Handy Scandy has got you covered!
Hi, all SBC members!
Björn and Tom at Handy Scandy.
I'm Björn Fagerlind, founder and owner of Handy Scandy here in Dubai!
My journey started when moving to Dubai with my family 3 years ago, with the promise of a job in IT, something I've done for the past 25 years. My first experience in this region was unfortunately not a positive one though, as the job never came through and I ended up unemployed. After months of searching, I gave up looking for new positions and took on a handyman project through our facebook community site. And with that started the Handy Scandy journey! I have always had an interest in “Do-It-Yourself” and, as a Swede, you always do it yourself right?
I simply started up in my own private car, after school drop offs, by hanging picture frames and curtains for families in the immediate area. Through word of mouth and British Mums Dubai I quickly got new customers! In What’s on Dubai, Handy Scandy was mentioned as one of the top 10 best things with Dubai, which of course, was extremely surprising and fun!
Furthermore, they wrote about Handy Scandy in Good magazine and I began to understand the great need for a handyman whom westerners can communicate with, to arrive on time, who understands customer needs and hopefully have an eye for quality and details. By the end of 2017 I had too many job requests and realized the high potential but lack of resources.
Expansion was inevitable
In January 2018 I ran into Tom, a Dutchman in the same position as me, but living in Abu Dhabi. Tom has a background in lighting design and electrical work. We talked and realized that merging our companies would be a good idea. Said and done, from March 2018 we were one and chose to keep the Handy Scandy brand! Since March, we have grown from a two-man company with two cars and no office, to employing more than 20 people, our own warehouse and office in Al Barsha South. We have seven cars on the field - soon with Handy Scandy branding! To date, we have made thousands of customers happy and each morning emphasizing to the team about the importance of quality, be on time, be open to customers’ wishes and demands, but also to say no if the task cannot be solved. Too often you've probably heard "Yes sir, no problem", which in our company means we can solve the problem and actually have the know-how to do it.
We now have everything from the "usual handyman”, still hanging picture frames, curtains, lamps, etc. But we also have a team of quality painters who puts up wallpaper. In this area we are hired by a number of interior designers and will also be contracted as experts in a future venture in this area. This I will be happy to tell you more about in the future! We also have electricians, plumbers and a fully equipped AC teams. We do bathroom and kitchen renovations so please feel free to contact us for requests of larger projects as well! For example, we have just completed a project in Abu Dhabi with a total of 300 sqm composite decking so we can do everything outside, except pool and astro turf, but can of course work with external partners in those areas too.
As a SBC member, you have 20 % on the hourly rate in September on handyman bookings! Mention "SBC" when booking on 800-SCANDY or via Facebook Handyscandydubai. Normal price AED 250 per hour, but SBC members are paying only 200! Our team is always two people and the price includes the full team of course!
Please feel free to contact me directly for questions or feedback!
bjorn@handyscandy.com or 0521675462
