Those of you lucky enough to have husbands who can fix things around the house may ignore this post.

We’ve had a broken doorbell for weeks.  Since we also had some other odd jobs that needed to be done, I decided to try a new handyman service.  I called a company whose advertisements always show up in our mailbox.  The guy arrives.  He can fix the broken hinge on our cedar chest.  Done.  He looks at the bed frame that has to be attached to our new headboard and shakes his head. He can probably do it, he says, but he seems very uncertain.  We decide to wait for bolts being sent from the factory. Next up is the front door that sticks.  He can’t help us with this problem either.  It’s not the door but the framing that’s at fault.

Then he takes apart the doorbell before claiming that he has no idea what’s wrong with it. Idiot; why take it apart if he can’t test it?  The ad claims these guys can do electrical work. He puts it back together, still broken. End of visit. He couldn’t do anything we asked, except for the hinge on the inside of the chest, and my husband could have probably fixed that one.

Next we call the handyman who has done work for us before. He’s independent and usually competent.  He attaches the headboard to the frame.  He fills in all the nail holes in the walls.  He replaces the doorbell push button...and it works!  He even replaces the rollers on our shower door that has been stiff for months. Yea, I’m so happy, I give him a tip beyond his fee.

Then the bed frame starts rattling.  Uh oh.  My husband notices the tiny screws the guy used.  Wrong size.  Husband replaces screws with thicker bolts.  Better!  Then the doorbell stops working again.  Bummer.

Okay, we’d better call an electrician for real this time.  We tried the guy recommended in our community newsletter.  He never called back.  So we phoned a company we’ve used in the past. They sent a man out, who tested the ringer and determined it needed a new transformer. But...no transformer on his truck. I’m already being charged $75 for the first half hour, even though he’s only been here for fifteen minutes. And I’d be charged for him to go to Home Depot and get a new transformer. No way, I say.  My husband can get it.  Then we’d have to call back the company and have another electrician stop by to hook it up...for an additional $75 (plus tax). I shouldn’t be charged that again!  I call up and leave a voice message for the manager who never calls back.

So between all these repairmen, I am a couple of hundred dollars in the hole and the danged doorbell still doesn’t work. I’m so frustrated.  Where can you find reliable service people these days who charge reasonable fees?