How repairs are becoming a market niche and private companies are facing new competition

The light bulb is broken, the washing machine is leaking, the roller shutter is stuck – in short: a handyman is needed. Small repair jobs are annoying because you could often do them yourself, but usually you don't have the time, physical fitness or expertise. You need someone specialised, but time and again private individuals complain that it is difficult to find an expert, especially for trivial jobs. Whether this is purely a matter of feeling or actual reality cannot be verified, but the topic of small repairs and maintenance is being addressed in many places.

Nancy Folschette runs the family business N.Folschette, which has always focussed on repair work. "My father used to be a 'Dépanneur' at Bosch and eventually set up his own business. Repairs are the origin of our company, so to speak, and we still have two and a half employees who only take care of them, " explains the operations manager. According to the motto "Of course we'll come", customer service is the top priority at N.Folschette, because for the boss "this is part of our service. We don't do anything for free, because every job has its price, but the customer pays for it, so we sometimes repair a lamp or a tap".

A new field of activity

Folschette distinguishes between two areas: small repairs, as described above, and more specific repairs to household appliances, which are becoming increasingly complex over time. "With modern appliances, you almost always have to connect a laptop to read the error message, and you need qualified tradespeople to do this, and there is a shortage of them throughout the sector." Six to eight repair jobs a day are carried out by the family business's employees, most of which involve maintenance or repairs to washing machines, dryers and the like, but also the odd socket that has come loose. "The price is calculated by the minute, so to speak, and is of course slightly higher than for other services, but the expertise and working hours of our people also have to be paid for, " says Folschette.

The fact that there is a great demand for repair work of all kinds is also felt by service providers who do not actually work in the trades at all. Since 2024, the company Servicekëscht has been taking care of everything that falls under the heading of DIY and small home repairs. The company was born out of the work of the Verbandskëscht carers, who repeatedly noticed other needs during their rounds with elderly, sick or care-dependent patients. "The aim of Verbandskëscht is to enable people to live at home for as long as possible, and it's not enough to look after the person – the home needs to be looked after too, " explains Frank Schaeffer, Head of General Services at Verbandskëscht.