Northwood News ♦ December 2007

Our (Good) Experience with One Of Those ‘Handyman’ Services

By Jacquie Bokow

My husband and I needed a new outside dryer vent attached to our brick house and, although we can fix some things around our house ourselves, weren’t sure we could do this correctly.  The 50-plus-year-old vent, we discovered, no longer closed, leading to three little furry visitors last winter.  We needed to make sure it was installed to be “mouse-proof.”  So I thought we’d try one of those “handyman” services you see advertised.

I chose Jeeves because I’d received so many coupons from them.  In fact, I had saved a dozen coupons over the years; unfortunately, all of them had expired by the time I was ready to use them.

My first call revealed that the price was $90 an hour with a two-hour minimum.  I gulped and said I’d call back.

My husband and I managed to compile a list of items that needed doing around the house, repairs that we just never seem to get to.  Now armed with a list of 15 problems, I called Jeeves and scheduled an appointment.

The Old Greek Handyman

“Tasso,” an elderly Greek gentleman badly in need of a dentist, came by, two hours later than scheduled.  He looked nothing like the buff young guy in the advert, but he was charming, relaxed, and, it turned out, highly competent.  One after another, he tackled the items on our list.

He installed the new dryer vent and a retractable clothesline to the brick exterior of our house.  He fixed our fence gate, which had not stayed closed by itself for several years.  He attached the outdoor sensor portion of an indoor weather station to a fence post.  He used caulking to fill the gaps in the mortar around the outside of the house where bugs had been getting in and sprayed insulating foam to create a barrier on the inside.  He tightened up our whole-house fan so the squeaks and rattles are gone.  He installed a marble sill on the floor at the door of the laundry room to prevent floods into the family room.  He installed new door closers on both the front and back screen doors.

We actually had a few more items to go, but Tasso had been at our house four hours, it was seven o’clock, and his wife was calling to find out when he was coming home.  We all decided to call it a day.

Would we do it again?  Yes, but only if we had enough tasks and repairs to make sure the handyman could be kept busy for at least two hours.  (Since Tasso wasn’t able to get to everything, we’ve already started our next list.)  Oh, and next time, we’ll look for a coupon before we start.   ■