What's a person to do? (Huntsville: house, neighborhood, construction)

[elise61]

I have a half bath in my home that needs the drywall repaired and painted. I talked to two professionals that were recommended by a paint store and made arrangements for them to look at the job. Neither showed. I then headed over to Craigslist and contacted two contractors from the Skilled Trade category. Made arrangements for them to look at the job.....once again, no shows! I then contacted another ad on Craigslist where the guy was practically begging for work. I sent him an email and no response. How does one go about finding someone who wants work and will actually SHOW UP when they say they will? I know there are a lot of folks out of work and this just baffles me.

[RememberMee]

Most of handy men for hire squeeze a half-arsed job or two between sobering ups, you may have contacted them at the wrong time, their systems didn't process good stuff yet no matter what their Craigslist adds say, Craigslist' add is free and they never know when they'll be in good shape to work. The other (smaller) semi-decent half of handymen shops around for a customer the same way you shop around for a home-repair guy, they line up customers eager to get separated from their money, in all small probability (you got in touch with the smaller semi-decent half), they positioned you at the very end of their line of customers. Most of the customers don't call the handy guys they don't want to hire either. Silence is self-sufficient, nothing personal even though it doesn't sit well with folks who get used to impersonal corporate world where computers acknowledge smallest of the most useless customers with a formal standard letters etc.. Right or wrong, one man home-repair operations usually don't feel their limited time will be well spent by contacting less than promising leads.

Whatever you do say NO to Craigslist, chances of finding someone decent there are very low, with more than 50% probability you'll be sorry for getting in touch with Craigslist' crowd. If you know no personal references then: 1) drive around and look for a brick and mortar company and knock on some doors, better yet ask around for approximate number of years a business is located there, if it's >5 years, it's more telling than a laundry list of phoney references Craigslist' handy men may furnish you with. Most of the time you can expect a straightforward answer/estimate/dates from an established brick&mortar location, 2) (less preferable option) look for a paid add in a newspaper/yellow book etc., at the very least, paying for an add means that a handy guy is sober/clean and needs work.

It seems superficial and it's not bulletproof, but look at the cleanliness of handy guys and their truck/equipment. Shiny new trucks, clean cut appearance etc. is not 100% guarantee of a good work at reasonable price, in reasonable time but an old beaten up truck full of 5 years old garbage driven by a scraggy guy with a mouth full of rotten teeth is 99% guarantee of one problem or another.

[stewartbra]

Last year, my wife and I hired Johnny Gore to do some drywall work. He always showed up and called when he was supposed to. We were also pleased with the job he did. He was referred to me by a coworker.

I can DM his phone # if you'd like.

[hopedelivers]

Check Angie's List. She only recommends the best and most reliable. She is always advertised on television and I heard nothing but good things about people on her lists.

[mollybygolly]

I've had good results using Angie's List. It does cost to join (I think I paid $12 for a years membership) but it has been worth every penny.

[Keeper]

I have had the same problem over the years. I agree with Angie's List and I would also check the BBB. I think if anyone from here recommends someone you will get good info.

[Reactionary]

Agree with RememberMee on every point, although I might dig out the phone book or look online for real companies. C&K Roofing does home improvement work in addition to roofing / siding / windows:

Huntsville Roofing Company | C and K Roofing Huntsville AL

Also, Home Depot or Lowes may have construction / installation people available.

[RatSnake]

I am tired of going for the lowest bidder. Pay a little bit more - and save yourself the sad stories down the road.
Go with someone who is licensed.

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by ratsnake

i am tired of going for the lowest bidder. Pay a little bit more - and save yourself the sad stories down the road.
Go with someone who is licensed.

bingo!

[Dirt Grinder]

Originally Posted by RatSnake

I am tired of going for the lowest bidder. Pay a little bit more - and save yourself the sad stories down the road.
Go with someone who is licensed.

Tried that - they gave me an estimate and agreed to do the work. They never showed, so I called - they said they would be there to do the work. They still didn't show, so I called again - they told me they really weren't interested in a job that size. Well... just say it up-front like everyone else in this area. The funny thing is - they advertise "no job is too small" in a TV ad.

I get the "I'm really not interested in a job that size" response (or an estimate that is outrageous) all the time - and I'm not talking about really small jobs. One guy told me "we have a standard rate for this neighborhood." I felt like telling him "well, pretend it's a different neighborhood."

Grrr... don't get me started - and don't ask me about house painter experiences .