Plumbing · General Contracting · Electrical · Painting · Handyman
Smith Home Services LLC
About
Local handyman based out of the East Atlanta area. Specializing in plumbing, electrical, grout repairs and other misc home services like mailbox replacement, TV mounting, hanging art, installing shelves, curtain rods, video doorbells, electronic keypads etc. We also do Sheetrock repairs, paint, pressure washing, staining, wood replacement etc. Text is the best way to reach us! 678-478-6199
Smith Home Services LLC on the podcast
The Southern ShmoozeEp. 01 | Forrest Smith – Smith Home Services LLC
Handyman Forrest Smith talks minor plumbing and electrical work, tight service areas, and how he built his business entirely on word of mouth.
Hiring questions Forrest Smith answers in this episode
When should you hire a licensed plumber or electrician instead of a handyman?
Forrest Smith says there are things that really should have a licensed professional do them, like water heaters and electric car chargers. He is always quick to refer a licensed professional when a job gets to that point. He is insured and does not do anything he should not be doing, which saves both him and clients headaches.
“There are some things that you really should have a licensed professional do and I'm always quick to refer one when it gets to that point. I am insured so I don't do anything that I shouldn't be doing and saves me and clients headaches.”Forrest Smith
Should handyman businesses charge a travel fee for jobs outside their service area?
Forrest Smith charges a small travel fee to go outside his service area and makes exceptions for certain jobs. He does free estimates even outside his service area and would not charge the travel fee for an estimate. He tries to provide estimates over the phone or via text with photos so he can look at everything else while on site doing the agreed work.
“I'll still make exceptions. I charge a small travel fee to go outside my service area. Even if it was outside of my service area, I wouldn't charge the travel fee for estimates. I do free estimates.”Forrest Smith
How can handymen and contractors improve communication with homeowners?
Forrest Smith uses a one hour arrival window instead of pinning down an exact time, which he says sets you up for failure. The beginning of his arrival window is the time he plans to get there. If he will not make it by then, he lets the client know as soon as possible that he will arrive closer to the end of the window. He uses verbiage like estimated arrival to set reasonable expectations.
“Instead of trying to pin down an exact time that you're going to be on a job when there's so many variables, leaving yourself a reasonable arrival window. I do a one hour arrival window. If you're giving an estimated arrival, that's one exact time, you're really setting yourself up for failure.”Forrest Smith
Reviews from Shmooze neighbors 4
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I was in a panic because I had an electrical issue that impacted by furnace and hot water heater with a severe cold front on the horizon. I contacted Forest (I began to call and then ended the call to text him) Before I could finish my text, he was calling me back. He was on another job with several stacked up for that day, but was generous enough to troubleshoot with me over FaceTime to go through initial troubleshooting steps. He was patient and efficient .When it didn’t work, he sent over his assistant Austin and they worked together using FaceTime to go through all the due diligence to identify source of problem. When that didn’t do the trick, Forest was generous enough to give me a discount on his invoicing —and five different recommendations for trusted electricians and asked if I would follow up with him. Thankfully, his recommendation was able to identify a more intricate problem the next day. I cannot recommend Forest enough! I am still blown away that he was willing to be a support and stay in contact with me when it would’ve been so easy to ignore the call and get back to me a few days later or maybe not at all even given how busy he must be. Thank you Forest and Aust
Forrest has done two projects for me and everything was perfect. He does great work and is very dependable.
Forrest was wonderful. Very prompt and knowledgeable. Helped me figure out what the problem was before he came over and asked me to have some stuff ready before he stopped by to make sure things went quickly and smooth. He’s very knowledgeable and was awesome at explaining various aspects of my sink to me. Will definitely be reaching out to him whenever we have any home repairs that need to happen in the future.
Forrest has been an invaluable asset to my home. I have hired him many times for our previous home and now our new home, so I can confirm that he can work on old homes (1930) and more recently built homes (1998). He has swapped lighting fixtures, installed dimmers, hung mirrors, and many other tasks. He is a very skilled problem solver who rises to challenges and works with efficiency and care. He is a very reliable communicator who always comes prepared. He has also provided us with strong recommendations for specialists (contractor, tree service) who have also produced excellent work, he does good work and knows when he sees good work. If you have made it this far into the recommendation, what are you doing?!?! Stop reading and book him!
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