Interview Leroy

Leroy lost his job due to pandemic

Leroy (23) lost his job due to the pandemic, and became a handyman via Zoofy
Leroy Rangrek worked as a freelancer in the hospitality industry in Amsterdam. When we had to close for the first time in March 2020, there was a period of great uncertainty. Luckily, Leroy was soon able to find work at Zoofy, where he started working as a handyman and has been doing so for almost 2 years now. He now earns three times as much as he did before the pandemic in the catering industry. He told us his story of how his career took a positive turn during the corona crisis.

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It started with a simple ad on Instagram. "I was looking for a lot of handyman jobs around that time, so I think that's why I got this ad," Leroy tells us. "Zoofy was looking for students who wanted to do odd jobs for €17.50 an hour, which was very interesting for me." Leroy comes from a family of architects and came into contact with technology from an early age. "Me and my brother are both very handy, it runs in the family." Leroy has now been working through Zoofy for almost two years.

Solving puzzles

Leroy Ranglek learned the tricks of the trade by doing, he is now also studying mechanical engineering at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. In the beginning he mainly assembled IKEA furniture, nowadays he does many different jobs. His repertoire includes making door handles, locks and cabinets, or even plumbing jobs. "I do what I think I can do at the time or what I like. Sometimes I find out on the spot that I can't do it after all. Then I just tell the customer honestly and the job can be opened up again for another handyman to take up."

What Leroy likes about the handyman work? "I see it as lego. IKEA is really like lego. And with other jobs I see it as a puzzle you have to solve." As such, he is becoming more and more deft at solving these puzzles. "The other day I learned how to chisel. I had never done it before, but it turned out to be quite easy. That's a new kind of job I can take on," Leroy says.

New era
For Leroy, a new era has begun in his life. Soon he will also start an internship for his studies and in addition he will continue to do odd jobs via Zoofy: "There is always work, the app works great and the communication with Zoofy is smooth. So I see no reason to stop." Whether he will return to the hospitality industry now that it is open again? "Maybe occasionally behind the bar, but only if I really like it. I don't have to do it for the money, because I make a very good living as a handyman now." He says 

His tip for others who want to become handymen is: "Take your time with each job in the beginning and then see how you can work faster and more efficiently. Read the manual slowly and keep it with you, after a while you will know it by heart. In the beginning it took me up to 13 hours to build a walk-in wardrobe, now I can do it in 5 or 6 hours."

10+ new handymen start every week
Leroy's story has not gone unnoticed among students. With odd jobs such as assembling IKEA furniture, Zoofy has tapped into a new source of income for students. Just like bicycle deliveries for restaurants and supermarkets, you can decide for yourself when and how much you work, only it pays better. The first phase of the roll-out in Amsterdam is now in full swing. Soon, new cities such as Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven will follow.