Maintenance Man Out to Protect Consumers, Promote Reliable Contractors

While the economy continues to stall, former Manchester resident Brian Marois and his business Maintenance Man are thriving thanks to a recipe that includes a heavy dose of quality assurance.

Maintenance Man is a network of Connecticut contractors – ranging from plumbers to electricians to roofers and general contractors – Marois has compiled and prescreened for reliability and a host of other factors.

The business provides homeowners and business owners free
access to its network of professional contractors, who have been vetted for adequate licensing, insurance, business filing and criminal background checks, including checking them against the registry of sex offenders.

“It is only after successfully passing this battery of thorough investigation that these contractors receive Maintenance Man’s stamp of approval,” observed Marois.

One of Marois’ goals is to protect consumers from questionable contractors. “My network is more designed to protect homeowners
and business owners from the unreliable contractors that screw up a project or runaway with half the customers’ money,” explained Marois, a 2007 Cheney Tech graduate who was born and raised in Manchester and currently lives in East Hartford.

“I’m sure you’ve heard a million horror stories …contractors don’t have a good reputation,” he said.

Marois added that he wants to “really promote the contractors who are professional, who do a great job; who aren’t there to screw anybody over.” These are contractors who “just take care of people and do a good job.”

Maintenance Man has worked with over 40 service companies since the business started in April 2010, but according to Marois, “the more
contractors, the better. It’s never fun turning down business, but
unfortunately there aren’t always enough contractors in the network to do all the work. It would be great to have another 20 to 30 contractors to refer this business to.”

Marois refers customers to a wide variety of professionals. “You
name it,” he said.  “Everything from basement waterproofing to roofers, general contractors, electricians, plumbers, windows, siding, roofing, carpeting, tile, painting.”

After he graduated from Cheney, Marois was an electrical apprentice, but after a few years, his boss had to let him go because of the
slumping economy; soon after, he began Maintenance Man.

According to Marois, Maintenance Man has been helping contractors stay in business during these tough economic times.

“Maintenance Man has been helping professional contractors stay in business, and for some, grow their business during these difficult
economic downturns by providing them with the necessary tools to thrive: quality leads, increased visibility via internet marketing and social media, and providing them with third party credibility.”

Customers have obviously been pleased with Maintenance Man’s
work including Sarah Leonard, Director of the Sylvan Learning Center in West Hartford. “Maintenance Man has helped us with little projects as well as big projects and in a timely fashion,” she said in an interview posted on YouTube. “Our experience has been great… [Marois has] a whole line of contractors behind him that are trustworthy, reliable.”

Leonard added that the best part about Maintenance Man is “the
overall reliability, the trustworthiness.”

For more information on Maintenance Man, you can check out the company's website or Facebook page.