Electrical Contractor: Professional vs. Handyman

When you have a problem, do you call a professional or a handyman?  A handyman may not always be cheaper.  I had a lady call me (an electrician) to hook up a new TV.  She needed a receptacle for a TV that she wanted placed high on a wall in a bedroom and also install cable to it.  She told me last time she had a cable guy just come and drill a hole through the wall.  I told her I am a licensed professional and can’t just drill a hole through the wall and stick wires in. I am a professional.  I am licensed, insured and I am responsible for my work.

It doesn’t have anything to do with the size of a business.  It has to do with how you think of professional vs a non-professional.  A non-professional can do things that are not up to code.  They might tap one wire to another without using junction boxes.  They can do all kinds of illegal things which I can not and will not.
I will not because I am licensed and I want to keep my license. 
I am insured and I want to keep my insurance.
I have a reputation and want to keep that in good standing:  also having the integrity of people telling you that you have done a fine job or they have never had problems with your work.

Is there a reason that you shouldn’t hire a handyman over a professional?  A handyman doesn’t know the ins and outs of everyday problems that exist with electrical equipment that would lead him to immediately locate the problem.  A licensed, electrical contractor who has dealt with a lot of problems in the past can find and identify the problem immediately.  No time wasted.   Money saved.

 There is code to consider. As an electrician, I must follow code so it may not hurt anyone that is in that house.  An unlicensed handyman doesn’t know what the codes are: so, he is not aware that he can hurt homeowners.  He doesn’t care if that receptacle that he put in is GFI rated or not, or if it needs to be outside.  A licensed professional will perform and guarantee his work:
I want to keep my license
I want to keep my reputation in good standing
I want to keep from hurting someone by performing each job to code standards. 
A licensed professional is insured.  He is a person that you can go back to if you have a problem.  He can warranty the items that he repairs as well as repair them much better than a handyman.  A patch is not as good as a fix. Who will you call when you have a problem?

Comments

[Van Deran]

I totally agree with you. The people must be made aware of why they should use the services of a licensed professional. Thanks.