|
| Handyman Connection looked really promising from an organizational-behavior-theory perspective. I saw people work out there who were obstinate in any other capacity. They came in as "flakes" with a capital F. Instantaneous conversion rendered them totally submissive to satisfying the petty needs of snobs. Rebels became high-functioning contributors seemingly overnight. E-mail dispatches gave me more work than I really wanted. The pay, at 45% commission, fluctuated with market forces. In one case, I saw fiberglass in a hot attic where I'd be working: I did not want that job. So I jacked-up the price by a factor of four. The customer had me do it anyway. For $133/Hr take-home pay, I couldn't refuse. Then he had me back the next day to do another job. This time I cut him some slack. His call to Handyman Connection was his way of revolting from being duped. His last contractor was to install a central heating system while doing some drywall. Instead it was pushed into a corner and entombed, shipping crates unopened, inside drywall. The parts were not connected, nor could they be. The wall needed to come back out before retrieval would even be possible. His furnace would likely wind up downstairs, and outside the firewall. The poor guy was clueless as to how he'd been swindled. I told him the extent of the boondoggle. He wanted me to field that too. I couldn't stay on and help. I hope he did okay. |
| Why I liked the handyman connection business model: |
| Anecdotal evidence suggests contractor-dealings rank rock bottom on user-friendliness in comparison to other aspects of the home-ownership experience. The horror stories these people tell; the disasters are unbelievable. I saw evidence everywhere with my own eyes. The mark of the devil describes it best. Blatant fraud was the least of it. Life threatening relics were pervasive whether workmanship was recent or ancient. I felt good about what I did. At the end of each day, we all straggled in and handed checks to the dispatcher. Maybe some bounced. We'd not have known; we were paid in full, on the spot. Our smiles were maintained first and foremost. Every day was payday. |
| One guy wanted Cat-5 wires installed in his house. He'd had multiple contractors out to bid the job, only to be laughed at every time. Nobody wanted the work. A lot of contractors probably couldn't have done it anyway. My engineering background made it possible. I had to fabricate special tools. Sometimes I'd help one of the other deadbeat-converts with a job. The before/after poster would make anyone love the organization. I never saw such urgency. Capabilities of the fired-up deadbeat far exceed that of the "normal" worker. This idle capacity lay fallow without a creative outlet. The conventional top-down organization butts heads with the deadbeat. Formidable opponents too, firing can't come fast enough. Handyman connection looked like an option on the good life for them: permanently replacing what looked like endless cycles of incarceration. |
| In terms of the lean organization, that small office, the one boss, and one dispatcher fielded perhaps 75 workers. This sounds like a new record to me. There was nothing there but the checks that appeared. It was all in fun and we felt truly loved. I made five times the money I'd made as an engineer. The work was simple by comparison. Engineering has a long cycle time, six months and up. Putting two jobs a day behind you feels much nicer. There was no stress. |
| This case demonstrates how much power money has over our legal system. All the heavy hitters have laws crafted to pass the proverbial buck. The buck stops where folks are broke. Handymen and women aren't banded together like unions. Insurance companies need plausible deniability. They don't care as long as homeowners constantly eliminate hazards. Building inspectors and the city also need plausible deniability. They have insurance policies they honor too. There is overlap everywhere, nobody wants to cover for the excesses, they all want to be overly covered though. Handypeople occupy a political void, unrepresented. They unknowingly run a black market operation to satisfy real and unmet need. Hapless, they become easy prey when blame gets handed down. sadly, I don't see another easy answer. |
| I didn't hope to debunk an entire industry through my studies. Having been told to play again, and "hope" for "better luck," I ain't thrilled by the prospect. Having participated in massive and ongoing fraud makes me uneasy. What if I move to the next square and have the same experience? I'm uniquely preoccupied with meeting all specifications that should rightly apply. From what I've seen, this puts me at a competitive disadvantage. I called my old boss and mentioned my dilemma. He suggested laws in Alaska are more stringent than those of California. I reminded him the code-modules in question are uniform across states for insurance purposes. Further research is needed, but it appears the modules come out of a think-tank in Georgia. Maybe we could seed change there. The poor guy confided workman's comp insurance premiums were hogging the lionshare of his margin now. He's got nothing to show for the good he's done. |
| The Brand-X Experience |
| Customer Needs |
| Administrative Simplicity |
| The good news about the emergence of commercial handyman/women dispatch is that the handy-person may finally find representation in a powerful lobby. Union strongholds will present the biggest challenge when the clash erupts. But homeowners nationwide will likely agree the need for change is real. To further complicate things, changes must take place simultaneously everywhere; or else criminalization may take hold in islands. This could threaten to derail the entire process. If change catalyzes, amnesty will likely play a part in catering code compliance to past customers. |
| Why Me? |