Contractors have a way of giving great deals to customers while they cheat themselves.

Among the many hassles of uprooting one's residence is the need to establish new business relationships with all the people you rely on to keep up the household. When we moved last fall, we regretted leaving behind the plumbing, electrical and automotive repair firms that had earned our confidence over the 16 years we lived in our old community. First, we had to pass through a period of trial and error dealing with businesses we learned the hard way never to patronize again. In our new community, we're back to that uncomfortable stage.

So it was with a sense of dread that I went searching for an electrical contractor last spring to install three ceiling fans and an upgraded light fixture we had purchased for the new condo we've called home since last October. Sorry, all you folks who pay thousands of dollars a month for advertising, but I don't play Yellow Pages roulette. That's the last place I would go shopping for a home service firm. There's no way to separate the wheat from the chaff. Instead, I asked a plumbing contractor friend for a recommendation.