DIY

We all like the idea of doing it ourselves to save a little and the satisfaction of having produced something with our own hands.

The important thing with DIY is knowing your limits.

I am sure we have all tried to do something that, on paper, or in the nicely clean instruction manual, looks fairly simple but has ended up in a mire of loose ends and no idea where the pile of nuts and bolts you have left over should have gone.

That’s the time to call someone who actually knows what they are doing. The problem is that you’ve already made such a hash of things it is likely to cost more than had you got them out in the first place.

Having said that given sufficient time and funds I am sure you’d be able to put right what you had done yourself, but we don’t always have that luxury.

The problem then comes in knowing who to call to fix things. The days of thumbing through the phone book are gone and we now all leap for the internet (assuming it’s not the PC that you tried to fix) or, and probably the best solution, is to ask around for recommendation.

Word of mouth is the best recommendation a business can have, treating your customers well and delivering a good service are remembered but so are those who don’t provide a good service.

A business can advertise in all the right places and have as many flashy web sites as they can afford, but when it comes down to it word of mouth can cut through any gloss by giving  the true feelings of your customer.

A testimonial counts for more than any words you can put together yourself, build these and encourage customers to tell you what they think.