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My new handyman recommended via my nextdoor recommendations just destroyed a $275 light fixture. I just bought this fixture to replace the world's ugliest ceiling fixture in my guest room. I have no idea what he did to the new fixture, but whatever wiring was there is gone.
There is some language barrier, and I never should have let him leave with the fixture to repair whatever he had done. He said "I kept screwing it in and screwing and then it wouldn't go.." Again, language barrier.
DO NOT let someone continue when they encounter an issue, especially when you, or they, cannot understand what happened. Now I have the inner workings of a light, and no idea of why it went wrong, but an electrician on the way. The current fixture workings are gone, the previous "ugliiest ceiling light in the world" is now re-installed and working fine (I may sue him for that alone) \sarcasm.
Ask him if he can do a few repairs for free, you buy the parts. He's probably cheap...so don't break ties with him.
Ask him if he can do a few repairs for free, you buy the parts. He's probably cheap...so don't break ties with him.
He's not cheap if he breaks stuff.
Only hire licensed contractors for electrical, plumbing, heating/ac etc. I ask to see their license or I call the local jurisdiction where they say they are licensed. If they are licensed, they are bonded.
We hired an electrician to repair the lamp workings. It has been repaired and now installed. The electrician was much more expensive (obviously) but worth it. It had to be fully re-wired.
No I didn't hire my handyman from the HomeDepot parking lot, he came recommended and had previously installed a new garbage disposal for us, without issue. The language barrier didn't seem as evident, until he needed to tell me something and I didn't understand. My step-father did a lot of wiring and plumbing work in the house my parents built; he wasn't an electrician or a plumber, or anything having to do with that stuff. He just figured it out. I have a healthy fear of electricity, which is why I won't mess with it, but previous handyman (NOT electricians, just guys that knew their way around a toolbox) have been able to change a light fixture without issues. No idea what went wrong here.
I bought a $275 light because that's what it cost. If it had cost $276, I would have bought a $276 light. What a ridiculous question.
I know exactly what you're talking about. I've had interior painters where I arranged with the owner and perfect English and the workers don't speak English. It makes me uncomfortable when I can't communicate. And of all things once the boss came for payment and the head painter was there - They both spoke and understood perfect English. . . . And it really opened my eyes. All week this guy knew what was said but played ignorant.
This reminds me of a story a friend once told. She and her husband were in a train station in France. They were unsure where to board, and she heard some young men speaking English nearby. When she asked, in English, if they could direct her to the proper platform, they pretended not to understand her. Vonda looked one of them in the eye, said, "Your fly is open," and when he looked down, asked for directions again. She got them.
We would never hire an unknown handyman to work on a $275 electrical light fixture. Just the thought makes me shiver. It's sort of like hiring the kid next door to work on the brakes on your car. Why would anyone do that?
We hire insured electricians, plumbers, other contractors. They cost more, but if they break it, they pay for it. Anyone who can buy a light fixture for $275 shouldn't have to rely on a handyman who doesn't understand English. I just don't get it.
This reminds me of a story a friend once told. She and her husband were in a train station in France. They were unsure where to board, and she heard some young men speaking English nearby. When she asked, in English, if they could direct her to the proper platform, they pretended not to understand her. Vonda looked one of them in the eye, said, "Your fly is open," and when he looked down, asked for directions again. She got them.
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