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Tailgate Trouble |
By David Litwiller
March 18, 2004
Every industry has a soft underbelly, and in my industry - renovations - it's the guy we call the tailgater. He's the guy who knows all the corners to cut, who can save you a lot of money. He's the guy who'll work cheap, for cash, and who figures all these permits and licenses are for suckers.
Unfortunately, he's also the guy behind the handyman horror stories. He's the guy who disappeared with the money before the job was finished, and left the homeowner with a lien and a big bill at a lumberyard. He's the guy whose accident on the job got a homeowner embroiled in a liability claim. And the permit he didn't get was the reason your insurance was null and void after the potlight he installed set your attic on fire.
And he's the guy who makes it hard for legitimate handymen. They find themselves tarred with the same brush. And they find themselves answering the same question over and over again - "How come your estimate is so high? I've got a guy offering to do it for half that much."
An experienced, qualified handyman provides necessary services at the kind of reasonable costs you associate with small, low-overhead, personal-service businesses. I don't know how a city like Calgary could function without handymen. They're the guys you call when a window or a door needs to be repaired, or you have to install a vent. They take care of your tile problems, and repair drywall. Some of them tackle furnaces and water heaters, and repair carpets. They build your closets and install the kitchen cabinets you bought at Ikea.
The problem begins with the fact that a really good bad guy looks pretty much the same as a good guy. First impressions aren't always reliable. He may drive a BMW because he's extremely successful, or because he's ripped a lot of people off. He may drive a highly experienced old van because he's constantly broke, or because he's successful and careful with money. Honest people look you straight in the eye and seem like nice guys and gals. So do a lot of crooks.
How do you know who to call? And how do you know who to hire?
The best way to hire is to call a handyman who has previously done a good job for a friend or neighbor. Tap into your network and ask for referrals And when you're talking to a potential handyman, ask for at least three references. Throw him or her a tough one - ask for a bad reference, a client whose job didn't go well. You can learn a lot about someone by finding out how they act when a job goes bad. If you hear "All of my jobs have been perfect," my advice is to hold onto your wallet and walk away, fast.
There are warning bells you should listen for. The loudest is the word "cash."
Legitimate handymen are generally no happier about taxes than anyone else, but they pay their taxes. They have real businesses, with bank accounts, and bookkeepers, and they have credit with their suppliers. They work from written agreements and they use invoices and receipts, because they know there has to be a paper trail. When a handyman suggests you pay under the table, remember "cash" is a four-letter word, just like "risk." If there's no paper trail, there's no recourse. Even a cancelled cheque isn't enough if there is no paper trail and you find yourself having to prove something.
The second loudest is the word "handshake." Of course you have to trust your handyman, and in everyday life, people are always giving each other the benefit of the doubt. It's easy to say that a job is too small for a written contract. But a handyman who objects to a written agreement may be doing so because he's been making promises he's not sure he can keep.
If you're hiring someone for a quick, small job, if the handyman is well known among your circle of friends and has a reputation for being competent, honest, and above board, and if the amount of money involved is not large, that's one thing.
But if you're dealing with a stranger, no matter how persuasive and presentable, no matter how small the job, you are well within your rights to require that the details be in writing: (1) who will do what; (2) what exactly is to be done; (3) when it will be done; (4) how much money will be paid as a deposit, as progress payments, and at the end of the job (including provision for any holdbacks); and (5) who will be liable for accidents.
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