Finding a good handyman might not be the toughest part of the job.  Figuring out if he’s as good as you hope is usually the most difficult part!  One common problem is that even with good references, no one is going to keep everyone else happy.  A handyman might do a great job for one family, but fail miserably at someone else’s home.

Here are some simple guidelines to keep in mind when you interview and hire what you hope to be a good handyman:

• Do you like how he communicates with you?  Or does he talk to you in a very condescending manner?
• Did he keep his appointment?  If not, this could become a major problem if he is expected to be there on multiple days.
• When you asked for references, did you check with families where he did similar work to what you need done?  It’s nice to know that the fence he put up for the Richardsons down the street came out better than expected, but that doesn’t mean he can replace your garage door.
• Does he focus on the tasks at hand, or is he on his cell phone iPod all the time?
• Does he bring his own food and thermos with him, or does he just assume you’ll be feeding him?  (This is perfectly OK – many families are more than happy to do this but it needs to be discussed up front.  You don’t want to come home to find out he ate the lasagna you were saving for dinner.)
• Does he seem to be running into problems that he shouldn’t be?  If he is hanging draperies and realizes he forgot his electric drill, that’s just plain inexcusable.
• If he is doing work outside, does he clean his feet before coming inside?  Or does he get mud all over your floors?
• When he showed up to start work, did he take precautions to prevent making any more of a mess than necessary?  Did he put down drop cloths?  Did he wipe up spills and vacuum if needed?

Of course, above all else, did he do what you hired him to, and did you like what he did?  Did the job come out the way you envisioned, for the price he estimated (unless of course there were problems that he told you about as things progressed and they weren’t his fault)?

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