I had forgotten that H’s employer now offers a new (I think it’s new) concierge service for employees. The service a help you find and obtain home services, such as plumber or landscaper. They will also research major purchases for you, such as a buying a computer or car; will help with travel and leisure planning, buying birthday and anniversary presents and sending flowers; they include other things like party planning or dining suggestions, and say they can help with everyday tasks, such as scheduling an appt. with a mechanic or house cleaner.
I think one of my biggest frustrations in dealing with hiring out for services is the call and request services, then wait for them to call you back. I think a few years ago I posted about how terrible people are about calling back when you’re calling for a service. I suspect this place takes care of making arrangements so you don’t have to wonder when someone is going to call you back or not. I might start giving it a try. The services are available 24/7. It’s an attempt of the employer to help employees with work/life efficiency, etc. I’m guessing the people and companies they use are pretty-well vetted, which would be nice.
H is not terribly handy so we hire out most repairs. I had a cleaning person when I worked, but now do that myself. I used to mow the lawn, which I enjoyed, but the John Deere tractor was replaced with a zero turn and I have no clue how to run those things. They tell me it’s like playing a video game but it’s a bit of a problem when one has never really played those games. Luckily a friend is a master mechanic so with 5 cars around here, I can call him when there is an issue. Another friend is a contractor and does all repairs on our house and cottage. Problem with him right now is he was hired by a company full time and coaches a high school sport. My living room is currently waiting for him to put a second coat of red paint on its walls. I think that’s not happening until his high school sport is over:(
Next week power washers are coming to clean the house which is done every 2-3 years.
I do get H to clean my outside windows. He knows that if he doesn’t the window cleaners will come and charge $400 to do it! He’s not afraid of heights so going up three stories to clean windows on the backside of the house doesn’t bother him. Scares me just thinking about it!
My hubby thinks he’s handy, he really isn’t. We have switches now that are upside down, like my gas fireplace you have to turn off to turn it on.
We have a weekly cleaning person - my most favorite indulgence.
We finished our basement and had a contractor handle it all. It’s gotten to the point where there is hardly a day someone isn’t swinging by to fix something - the pool company, the lawn service - though hubby mows the yard, we hire painters, we have a boat “guy”, an electrician and a plumber on speed dial.
The car dealer calls when our cars need service and comes and picks them up and leaves us loaners.
We have a house sitter when we go on vacation. We hire a driver to take us to the airport.
HVAC company comes 2 x a year.
When I first got divorced I worried about all the stuff my ex used to do around the house/apartment, I then quickly figured out I could pay to get a lot of those things done without nagging. Few weeks ago, a closet door fell off. It was the door I asked the ex to fix numerous times before. I called the apartment handyman to fix it. He spent half an hour on it. When he was done, it was better than new. I tipped him for the work, and both of us were happy. While he was in the apartment, he changed all of my light bulbs that I couldn’t reach.
My hired services have all been listed by others already, but the ones I find most amusing are the mobile dog groomers and the services that pick up dog poop from the lawn. (We have options for both in town.) We do not have a dog but I smile when I see these vans in town. I am guessing that the mobile groomer is a great thing for dogs who are nervous about going out to be groomed?
Brooks Brothers no-iron dress shirts eliminated a lot of the dry cleaning, which had been picked up and delivered.
The across-the-street neighbors installed a heated driveway. Their drive is long and very steep so it was a worthwhile investment for them, especially this past winter.
We use a mobile groomer. It was actually a bit less money than any other groomer and she comes to the house! Our dog doesn’t like it but he’s in and out pretty quickly so it’s better for him too.