Within about 30 minutes they were here-  two new-looking vans pulled up in my driveway and the drivers got out, smiling from ear to ear!  Before I could finish telling them what was wrong with my water heater, they were crawling under my floor installing some water pressure-reducer valve contraption!  The problem is we never had enough pressure as it was!  Within 15 minutes they were gone and I was stuck with a bill of $135 bucks!  (Now I can turn my water on to wash the car and walk fifty feet to the end of the water hose before the water starts to come out!!!- exaggerated slightly -ha)  Someone has to help them make the monthly payments on their new vans, right?!  Thanks guys!

After over an hour, the water heater still had not begun to heat up so I called the same company back (shame on me, but I had no one else to call and they had already charged me for a service call of $55)!

A single van came back this time with a different plumber-  I told him what had happened.  Making apologies for the other two guys and telling me that sometimes it is a matter of experimentation to find the problem, he actually pulled out, checked and changed a water heating element.  Apparently he got lucky that time because an hour or so after he left, the heater was doing it's job again.  He charged me $42 for the second service charge (two service call charges) to fix the same problem I had the first time I called them out).  I realized then that I had chosen the wrong profession!

Yes, I contacted the Better Business Bureau and filed a letter of complaint; not just for the doubled-service charges, but mainly for the first two guys who came out and were in too-big-a-hurry to take the time to check the water heater out before leaving.  A day or two later I received a letter from the company telling me how difficult it had been for them to come out in that kind of weather and repair my water heater.  Yes, I remember there was a light dusting of snow that day...  I got to feeling sorry for him and decided to drop the complaint against his company.  No, I will never call them again but I tell anyone who asks me about them to do themselves a BIG favor and find someone else.  Although we are mainly advertising for these companies, we only want to promote honest and reliable businesses.  We cannot vouch for all the companies listed here, but we will do all we can do to make sure they treat you, the customer, in a fair manner.  If you have any problems, please let us know!

What to look for in choosing a handyman?

  Are they licensed?
  Are they a member of the BBB? 
  Do they charge a service call?
  Do they guarantee their work?