This will be a lengthy review, fyi. this is not a review to bash the handyman and his company, although new and maybe inexperienced in how to really run a business, I hope that they learn from this experience. Not only are my projects incomplete, the projects that he quoted in the estimate are not finished or at best, shoddy and sloppily done, but my hardwood floors have been scratched and damaged and I will have to hire someone, preferably a licensed contractor, to fix.
The positive:
Repairs to yelp reviews in timely fashion.
Now for the negative:
I do believe that he over reaches in his timeframe and as a result he rushes and does not get things completed in the timeframe he provides. They request 50% of the project to be paid in advance. He and his company were paid $758 down. The following is completed but is not worth $758: restringing outdoor patio lights, repairing a small shelf in my kitchen that had fallen, painting a small bedroom. I'm no handyman, but I have had various contractors and people working here at my home and those things do not equate to $758. On one occasion,he was late, did not call I had to reach out and ask where he was and when he would be returning to my home. His wife responded that he had gotten tied up at another job and was very sorry. I expressed that I understood things happen and just wanted to know when he will be coming back to my home. They initially gave a time of 12, he showed up around three.. However the lack of communication is A really big turn off and I explained that I would appreciate it if he could communicate those things with me in the future. I work from home so I have to be mindful of incoming and outgoing traffic. The biggest project that I hired Sal for was to redo a hall closet where our AC unit was initially stored. Months ago we got it moved to the attic which opened up space and I wanted to turn it into a closet. At one point he indicated that he did not have enough material, then I walk outside and he had gone to Home Depot it look like he bought out the entire wood department for the closet! His words to me were, yeah I wanted to be sure I had enough but looks like I got too much. I clarified that I would not be covering any additional materials purchase because his initial estimate indicated materials. Another jaw dropping moment with him was that He proceeded to build the entire frame of the closet outside and drag it through my home, which is what scratched up my floors. When I asked him why he decided to do that he stated, I didn't want to make any noise because you were working so I built the closet outside. I had already informed him that I had a gap in my schedule and that he was free to work inside on the closet, drill, bang, hammer whatever he needed to during those hours. But it seems that listening is not his strong suit.
All of these issues were attempted to be rectified with Ghaida, and I thought that everything would work out fine until I received an updated quote where she was essentially, nickel and diming for every thing he did. I admit, there were little things I was asking Sal to do in addition to what was on the estimate, but it was things such as pulling up the closet door track at which She indicated was $25, and painting the inside of the closet was additional $50!. If You pay someone to paint the room, which was $300 I believe, isn't the closet included in the room?? They charged $200 or $300 for restringing the lights but installing the lightbulbs was additional money??? What! I took her second quote to be an attempt at recouping losses because she stated to me that they lost money on my project! If they lost any money it's because her husband did not know how to properly estimate what a project would cost. If any one lost money it was us! I'm left with unfinished projects and scratched up floors at her husband's lack of professionalism! One things for sure, you don't complete a project and then tell people you're charging them for it and expect to get paid. Another thing that bothered me was every time I would ask Sal to fix some thing or not do patchy work, he would say, oh that was there before me. I find that to be extremely unprofessional and it doesn't matter if it was there before you if I'm paying you to fix it now you should just go ahead and fix it if I'm paying you.
Long story short, please do your research when looking for a handyman. you should not be paying 50% down if they are not licensed. At most, you can pay for materials down but not their labor. I encourage any and everyone to look hard before hiring him
