FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How long have you been established?
James set up NEED A HAND in September 2005. At that time there was only and James and his dog, and the dog was head of security.
We have grown since then and there are now 6 of us. Since we started we have performed numerous and extremely varied jobs for our customers and many customers write praising our workmanship, value for money and telling us our customer service is brilliant. What more can we say!
Why can't I find you in the local papers?
We don't have to advertise much. Most of our business comes through referrals from satisfied customers, and we love it that way. Spending less money on advertising means that we can keep our rates at an affordable level, and we can used some of the cash we've saved for our charity work.
Please bear this in mind when you look at us, and remember; if you are happy with our service, pass our name on to family friends and colleagues.
Where did the name NEED A HAND come from?
Well that was all James’s doing. He has said time after time that we all NEED A HAND at some point and we all NEED A HAND in various ways, so when it came to a name, NEED A HAND it had to be.
Do you only do domestic work?
No. We do a lot of office work from simply changing a light bulb to a full maintenance contract.
Why don’t you think of a regular inspection contract, this should help with the maintenance cash flow and NEED A HAND will offer a discount on our rates.
Would you work for letting agencies?
YES. We already do work for various letting agencies and landlords, both domestic and commercial.
Do your handymen arrive with all the necessary tools?
Yes! All our vans are kitted out with a full range of tools that let us tackle all the work we set out to do.
We also carry all the small stuff like screws, nails, wall plugs, plumbing connections etc.
Do you do free estimates?
Well the easy answer is YES.
Though when you phone in, we can normally give you a good idea of how long a job is likely to take. If the price is then within your budget you can then book someone to come out.
When the handymen arrive, they will confirm or revise the estimate based on what they find at the job.
If it is going to take a lot longer than expected, and you decide not to go ahead we won't charge you for coming out. If you are happy to go ahead then our handyman will do the job there and then.
For larger jobs, we would usually make a separate visit first to give you an estimate.
I am a woman on my own to you have any female handy men?
Yes we do.
However we work in teams of two and as we only have one lady at the moment she would be accompanied by one of our male staff.
Should you still have any doubt we can pass to you (with their permission) the phone numbers of lone females that we have worked for.
Are you insured?
Yes, we carry plenty insurance, and this is backed by the fact that we are a member of the
SAFE CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION.
How quickly can you come out?
We try to come within 7 to 10 working days. We can do a same day call out service, but we try to only do that for emergency work. If you need something quicker than our normal service call, we may have had a cancellation.
Do you work weekends?
We try hard to not work the weekends, our handy men need time to themselves, after all they work hard during the week and need to rest and to recharge their batteries.
Is there any time you work weekends?
YES if our client cannot arrange a time, or access, during the week we will come out at the weekend.
Though this will normally incur a nominal increase to our normal rate.
Do you offer a 24hr service?
NO our normal hours are 8.30 to 5.30 Monday to Friday, and our office hours are 8.30 to 5 Monday to Friday.
Are you registered by CORGI or NICEIC.
No. We employ general handymen, who are good at a wide range of jobs, but we are not CORGI OR NICEIC registered.
We will however recommend companies that are CORGI AND NICEIC REGISTERED and that we have used ourselves before.
Are you a member of any trade association or guild?
YES.
We are a member of the LANARKSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, THE 1700 BUSINESS CLUB, THE GLASGOW SOUTH BUSINESS CLUB, THE SAFE CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION and we are well on our way to achieving our INVESTORS IN PEOPLE award.
How do you know that the handymen you employ are reliable?
Many firms out there in the big world of construction and maintenance, farm out there work to sub contractors, some known to them some not.
We DON’T do this. All our handymen work for us full-time, they are all skilled in the sort of work that we do. We have a very stringent vetting procedure when recruiting and we only employ people who are polite, well presented, friendly and understand the importance of customer service. After all, you are inviting us in to your home or office so it is the least we can do.
I have had bad experiences in the past with no shows will I have to wait in all day for your handyman to show up?
Easy answer, NO. One of the reasons NEED A HAND was formed was because James was constantly hearing the same old story, “that company didn’t turn up again”
We at NEED A HAND try hard to give specific arrival times, but we all know things happen and if for some reason we can not make it (unforeseen job, over runs, traffic jams etc) some one from our office will call and let you know.
How big a job can you take on?
Our jobs are usually small and can be as short as half hour or as long as a few days. We have done jobs that take longer but those are rare.
What if the work we want doing is too big or out with your skill range?
We have a data bank of firms big and small that we have worked with in the past and we are happy to pass on these names to you.
FOR YOUR PEACE OF MIND: WE DO NOT RECOMMEND PEOPLE THAT HAVE NOT WORKED FOR US OR ALONG SIDE US.
How can I pay?
We accept cash, cheque or BACS payment.
Do you do office work?
Yes we do. We do a lot of office work from simply changing a light bulb to a full maintenance contract.
Why don’t you think of a regular inspection contract, this should help with the maintenance cash flow and NEED A HAND will be able to offer a discount on our rates.
If we ask you to work in our office do we have to pay on the day?
No not at all. We will sent out the required handyman then we will raise an invoice and send it to you, either by
E-mail or by post. All we ask is that you adhere to our payment terms.
Will your handymen bring along material?
YES. If our client can not supply the material then we will.
Do you charge a call out fee?
Unlike many other companies, we charge no call out fee on jobs booked in. However, we do charge a flat ?50 fee for emergency call out. This is to help cover the time involved when we have to go back to the work we left to come to you.
Complaints.
What's your policy on refunds? What happens if I'm not happy with the work?
If you are not happy with the work in any way please contact us by phone or email. We will send a handyman to view the work and make a decision based on the meeting.
We offer a full guarantee on all NEED A HAND work.
Why don't you do larger jobs such as porches and loft conversions?
We stick to doing jobs that last normally between half an hour and a day so that we can provide a consistent service to many clients. We like to specialise in small jobs that do not require specialist trades.
Who do you work for?
We do many various jobs for private householders and we also undertake general maintenance for office based companies like
T.N.T. to name but one. For private householders we would ask that you pay the handyman at the end of the job (we accept cash or cheque.). For our business clients we are happy to invoice you (payment on 30day terms). Discounted prices are available for regularly scheduled work (ie. weekly/monthly maintenance).
My question i want to ask is not here!
These are just some of the most frequently asked questions to our handymen and received back at our office. To ask us a question simply call us on 07780 845 178 or fill in our form by clicking here and one of our friendly staff members will email you or call you back with an answer.
Thanks
The Ultimate Handyman
