Mr. Handyman of Central Middlesex

Both workers that came to my house were on time, polite, professional, and did adequate quality work although maybe at a bit of a slow pace. I would recommend them for anyone who doesn't need cheap prices and wants to skip the baloney and runaround that you get from many contractors who don't show up or postpone appointments. They will do the work on time and are pleasant and have good customer service skills. A little more detail on my experience with their office staff... I had a little trouble getting a call back to schedule my first appointment - *the first rep told me she might be able to try something to fit me in asap and would get back to me. I guess she wasn't able to work anything out because she didn't call back. *2nd time I called I got a rep that said they couldn't do scheduling and someone else would have to call me back-no call back *3rd time I got an answering service and left a message with them-no call back *4th time I was able to schedule both the roof cable install and the attic pull-down install First visit (the roof cable wires) when scheduled I had told the dispatcher that I had a coupon from Angie's list. They told me to "try to print it out if I could but it wasn't 100% necessary). I never got the discount on my bill (I had forgotten to give it to the guy in all the confusion about the wire cables). I paid the bill and figured I'd get the discount the next visit (attic pull-down) we had planned. On that 2nd visit the person told me he could not do the job (Install attic pull-down ladder) until I had an electrician come in. So he left without doing any work but took the coupon with him for the office staff and did not charge me for that visit. So I still haven't gotten my discount but spoke to a friendly rep a couple of weeks ago who told me she would look into it and get back to me. Everyone in the office was always polite but maybe they let some things slip through the cracks if you don't follow up. All-in-all though their office staff is friendly and willing to work with you if you just keep on top of reminding them. So I'm not holding it against them that they let a few things slip through the cracks. Still hopeful I'll get my refund! :) Update: Refund Received 1/14/12

I thought it was expensive for the task. The task was very simple. He showed up and examined the task. The minimum charge was $140. I would look to others in the future.

They did a great job. They still have to come back and seal my gutters. They said they would come back to do the work.

The work was performed exactly as expected. Another contractor told me I would need a door cut down to fit the opening fortunately I did not listen to this person. Rich from Mr Handyman indicated a standard door would work saving a couple of hunderd dollars on the work. The work took less than one day which was the estimated work time. Rich arrived exactly when he said he would. He is very pleasant and knowledgeable. I would definately recommend Mr. Handyman for additional work.

I was never able to have the work done as the company never responded to set up a date for them to come to my home.

Mike showed up last Friday morning on time to provide a quote for the job, called in the materials order and scheduled the work for today. The necessary materials were quietly dropped off yesterday afternoon and this morning Kevin showed up promptly to make the repairs. He removed the existing wooden gutter, ascertained that one section of the fascia board was rotted as we suspected, then left briefly to purchase the replacement piece. He returned, cut a vinyl replacement piece and installed then, then installed the gutter. The remaining (new) materials were left, and the debris was removed by Kevin. The only evidence that any work was done is the sawdust on the ground. The time estimate Mike provided was extremely accurate and while the overall cost was higher than the quote, the difference can be accounted for in the additional materials (the vinyl fascia) needed for the job. Both Mike and Kevin were extremely friendly, were thorough in explaining what would be done and what was done, and were very professional. At this time I am extremely happy with the work was was performed.

Someone from the company followed up two weeks later, asking if we wanted to do the job. I informed him that I'd had no response and that the job had been awarded and completed.

I called on Monday morning and explained to the person I spoke with that we had two distinct plumbing problems in our house: one, a new leak in the basement whose source we couldn't identify and the second, an old leak from the faucet in the tub on the second floor. I also explained that my husband had already done a rebuild kit on the bathroom faucet and replaced the stems, but he didn't have the right tools and was afraid to remove the seats because they were so old and stuck (his dad is a plumber so he knows a lot about this stuff). They told me they had someone perfect in the area who had just finished a job and he could come right over. After more than three hours in my house, the basement leak seemed fixed. It turned out there was an obviously broken hose under the kitchen sink, the drain leading from the dishwasher to the garbage disposal, so it was quite simple. But the upstairs was still leaking. Several trips had been made to the hardware store, all on my dime and for tools and pieces you'd think a handyman would already have, and I had given the man a bag of parts my husband had already purchased, including the new seats that needed to be replaced. He called me upstairs to talk about it and it became pretty clear that he had no idea what he was doing. I asked him to talk to my husband on the phone to explain what had happened and within a minute of getting on the phone he freely admitted to my husband, "Well, I'm not a very good plumber." When my husband asked him about the seats and I took them out of the box to show them to him, he didn't even recognize the parts and asked my husband where they went! He also got streaks of some kind of caulk or something all over my floor, which I'll have to scrape off with a razor blade. When the call with my husband ended I asked to speak to the owner of the company and the handyman got him on the phone. I explained to him that I was very clear when I called to schedule the service that our only problems were plumbing problems, and that I also explained the exact nature of at least one of them using technical plumbing terms, so I was extremely upset that they sent someone who freely admitted to having little experience with even basic plumbing. He was very defensive, saying that he didn't think the right person was sent for the job but that it was the dispatcher's fault, not his! I politely pointed out that if you own the company, you're responsible for the quality of your dispatcher's choices, and he backed off. He didn't wind up charging me for the time spent upstairs, though I did pay for the work under the kitchen sink. Ultimately, they wasted my whole afternoon and that of my friend, who came over to supervise my 2.5 year old so I could work with this person I THOUGHT was a plumber (or at least a skilled handyman). I'm 8.5 months pregnant and just wanted to get this repair off my plate, so their "On Time Done Right" slogan was very appealing. Now I still need to find someone to fix the leak upstairs. Though the handyman himself was quite polite, I was totally not happy with either the incompetent service or the way it was handled by the company!

They were really responsive and flexible to our needs. Also proactive in that they noticed the house was low on oil at a time when the temperature was dropping fast--averted a major disaster for us!

They are very punctual and competent. Also, very accommodating. We were unsure if the A/C would arrive on time, but they came anyway and started on the dog door until the unit arrived. They always clean up after themselves and leave the space as they found it, or cleaner. It was raining and the handyman was going to put booties over his shoes before entering my home, but I told him it was unnecessary. He did a very good job. It took a little bit longer than we had planned, but I believe that was my husband's estimate, not theirs.

I set up the appointment about a week ahead of time. The employee called a few days before to see what kind of materials he would need. The morning of the job he called to let me know he was going to be delayed for about a half an hour. He was there ahead of his estimate which was good. He came in, assessed the job and brought in his tools. He worked quickly and efficiently. He was done in two hours.I had requested that he be done in three hours or less. He was very helpful in explaining how I could finish the details of the job. He even gave me some wood filler. I recommend that you buy your own materials ahead of time. If you have Mr. Handyman do it they will charge you for the time it takes to get the materials plus they add their own mark up. Do try to find out what you will need. They'll work with you.

$234 for gutter cleaning!!!We are first time home owners and did not know how much time it will take to clean gutters. It took about 45 min total. That is a little pricey for us.

We had quite a bit of project creep, where they suggested additional repairs. They weren't always available when we needed them, which was an issue because we wanted to get the house on the market. The guys were always on time (on the days they were available) and were polite. They were willing to spend hours in the crawlspace. I doubt all handymen would have been willing to do that. They underestimated how long things would take and so they cost more than we had thought. They also changed their plan on how to do a repair without discussing it with us first. Luckily we happened to ask questions at the right time and were able to discuss. Their revision saved us money, but they should have gotten our ok for it first. All in all, a mixed bag.

They are great, fantastic! You tell them what you need and they send someone that can do it. It is a franchise so when I called it wasn't my area. They called the next day with a local number and stated they had already given my number to them. There system is great. The people that you talk to were very good. The work was impeccable. You want to be careful because they charge $144 an hour. There is the catch. If you need something done they provide and expert person to do it. They seem to have all sorts of capable people. The guy that came out had worked for the company for seven years, about as long as it has been in business. He worked with the original owner. I was very impressed. They did handyman work. If you need somebody to re hang a door or any small task they will do it. They advised me to buy the products, like the caulk for the bathroom, before they arrived so that when the man showed up he would not have to go back out. They do this because they charge by the hour. So, it is good to have a plan of what work you need done. He did an impeccable job on the painting. I think they are great. They even checked back in again. He was punctual, cleaned up afterward, upfront about price and just a nice guy. You get what you pay for.

They were very nice people and they were very easy to work. They cleaned up their messes and did very high quality work. It was worth the extra money they charged.

Steve was great. He completed all of our projects with ease. The door was by far the most tricky, but he was able to remove the door, plane it down, and replace it on the hinge. He also added weather stripping to ensure a tight seal. He cleaned-up impeccably and even primed the areas of the door which were shaved down.

Everything was good, it was a little more expensive than I expected but that is my only complaint.

He was excellent, and I would recommend him to anybody. He was very honest and upfront. They told me exactly how much it would be. They honored the coupon out of the Angie's List book. I really liked that they were very honest people, and I could leave them in my house without any problems. I can't say anything bad about this company.

They did a good job, they were punctual and on time, they did the job as fast as possible, they seemed to know what they were doing and it was a positive experiences.

We used this service twice and was satisfied each time.

It went well. Steve showed up on time, understood the problem right away, removed the cabinet from the wall, brainstormed with me the best way to make this cabinet stronger, and went to a nearby lumberyard for supplies. He came back soon and made the repairs. I'm very pleased with the results.

Quality of work was extremely good. However, despite the web sites claims that workers are employees, the man who did most of the work told us that he was a contractor. He also us that his pay was less than one-quarter of the fee charged by the company; plus as a contractor he is without benefits. The company does not appear to be compensating its workers fairly. One reason that we hired them was the assertion that their workers were employees, not contractors, so we feel misled.

Everything was done well; however some debris was left from the bathroom ceiling work, so I've downgraded their professionalism a bit. Wish Angie's List could make it possible to give them an A- rather than a B. I have not had a problem with clean-up when I have used Mr. Handyman in the past.

We actually have this guy coming back to do a whole lot of work for us next week. We have him pretty booked up because we're getting ready to have a baby and we have a lot of stuff we need to and want to get done. He's great though. He can do it all and he charges you really fairly. He treats you well and we found him through our Angie's List membership.

The secretary called back promptly after I left a message to schedule the work. The handyman arrived on time, he was very polite and very thorough. He kept me apprised of what he was finding, since there was more work to be done on the gutters than I originally anticipated. He did an excellent job.