Meet Yelp's Home Service Heroes: John The Exterminator, Hristo The Roofer And Ed The Handyman

If you’re battling a serious pasta craving, chances are high that Yelp can help you find a reliable Italian restaurant. Going on a job interview and in dire need of a manicure? Yelp has got nail salons that you can call in a bind. And if you need to find an auto body shop stat, Yelp has got you covered.

What you may not know is that Yelp can find you a hero to save the day if you need something fixed around the house. Plumbers, roofers, electricians, contractors, locksmiths, exterminators and movers are just a few of the many home service businesses found on Yelp. Features like Request a Quote, Service Areas, business hours and Service Offerings make Yelp a one stop shop if you need help fast.

“’A new roof is not like new clothes. When you need it you need it now.”’ -Hristo Kyurkchiev, Boston Gutters

In other words, sometimes these home service emergencies just can’t wait. Luckily, Yelp is here to help. We’ve searched near and far to find home service heroes who have come to the rescue when Yelpers were in a time of need.

Bed bugs are a serious situation that leave people panicked. Finding trustworthy help is top priority and being able to reference Yelp reviews can make the process easier. John, owner of B&B Pest Control and Johnny B’s Pest Control in Boston, knows that Yelp reviews are very important for his customers.

“The best reviews are the ones that speak to how our company is always very understanding with questions and concerns. In pest control people can get very frightened and worried. Many times other companies take this fear and capitalize on it, charging large amounts of money to solve the issue. On top of that, many companies rush these people with questions off the phone. We hear this all the time. My office staff is very courteous and always willing to stay on the line to answer any questions. We also love the reviews that point out how I might come out personally or how I followed up with them personally. It shows that I take every single customer seriously and want to help them. Which is very true. We treat our biggest and smallest customers the same. The pay us for a service and they expect a professional job done quickly and fairly priced, and we give them that. I love the reviews that mention they reached out to many other companies and nobody got back to them. We don’t use any answering services, either. I have staff, including myself, readily available at least 12 hours per day to take calls, answer Yelp messages or reply to emails. People love how we return messages late at night or on the weekends. That really separates us.”

While many save-the-day stories come from businesses like locksmiths, exterminators and movers, let’s not overlook the fact that every home service business owner is a hero. Hristo, who owns Boston Gutters, had an extra busy season because of all of the nor’easters that hit New England.

“A few weeks ago the weather in Boston was terrible. The wind blew the shingles off of several houses. Watertown was on the front page of the paper because of how bad the electrical failures were. I had a customer who found me on Yelp and emailed me to come right away. Their shingles blew off and water was seeping into the house. Water was also leaking into their children’s rooms and they were very worried about moisture and damage. I was able to come with my guys and fix it right away. I was able to help 25 customers during that storm. We service a large area around Boston and most of our customers find us from Yelp. When a customer comes to Yelp they almost always know exactly what they want, and it’s usually a very high quality lead for us. Usually when people need us urgently it’s because their roof or gutter is leaking. It’s bad to have water in the house, so something like that needs to be fixed immediately… Especially in Massachusetts where we deal with terrible winters.”

Ed owns Porter Square Handyman in Boston, and while he usually doesn’t deal with any urgent emergencies, he does swoop in and save the day for customers who thought they had a home service project on lock.

“The homeowner was trying to remove some reclaimed wood from a wall in order to paint it. He started peeling the boards away and found out they were installed with a really strong adhesive that was taking the wall-board down with it. I think he realized the project was a bit over his head, found me on Yelp and inquired if I could come help him out. It turned out the wall repairs were even more extensive than I anticipated, but we were able to agree on a good solution and I think he was happy with the end result. This kind of situation is not that unusual — someone attempts a DIY project, bumps into an unexpected challenge, and then seeks help from a professional. I’m pretty sympathetic to homeowners in these situations because I know projects are generally not nearly as straightforward and quick as they may seem from the outset. A pro has a much bigger bag of tricks to handle unexpected challenges — plus A LOT more tools, and the skill to use them. If I’m too busy at the time to come and help someone in a DIY bind, then I’m usually happy to offer guidance where I can.”

Every day Yelp helps people make decisions on where to spend their money. And while finding a solid happy hour spot or a new yoga studio is helpful there is nothing more important than taking care of the place that you call home. Next time you are in need of a home service hero don’t forget that help is just one Yelp search away.

Meet Yelp’s Home Service Heroes: John The Exterminator, Hristo The Roofer And Ed The Handyman

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