Handyman Services

Start with who needs small repair and fitting jobs and why. Around tenants and homeowners drive demand in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the other emirates.

• List 10 offers or suppliers in the UAE with price per job in AED and who buys.
• Interview 5 people from tenants and homeowners: what do they buy now, how often, what do they pay, what annoys them?
• Learn three terms: Isolation (switching power off and locking it before work); Call-out fee (a fixed charge for attending); Warranty (your written promise on work done).
• Write a one-page brief: user, need, hoped-for price, and the rule that matters most.

Activity. Complete the market table, five interview notes and the brief.

Standard to meet. Price ten offers, interview five users, and state one need in one sentence.

Know the rule before the work. Main hazards here: electric shock and falls. Hazard thinking means list each step, ask what could go wrong, and decide the control.

• Ask your local authority or free zone which licence, permit or inspection applies. Write the answer and the date you asked.
• For each step (take the request; quote; do the job; test and clean) write the hazard and the control.
• Use a hierarchy: remove the hazard, replace it, separate people from it, change the way of work, then protective equipment last.
• Keep a one-page incident rule: who you call, what you stop, what you record.

Activity. Draw the flow and mark hazard and control at each step.

Standard to meet. Name a hazard and a control for every step, and answer the licence question in writing.

The work is a short chain: take the request, quote, do the job, test and clean. Learn each link, then link them with records.

• Write a checklist for each of the 4 steps: input, action, check, output.
• Time each step three times and note the slowest.
• Record a defect or delay each time it happens: what, where, cause, fix.
• Measure jobs without a call-back; this is your main number.

Activity. Run the chain three times (simulated or real) and fill the log.

Standard to meet. Complete three logs, and give the slowest step a cause and a fix.

What you do not measure you cannot improve. Your main measure is jobs without a call-back.

• Define jobs without a call-back: what counts, what does not, and over what period.
• Draw a simple chart of the last 10 results and mark the average.
• Find the top two causes of loss with a tally sheet, then fix the biggest one first.
• Check measuring tools: are they accurate, clean and in date?

Activity. Collect a tally for one week and make a Pareto chart.

Standard to meet. Complete the tally, name the biggest cause, and plan one fix with a date.

Know the cost of one job before you set the price. Include materials, labour, energy, transport, licence share, waste and a safety margin.

• Cost per job = total cost divided by jobs sold (not made).
• Margin = (price minus cost) divided by price.
• Break-even units = fixed costs divided by gain per unit.
• Test the price with two users and write down the answer.

Activity. Build the cost sheet with AED on every line and have your mentor check it.

Standard to meet. Check that no cost is missing, and calculate the margin twice by different routes.

Customers return when you keep promises. Promise only what your workflow can deliver.

• Write a one-page offer: what is included, what is not, price, time, how you fix mistakes.
• Write a short script for the first call or visit.
• Agree dates in writing; confirm each change.
• Handle a complaint in four steps: listen, apologise for the impact, fix, record what changed.

Activity. Present the offer to two users and note changes.

Standard to meet. Write an offer with scope, price, time and a fix rule, and collect comments from two users.

Small, real and recorded. Change one thing at a time and learn quickly.

• Keep a daily log: date, units, cost, delays, defects, safety notes.
• Hold a 15-minute review each week with your mentor.
• Write down every complaint and what you changed.
• Take photos only where allowed and never of people without consent.

Activity. Complete 30 days of the log and four weekly reviews.

Standard to meet. Log 30 days, give each defect a cause, and keep weekly notes.

A decision beats a feeling. Compare plan with result and choose to scale, change or stop.

• Make a before and after table: cost per unit, defects, delays, repeat users.
• Write three lessons.
• Decide scale, change or stop, with the numbers behind it.
• Give two peers one strength and one fix each.

Activity. Present to a review room and collect one written comment from a user.

Standard to meet. Justify the decision with numbers, and give two peer reviews.

Clear scope and price build trust.

• Visit or request photos.
• List tasks, parts and time.
• Quote with a validity date.
• Confirm access and parking.

Activity. Quote five sample jobs.

Standard to meet. Show scope, parts and time.

Safe tools and tidy finishing earn repeat calls.

• Switch off and lock isolation before work; leave wiring to a licensed electrician.
• Check tools and ladders.
• Test the finished job with the customer.
• Give a written note of the work done and any warranty you offer.

Activity. Write a pre-job safety check.

Standard to meet. Include an isolation step.

A good handyman knows the limit of the trade. Some jobs need a licensed specialist and doing them yourself risks people and property.

• Do not touch gas, fixed wiring beyond simple fittings, structural walls or anything that needs a permit.
• Stop at once if you find damp inside a wall, old asbestos-type board, or exposed live wires.
• Explain the finding to the client in plain words and in writing, and suggest who to call.
• Record what you saw with photos so you are not blamed later.

Activity. List ten jobs and mark each Do, Do with care, or Refer, giving a reason.

Standard to meet. Give every Refer item a reason, write the client note clearly and put the safety step first.

On the slide: L1 Basic · Handyman terms

Notes: Name isolation, a call-out fee and a warranty and say what each protects. Notes: use a tenant's flat and ask learners which term applies to a loose tap.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Shock, falls and licensed trades

Notes: Describe why electric shock and falls are the main hazards and why regulated electrical and gas work needs a licensed trade. Notes: show one safe and one unsafe ladder set-up; learners mark the fix.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Isolate and do a simple fix

Notes: Isolate power and complete one simple non-regulated job under a competent supervisor, never alone. Notes: check power is off and locked, the ladder is safe and the area is cleaned and tested.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Run a 30-day repair pilot

Notes: Take requests, quote, do, test and clean for a real or simulated customer and report jobs without a call-back. Notes: price at AED 260 per job against AED 150 cost, a gain of AED 110 or 42.3 per cent; write the warranty on every job.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Compare job types and decide

Notes: Compare job types by call-back rate and gain per job and decide to scale, change or stop. Notes: stop any job type that needs a licensed trade you do not hold.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Coach junior handymen

Notes: Set isolation, ladder and test rules and a weekly review for a small team. Notes: sample five job records for isolation, test and warranty.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Design the repair service system

Notes: Design a repair service with safety audits, licensed referral and a 12-month plan. Notes: at 80 jobs a month and AED 110 gain each, gross gain is AED 8,800; present one risk, one saving and the plan.