How Mr. Handyman of South Bend Grew From One Virtual Assistant to Six

At a glance: Mr. Handyman of Northern St. Joseph and Elkhart Counties, the Mr. Handyman franchise serving South Bend, Indiana, was losing leads because nobody had time to answer the phone. The business brought on one virtual assistant through Stellar Staff to handle inbound new client bookings. That team has since grown to six. In the video below, general manager Rob Bennett explains what changed.

Rob Bennett, general manager, Mr. Handyman, South Bend, Indiana. The full transcript is at the end of this page.

A locally owned handyman business that relies on phone bookings

Mr. Handyman is one of the home service brands in the Neighborly franchise family. The South Bend location operates as Mr. Handyman of Northern St. Joseph and Elkhart Counties and describes itself as locally owned and operated. Its residential work covers repairs, drywall and ceilings, remodeling, windows and doors, safety and mobility updates, flooring, painting, carpentry, plumbing, and lighting and electrical. On the commercial side, it lists work for healthcare facilities, hotels, restaurants, schools, municipal buildings, and apartment complexes. Its location page shows a 4.8 out of 5 rating from 1,220 customer reviews (checked October 25, 2026).

Phone calls are central to how customers contact the business. The location page leads with a phone number and a "Let Us Call You" request form. For a handyman company, answering a new customer's call is often the first step in the sales process.

What was going wrong before the first hire

Rob put it plainly: "Our AR was building up. We were losing leads, not closing them, being able to close them in the proper amount of time because we didn't have the manpower to answer the phones."

Rob describes two problems: missed sales opportunities and a growing accounts receivable (AR) balance. When office staff have to answer calls while handling other administrative work, callers may reach voicemail or wait for a callback. By the time someone calls back, the homeowner may have booked another company. Following up on unpaid invoices can also be delayed during busy periods.

Responding quickly to new inquiries matters for home service companies. Research published in Harvard Business Review on how quickly companies respond to inbound leads found that most companies are not responding nearly fast enough. A home service lead is often someone with a leaking faucet or a door that won't close. They tend to book with whoever answers.

The first hire: one person responsible for new customer bookings

The business started with one virtual assistant placed by Stellar Staff. According to Rob, "Cindy, our original hire, is handling all of our inbound new client bookings."

Assigning new customer bookings to one person gives office staff more time for other work. An assistant who handles these calls every day learns the services, the service area, and the available appointment times, so callers can get answers without waiting for a callback. Cindy works as a dedicated member of the South Bend team, not as a shared agent splitting time across many businesses. Other Mr. Handyman franchises have also described the value of dedicated assistants; see why Mr. Handyman franchises choose dedicated assistants over call centers.

From one virtual assistant to six

"We've grown from one VA to six," Rob says at the start of the video. The business continued adding remote staff after its first hire.

Rob discusses Cindy's inbound booking responsibilities but does not describe the other five roles. For other owners, a practical approach is to start with a clearly defined task, assess how one assistant handles it, and expand as the workload requires.

What changed, in Rob's words

"We were able to close our inbound leads a lot more quicker and more efficiently because we're answering the phone [when] they call in."

Answering new customers' calls gives the team a chance to book the work while the customer is still on the phone. Rob's advice to other owners considering the same move: "I would say give them a shot."

What other home service owners can take from South Bend

• Start with missed calls. If calls go unanswered during the workday, inbound booking is a priority because a missed call can mean losing a job to a competitor.
• Assign clear responsibility for new bookings. One person who handles all new client bookings learns the services and the calendar quickly. When everyone shares that responsibility, calls and follow-ups can be missed.
• Write down what the assistant can book and quote. Define the service area, job types, scheduling rules, and questions that require a technician's input. The owner sets these rules; the assistant follows them.
• Give office staff time for other work. When the phones are covered, the rest of the team can get back to tasks such as following up on unpaid invoices.
• Grow one role at a time. South Bend went from one assistant to six. Before adding another assistant, confirm that there is enough recurring work for the role.

If phone coverage is your bottleneck, see our remote receptionist and call center virtual assistant pages. For written support, see customer service virtual assistants.

How Stellar Staff places a team like this one

Stellar Staff recruits dedicated, full-time remote assistants, primarily from the Philippines. It reviews thousands of applicants a month and accepts the top 0.1%. Every candidate goes through a 6-step application and 6 individual tests, English verification (written and spoken), reference checks, an equipment check, professional interviews and skill assessments, internal QA, and background checks.

The client interviews 2 to 3 finalists and picks one. The search takes 5 to 10 business days. Stellar Staff handles recruiting, payroll, HR, tracking, and replacements, and the client directs the assistant's daily work. Plans start at $1,999 a month for 160 hours on Pro, or $2,999 a month on Executive. Both plans are month to month, with 14 days' notice to cancel. Replacements are free, forever, on managed plans.

To see what one full-time assistant would cost for your business, compare our plans or book a call to start a search.

Video transcript

Machine transcription of the video above, lightly edited for punctuation.

"And we've grown from one VA to six. My name is Rob Bennett. I'm the general manager at Mr. Handyman here in South Bend, Indiana. And now Cindy, our original hire, is handling all of our inbound new client bookings. Our AR was building up. We were losing leads, not closing them, being able to close them in the proper amount of time because we didn't have the manpower to answer the phones. We were able to close our, our inbound leads a lot more quicker and more efficiently because we're answering the phone they call in. I would say give them a shot."

This case study is based on a recorded video interview with Rob Bennett. Business details come from Mr. Handyman's South Bend location page, checked October 25, 2026. Results are described only as the client stated them; we have not added figures that were not in the interview. Stellar Staff pricing is current as of October 2026.