You're Hired
Finding a good handyman can be challenging, and when you finally discover one, you may never let them go. I try to get my driveway seal-coated every year, due to existing cracks. When I first found my handyman he thought he could save the driveway by filling the cracks before putting on a top layer. The day he started, I happened to look outside and see him at the bottom of my driveway, on his hands and knees, examining my mailbox post. He was straightening the post that had been backed into by my neighbor, and was putting shims in between the post and the ground trying to straighten it; he had no idea I was watching from the window.
With that small act of kindness and attention to detail, I knew this man had a good work ethic, and would be my handyman and seal-coat guy for life. I was wrong, after a few years he was no longer able to seal-coat my driveway, it wasn’t profitable. I was sad to hear the news, but understood his decision.
His drill on day one was filling all the cracks. His drill on day two was to refill any cracks that needed additional filling; day three he would finish by applying the final coat. You can imagine my disappointment when I learned this was not normal procedure for most seal-coat operations.
Last year my neighbor Tom and I found another man we thought would work out. He came by to give estimates and set up a time to complete the job. Tom waited around all day and the hired man was a no show. He called to find out what happened and the man came up with some sort of reason, but we booked another appointment, and to our surprise…..ditto….another no show….REALLY? Who does that? Needless to say, it was too late in the season and my driveway didn’t get coated.
I will admit, I get many offers to seal-coat the driveway by people leaving flyers attached to my mailbox and stuffed in my door. How do you trust someone you have never met without a recommendation? I was very reluctant, but was getting desperate…..my driveway needed to get done and time was wasting.
Out of all the flyers and post cards, for some reason one felt right to me…..like I was given a little gem. I decided to give them a chance. As I dialed the number, no one picked up on the other end, I was a bit disappointed, but reluctantly left a message. Within the hour a return call came in asking if the next day would be OK……Ummm…..that would be a big “ABSOLUTELY!”
While talking to the man….in my…I know what I am talking about voice…ask, “What kind of product do you use?” The man on the other end chuckles and says “We don’t water down our product.” That’s the answer I was looking for……I think….HA! The next day I came home and …..POOF….it was a beautiful jet black color, all even and smooth….they did a great job.
That little post card turned out to be an unexpected blessing, I took a chance on this man and said “You’re hired.” He took a chance on me too. Looks like I found my new seal-coat guy after all……Amen to that!
xoxox…..Sheryl