Locally Owned and Operated In 2007 Handyman Matters of Lancaster York was opened by Doug Chew, whose desire to open and operate his own business led him to the Handyman Matters Franchise Family. Doug has made it his personal goal to help change the face of the handyman industry "One Customer at a Time." Background of Doug Chew Doug graduated from the Delaware School of Trades in Philadelphia in the early 1980?s and immediately entered the building industry, working for custom home builders in Chester County, PA. Doug gained several years' experiences in Houston, TX with General Homes as a self-employed framing and finish carpenter, and worked in several fields, including Medical Device Manufacturing and Microchips Production, until returning to college to complete a 2-year business program at Berks Technical School. After graduating from business school, Doug took a management position with Lowe's Home Improvement which started the construction juices flowing again.

He went on to purchase Handyman Matters of Lancaster York in 2007 and the rest, you may say, is HISTORY!!SEATTLE — Anyone who has gone through a home improvement project knows what a hassle it can be to find a trusted professional to do electrical, plumbing and other work. business for sale lavalThe big retailer Lowe’s is backing a website that it believes can make the process better for its customers.cheap handyman in singapore , that has come up with a novel method for recommending home improvement professionals, one that the start-up’s executives say is resistant to the kind of manipulation that occurs on other review sites. cheap handyman in singaporeLowe’s employees in 139 stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and the Seattle area have begun using Porch to find contractors, handymen and other professionals for shoppers.business for sale ringwood north

The retailer has also invested an undisclosed amount in Porch, according to Jay Rebello, vice president of new business development and corporate innovation at Lowe’s. There are a lot of sites that already let people review the services of home improvement professionals, including Angie’s List, Yelp and Houzz. handyman services southern nhAlthough various sites have different methods for combating inauthentic customer reviews, such reviews remain a problem across the web.handyman services nj “Review sites are gamed so often,” Matt Ehrlichman, the chief executive of Porch, said in an interview.handyman service victoria Porch has not yet proved that its site can completely avoid the same kind of gaming.

There are some interesting twists in the method it uses for its recommendations, however. In addition to data provided by professionals and their clients about home projects they have worked on, Porch has compiled project data from city permitting departments, suppliers of materials used in those projects and other sources. If public records show that a client has repeatedly hired an electrician, for example, that is a good indication that the client is pleased with the electrician’s work, in the view of Porch. The company’s algorithm considers these and other factors in providing visitors to its site a list of recommended home improvement professionals in their area. For now, Porch allows clients to endorse a professional in a manner similar to how LinkedIn allows people to endorse others’ job skills. Professionals cannot yet receive negative reviews on Porch, which will have to change if the site is to provide a complete picture of the work they perform. Mr. Ehrlichman said the ability to leave negative reviews will soon be available at the site.

Mr. Rebello, the Lowe’s executive, said the retailer has not been able to steer customers to professionals outside a limited set of projects, all of them relatively narrow in scope and with predictable costs — like the installation of carpets and ceiling fans. Porch will give Lowe’s a way to help customers find repair professionals for ventilation systems, electricians for major wiring projects and handymen who can tackle a variety of jobs. “We view this relationship with Porch as a way to complete that service experience,” Mr. Rebello said.Venture capitalists are backing technology companies that aim to bring transparent pricing to home improvements and reduce the risk of hiring a contractor.Venture capitalists are backing technology companies that aim to bring transparent pricing to home improvements and reduce the risk of hiring a contractor. Inc., Google Inc. and a slew of startups seeking ways to make money from the $300 billion home-improvement market., which will help a Facebook Messenger user find a qualified contractor, get an instant quote and schedule an appointment within minutes on home projects from mounting a big-screen television to painting a room.

, which operates in more than 5,500 U.S. cities, also unveiled on Wednesday a similar text-messaging service separate from Facebook.The arrangement shows how Facebook is trying to attract and keep new users by expanding its messaging app for communication between businesses and customers. Messenger, which boasts 700 million monthly users, is also used by e-commerce sites Zulily, Everlane and Fancy. More than 90 percent of the social network’s $12.5 billion in annual revenue last year was generated by advertising.However, the company is mimicking Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat, which combines a smartphone instant messenger and digital wallet that can be used for e-commerce. Facebook in March announced it would let users make debit card payments to one another through Messenger.The social network’s partnership is also the latest example of the technology rush into the home improvements market, seen as the next frontier in the on-demand economy that gave rise to ride-hailing service Uber Technologies Inc. and room-booking service Airbnb Inc."

"That’s where this is headed, being able to get anything you need through your mobile phone."Home improvement spending will hit $318 billion in 2015, an increase of 4.4 percent from the previous year, according to the Home Improvement Research Institute in Tampa, Florida. , up from just 15 percent two years ago, said Pam Heidel, managing director of the institute."Homeowners are more tech savvy and they do their research online," she said. "These services get them connected." Venture capitalists are backing technology companies that aim to bring transparent pricing to home improvements and reduce the risk of hiring a contractor. The new services take commissions on each job, challenging the business model of Angie’s List Inc., which charges consumers for access to reviews and also sells advertising. ’s investors include Silicon Valley firm Andreessen Horowitz and Seattle’s Madrona Venture Group. , a Seattle home improvement startup that is partnering with Lowe’s Cos., has raised about $100 million the past two years, including a January round led by Valor Equity Partners in Chicago.