Document text
This man offers ho-ho-help Carl Stufflet takes the fear out of the dreaded `Some Assembly Required' By MARK FREEMAN Can't read directions for putting together a bike, you say? Does Tab A never seem to fit into Slot B for you? Can't tell a Phillips screwdriver from the on-the-rocks version? Fear not -- for there is hope for fumble-fingered fellows who fret each Christmas season when they see the three most worrisome words ever printed on a box: "Some Assembly Required." Carl Stufflet, of Eagle Point, is the elf on wheels who can get your Christmas presents assembled without the kids upstairs hearing some pretty colorful language from frustrated Santas who sound awfully like moms and dads way out of their mechanical elements. Stufflet is the owner-operator of a unique handyman business called "Some Assembly Required," and that's exactly what he does. Be it a big barbecue, stringing all those Christmas lights without short-circuiting the neighborhood, or transforming four boxes of wood and mirrors into an 8-foot entertainment armoire, Stufflet can get the job done -- and without a bag of extra parts. "A lot of folks get intimidated when they open up a box and see 400 pieces of things they've never seen before," says Stufflet, 38. "Those who have heard of me, call me." Stufflet charges $15 an hour, during which time he'll knock out a couple of bicycles and even get that new Easy Glider put together. He also does massive Christmas light displays, as well as toys ranging from train sets to swing sets. But the ponytailed elf with a knack for following directions -- "mostly it's deciphering the directions," he says -- normally doesn't get too busy until Dec. 26. "After Christmas is when I get all these calls from people saying, `I bought this thing for my husband or wife and we can't put the thing together,"' Stufflet says. "Remember, it's always easier if I start from square one," he says. "Or, I'm busy undoing what the customer has already done." Many of Stufflet's Rogue Valley customers have hired him to arrange and hang their outside Christmas light displays. Stufflet spent more than 70 hours stringing the 50,000-odd lights on Kay Lund's East Medford home, to Lund's rave reviews. "You look at this place at night, and it's absolutely gorgeous," Lund says. "And he comes by every night to check on it. "There's no way I'd go up there and do it," Lund says. No one aspires to be a fix-it man, and Stufflet is no exception. But after 16 years as a heating and air-conditioning technician, he was looking for a change last year. A People Magazine story about two guys who assemble stuff for customers in Seattle caught Stufflet's eye. He checked and found no such businesses advertised in the area. He then randomly telephoned 200 people to ask if they would be interested in such a service, and 80 percent said yes, Stufflet says -- and "Some Assembly Required" was born. He doesn't advertise, relying mostly on word of mouth and people who telephone his answering machine at 830-8850. "Most of the time," he says, "I'm sitting around thinking, man, I hope the phone rings." Right about now, the most rings come from people who need their Christmas lights installed. But soon, it will be people frustrated that Santa didn't put their presents together. The hardest items to assemble? "Barbecue grills," he says. "They have so many pieces. One barbecue I did had 42 pieces, just for the wheels and tires." The easiest? Probably bicycles. "I can usually knock them out in 15-20 minutes." The weirdest? "I haven't done anything too weird," he says. "Not yet." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA