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Home Projects the Easy Way
By Lynn Berardo

Twice a year, in spring and fall, my attention turns to home improvement and repair. Each time, I have to choose whether to do the job myself or hire a service professional. This spring, because of the long hours I've been working, I decided to hire a painter. I phoned one reference for the first prospective painter. He checked out great, so I hired him. He did not show up the first day he was supposed to. (I had taken time off work to let him into the house and get him started.) A day later--after he finally showed up and worked for a few hours--I let him go. He didn't prepare the surfaces the way he had described, and, worse, he painted the windows shut. With guests arriving, I hurriedly hired a second painter, who also proved to be a disaster. My houseguests stayed in a half-painted room. I missed time from work. And my paint job is still incomplete.

Had I known about ServiceMagic.com I probably could have avoided this home-improvement problem.

ServiceMagic, founded in 1998, harnesses the intuitive power of the Internet to create a successful match between consumer and contractor. An online interview helps the consumer outline the scope of the project and material options, and provides helpful tips on how to work with the service professional. The consumer is then provided with three interested and qualified service professionals. More than just connecting local service professionals and consumers, it matches the consumer with the ideal service professional. As a result, consumers get their jobs done right, and service professionals' businesses grow.

Currently ServiceMagic has the strongest list of service providers in these cities and states: Phoenix, San Antonio, St Louis, Seattle, Sacramento, Denver, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, Ohio and Washington, D.C. In many areas of the United States, the list of service providers is still slim or nonexistent. (Plans call for extensive service providers in over 40 cities by the close of 2000. ServiceMagic has formed some powerful partnerships and alliances that make the concept and company likely to succeed.) Whether or not you can use ServiceMagic in your city, it's still worth taking a trip to the Web site. It's full of free project-planning tips, design ideas and consumer guides. There are some worthwhile, quick-read articles, too.

Take a look at the site if you are planning any home improvement maintenance or repair project. After reading the mission statement and guiding principles of this company, I'm certain that my painter nightmares would never have occurred if I'd started my project by typing www.servicemagic.com

Service Magic Guiding Principles:

1.	Serve Our Customers - We seek all customer comments and complaints, and firmly believe that every interaction is an opportunity to create a customer for life. We listen, we care and we act to exceed their expectations and provide the best customer experience possible.
2.	Get It Done Through Teamwork - We believe the team is stronger than the individual. We rely on the collective talent and creativity of each team member and partner to continuously improve. We treat every team member with honesty, candor and respect. Most importantly, we celebrate our team victories and have fun every day.
3.	Innovate to Win - We must constantly reinvent ourselves and challenge assumptions that limit our opportunities. We strive to anticipate future customer needs and then we solve what may seem unsolvable. We are not afraid of taking risks and making mistakes because the knowledge and experience that is gained will fuel our future breakthrough innovations.
4.	Create Superior Value - We cherish our precious human and capital resources. We focus on doing the right work at the right time and wisely deploy our resources at all times. We are committed to creating superior value for all ServiceMagic stakeholders including our customers, partners, investors, employees and the communities in which we serve.

You'll find ServiceMagic.com permanently referenced in our LinkSource section of sites we recommend, under Home.

Lynn Berardo is the veteran of many remodeling and home-improvement projects.

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