Handy Randy

.

Fortunately Randy had stopped by my wife's yard sale in the fall of 2013 and left her one of his "Handy Randy" business cards.  When the need arose to replace the downstairs commode, we called Randy.  Needless to say the wife would not be satisfied with just replacing the commode and the whole half bath had to be rejuvenated. (Remove and install new bathroom cabinet and top, install new plumbing fixtures, remove wallpaper, repair drywall and paint bathroom, install crown molding, mirror and light fixture above cabinet.)
Additionally, there were several other household repairs needed, plumbing repairs,electrical repairs as well as removal and replacement of tile in the entryway and remove and replace guest closet door. 

Our Maytag dryer began making a terrible noise. We called Handy Randy after reading the reviews on Angie's List. Randy returned our initial call within minutes, and arrived promptly the next morning. Our repair was a bit more involved than just a belt replacement and we had to wait a day for the replacement part. Randy kept in touch the next day as he awaited for the UPS delivery of the part at the part shop. As soon as this part was delivered, he called again to ensure we were home, picked up the part, and made quick work of installing this part. He did not charge extra for having to make two calls (his territory is extensive so this is no small thing). We also asked him to replace the belt and clean out the vent too. He did all of this work for a very reasonable price.
We have pets. Randy took the time to show us how to thoroughly clean out the vent (this involves opening the unit) as having pets means having to deal with more debris. Speaking of pets, he was gentle with my curious cats--I had offered to put them in their carriers but he was okay having them wander about--and was careful not to leave the door ajar. Our very grouchy cat warmed up to Randy immediately--a first!
We had attempted to hire another company that we had used in the past but the customer service person didn't seem very interested in setting an appointment. The good news is, thanks to this not at all helpful person, we were given the opportunity to hire someone who is respectful and competent and thorough and prompt and fair. We will hire Randy again when another appliance needs repair or maintenance.

I turned on my oven and it did not heat up. The gas burners on top worked, so I figured it was the electric igniter. I contacted GE Hotpoint Service first and made an appointment for later in the week. Because of their rating on Angie's list, I contacted "Handy Randy" from the list and his basic service fee was less than 1/3 of GE's, $25 vs $80. I decide to give Randy a try. I first emailed from the list, but found when I called that he didn't get it. He gave me his work email and I mailed him the Model number. We made an appointment for the next day and he arrived promplty, calling before.
I was impressed that he did a thorough inspection of all the parts and tested each, while telling me what he was doin every stop of the way. He had researched the prices of the parts before he came. When it was apparent that the igniter was burned out and he had to go get the part, he asked for the $55. He left his tools at my house and returned in reasonable time with the new part. As he was installing it, he offered that he also did preventive maintenance on refrigerators and gave me the price.

As happens with large appliances that don't get moved often, I wanted to clean up around and under the stove before he got there so I had the vacuum out. I asked him to inspect the refrigerator. He cleaned the coils - said in 6 months, it might have stopped working because they were so heavy with dust (embarrassing!) and showed me what to vacuum in the future.

The whole service charge - $25 trip charge, $55 for the part, $35 for the refrigerator, and $35 for installation - I thought was very reasonable and gave him a $20 tip.

Needless to say, I canceled the GE appointment.

Mr. Adams provided a two hour window for his arrival and called about 1/2 hour prior to his arrival. He removed an old range hood that no longer worked and installed and wired a new one in about one hour. He also checked a 12 year old wall oven that was no longer heating properly and suggested that I purchase a new one. The old was was no longer in production which meant the parts were harder to locate and more expensive. A repair would have cost around $300.00 Mr. Adams disconnected the hardwired oven and I purchased a new oven for $302.00. I've already scheduled Mr. Adams to come in again to install the new oven