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What's the Key to Hiring Someone to Get Your Project Done Right?

Have you ever wondered why it's so difficult to have quality work done around your home or business? Solving this mystery was a big part of why I started Louisville Handyman ten years ago. Like many of you, I grew tired of inconsistent workmanship and reliability when hiring people to do work around my home. Even working with an individual referred by others, I often found that the person's results didn't meet my expectations. Now, ten years after starting Louisville Handyman and growing it into the city's largest handyman service, I can provide you with some insights.

To get your project done right, you have to ensure the individual or business you are hiring has the right skills, right standards and right attitude. When hiring a new craftsman at Louisville Handyman, we normally begin with 100 applicants. After screening resumes, reviewing job experience, digging into skills, checking references and conducting multiple interviews, we generally find two people who should, by all accounts, be stellar Louisville Handyman craftsmen. Here's the surprise: even with all of our screening, only one of those two people usually have the skills, attitude and standards that we expect. In other words, to get to one person that truly has the right skills, right standards and right attitude, we have to get past the 99 that don't.

As a consumer, you should know that the cards are truly stacked against you. Think about it -- even with a referral from a friend, you don't really know what you are getting. For example, someone who did a good job laying ceramic tile for your neighbor may or may not have the skills to do your crown molding job. To make matters worse, the individual will rarely tell you he doesn't have the skills or experience, so it's buyer beware. The cards are also stacked against you because it is easy to get caught in the trap of jumping at a cheap price and forgetting to assess whether the individual or company has the skills, standards and attitude. We have completed literally hundreds of jobs where we were hired to fix work after someone chose the low bid. Rest assured that paying twice costs more than awarding the job right the first time. The last reason it's so hard to get high quality work is that attitudes change. Several times over these past ten years, I have had to fire an individual who had a track record of good work, but something changed in their lives and they didn't keep the right attitude to deliver great results.

So, what's the solution? I believe it comes down to hiring a company with an established reputation and multiple talented craftsmen. A company has to maintain a good reputation or they won't be in business long. You should always check a company's BBB rating before hiring them. By hiring a company with multiple craftsmen, you can get the benefits of having the best qualified person for your job assigned, instead of taking your chances on whether an individual has the right skills or not for your specific job.

Hopefully, this article helps solve the mystery.

Joe French
President
Louisville Handyman, Inc.