sadly, shamefully even, this will be a really major problem for someone
starting up a new handyman business. I would strongly expect that most
customers currently ring up and discuss the work that they want done.

If you go down the email/sms route that will be a new experience for
most of your customers. I think you will have to be very up-front about
this and try and make it a positive selling proposition. There must be
some people for whom it is beneficial to book by email/sms.

You would have to explain why it is necessary, and you will rule out say
90%+ of your potential customer base.

I really don't agree. I think if you explain the situation a decent
percentage will co-operate.

After all, TMH reports that he
does jobs like assemble flat-pack furniture. Anyone incapable of that is
probably incapable of booking a handyman by SMS.

No, a lot have jobs done because they can't be arsed. Also, DIY ability
is not really related to being IT literate. As my young, gay, male, very
well paid IT professional friend will testify. He is a wizz with IT and
phones and stuff but can he put up a shelf? Can he buggery, so to speak.

Bill

Nightjar wrote
The Medway Handyman wrote
Stephen wrote
Andy Burns wrote
Stephen wrote

Do customers make voice calls to
Handymen or do they email instead?

reason I ask is that I am deaf so voice calls would be a *BIG*
problem for me as it is not possible to lipread on phones.

I think you'd have to have a permanent answerphone
message to the effect that "Thanks for phoning, but
because I'm deaf I need you to send me an email"

or send me a Text message....

The elderly don't text much.

Unless you have a smart phone with a keyboard entry
option, which a lot probably won't, texting is a PITA.

And hordes of the elderly don't even know how to text.

They will use an answerphone.

IME messages on answerphones or voicemail have a very
high failure rate for replies, so I just ring off if I get one.

When I am ringing around for quotes, the last thing
I want is lots ringing me back even if they do. While
ever there are plenty to get a quote from, those that
let their answering machine field my calls don't get
my business.

I don't normally leave a message even with people
I know well when I get their answering machine or
voicemail, because I normally want to try their
mobile if I have called their landline etc.

GB wrote
Nightjar wrote

The elderly don't text much.

Unless you have a smart phone with a keyboard entry option, which a lot
probably won't, texting is a PITA.

I find that text thing is a PITA regardless of the type of phone I am
using, although I have never tried a really posh phone like an iPhone. My
fingers are just far too big for the little tiny keys.

I normally send them from my desktop using my voip service.

I do find them handy for some stuff, particularly with one of
my neighbour's kids that gets me to get stuff for him on ebay
because his parents can't use ebay and he isnt on speaking
terms with his brother who I also know well. The stuff usually
arrives during the day when he was in school so a text works
well because he walks past my place on the way home after
school.

Having said that, a lot of the very smart phones now offer speech
recognition for texting. So, I could become a convert.

I can't see too many of the elderly being into that tho.

They are amazed to see me voice dialing using siri on the iphone.

I am over 60, but I do not regard myself as elderly yet. More, late-40s.


Yeah, me too, and I am rather older than you, but its rare,
most of those that old arent into texting and some can't
even use a mobile phone.

"Stephen" wrote in message
...
On 14/03/2014 12:48, Nightjar wrote:
On 14/03/2014 08:34, Stephen wrote:
On 13/03/2014 22:56, Nightjar wrote:
On 13/03/2014 22:24, John Rumm wrote:
On 13/03/2014 19:17, Nightjar wrote:
On 13/03/2014 18:56, Stephen wrote:
Thank you every one for all your comments, I have learned a lot.....

I've had a few more thoughts.....

Do customers make voice calls to Handymen or do they email instead?

reason I ask is that I am deaf so voice calls would be a *BIG*
problem
for me as it is not possible to lipread on phones. So I would prefer
customers to email me. I'm content to have a 3G enabled Apple Ipad
in
the van for this purpose.

You would have to make it a selling point; to avoid interrupting my
work, I don't take phone calls while working. I suspect it will cost
you
business though.

and/or use a PA service to handle calls and take bookings. There are
plenty about that will answer with the correct script for the business
being called etc.

Probably the best answer, if the cost is acceptable. They will take the
phone calls and translate them to email.



or to text message.......

Can you sign? If so, you could find you have a niche market you could
exploit and they would understand why you can't take phone calls.

Colin Bignell


I am unusual for someoone who is born profoundly deaf, I don't use sign
language at all..... I hear with hearing aids, listen, lipread and
speak....

Isn't it possible to get something that helps with the phone
hearing aid wise ?

On 14/03/2014 20:07, Bill Wright wrote:
GB wrote:
On 14/03/2014 08:33, Stephen wrote:

Yes, born profoundly deaf in bopth sides. I need to lipread as well....

Sadly, shamefully even, this will be a really major problem for
someone starting up a new handyman business. I would strongly expect
that most customers currently ring up and discuss the work that they
want done.

If you go down the email/sms route that will be a new experience for
most of your customers. I think you will have to be very up-front
about this and try and make it a positive selling proposition. There
must be some people for whom it is beneficial to book by email/sms.

You would have to explain why it is necessary, and you will rule out
say 90%+ of your potential customer base.

I really don't agree. I think if you explain the situation a decent
percentage will co-operate.

I certainly hopes the OP keeps his normal job whilst he sets up his
handyman business. It's a gamble, as nobody really knows how people will
react to the deafness. It's a gamble, anyway, setting up a new business.

If I were doing this, I think I would get a GasSafe qualification.
There's good money installing boilers, and hourly rates for gas work are
much higher than for general handywork. The OP would have a very good
chance of equalling or exceeding his current pay.

On 14/03/2014 18:09, The Medway Handyman wrote:

This morning, lady wanted a battery replaced in an alarm - could I do it
today?

She hadn't actually got the 6v lead acid battery & had no idea where to
get one.

She complained that another handyman she had booked hadn't turned up &
wouldn't answer her calls.

I quoted £45 - she was horror struck. No idea what the handyman who
didn't turn up had quoted, but I can guess why he didn't turn up.

£45 sounds pretty reasonable to me.

By the time you have been to wherever you go to get the battery on a
Saturday, travelled to her, done the job, then got home again, how much
would you be earning per hour?

And that's assuming you don't have to go round to her house first to
check exactly what size battery it takes. How do you know it's 6v, not
12v, for example?

Do let us know if she gets back to you to accept the £45 quote.

"Bill Wright" wrote in message
...
stuart noble wrote:

And be versatile.



+1 (with a vengeance)

Yes. Always have rubber johnnies and KY jelly in the van. And a bag to
pull over her head if she's a minger.


TMH has WD40 not KY jelly in his van.

--
Adam

On 15/03/2014 14:18, ARW wrote:
"Bill Wright" wrote in message
...
stuart noble wrote:

And be versatile.



+1 (with a vengeance)

Yes. Always have rubber johnnies and KY jelly in the van. And a bag to
pull over her head if she's a minger.


TMH has WD40 not KY jelly in his van.

They probably have it on their 1001 uses for WD40 adverts somewhere
(something about dealing with tight ****s)


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 15/03/2014 13:28, GB wrote:

£45 sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Maybe, but I doubt it was a 6v battery, nearly everything on normal
alarms is 12v.
Also does she know the codes as opening a panel on some alarms requires
the engineer code to reset it.

On 15/03/2014 14:44, John Rumm wrote:
On 15/03/2014 14:18, ARW wrote:
"Bill Wright" wrote in message
...
stuart noble wrote:

And be versatile.



+1 (with a vengeance)

Yes. Always have rubber johnnies and KY jelly in the van. And a bag to
pull over her head if she's a minger.


TMH has WD40 not KY jelly in his van.

They probably have it on their 1001 uses for WD40 adverts somewhere
(something about dealing with tight ****s)


"Lubricates sticky drawers" is the only one I could find :-)



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

On 15/03/2014 13:28, GB wrote:
On 14/03/2014 18:09, The Medway Handyman wrote:

This morning, lady wanted a battery replaced in an alarm - could I do it
today?

She hadn't actually got the 6v lead acid battery & had no idea where to
get one.

She complained that another handyman she had booked hadn't turned up &
wouldn't answer her calls.

I quoted £45 - she was horror struck. No idea what the handyman who
didn't turn up had quoted, but I can guess why he didn't turn up.

£45 sounds pretty reasonable to me.

By the time you have been to wherever you go to get the battery on a
Saturday, travelled to her, done the job, then got home again, how much
would you be earning per hour?

And that's assuming you don't have to go round to her house first to
check exactly what size battery it takes. How do you know it's 6v, not
12v, for example?

She quoted from the manual.

Do let us know if she gets back to you to accept the £45 quote.



Not holding my breath....

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

The Medway Handyman wrote:

And that's assuming you don't have to go round to her house first to
check exactly what size battery it takes. How do you know it's 6v, not
12v, for example?

She quoted from the manual.

I've never come across a 6V alarm. It's probably really ancient and if
you got the box opened you would find a mess of corrosion.

I had one the other week and the alarm was beeping a code that meant
'battery fault'. In fact the corrosion from the leaking battery had
completely dissolved one of the terminals.

Bill

"dennis@home" wrote in message
eb.com...
On 15/03/2014 13:28, GB wrote:

£45 sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Maybe, but I doubt it was a 6v battery, nearly everything on normal alarms
is 12v.
Also does she know the codes as opening a panel on some alarms requires
the engineer code to reset it.



Some of the DIY wireless alarms use 6V. But you would need to know the
battery size before buying one.

--
Adam

On 14/03/2014 19:53, Nightjar wrote:
On 14/03/2014 13:52, Stephen wrote:
On 14/03/2014 12:48, Nightjar wrote:
...
Can you sign? If so, you could find you have a niche market you could
exploit and they would understand why you can't take phone calls.



I am unusual for someoone who is born profoundly deaf, I don't use sign
language at all..... I hear with hearing aids, listen, lipread and
speak....

Pity. It could have been a good USP for your business.

Colin Bignell



For various reasons which is beyond the remit of the newsgroup, deaf
adults are 4 times more likely to be unemployed compared to the hearing
population. Part of this reason is the cost of communication support
like sign language interpreters, unable to use a phone etc.

As a consequence, a greater proportion of these deaf adults will be on
disbaility or means tested benefits when compared to the hearing population.

I believe that for a handyman business to work, its worth targetting the
cash rich & time poort segment of the public.

People in reciept of benefits would struggle to qualify as cash rich &
time poor.........