Had Five or Free come and install a hardwired EV charger and certify an old panel was…read moredecommissioned for insurance purposes. Both Elvin the estimator and Evan the installer did an excellent job. On time and the decommissioned panel letter was free (thanks Elvin!). The work was done really well, very clean install. Evan even swept the entire garage for me when he was done.

Here's a fun story:…read more On Sunday, May 24th, I replaced a lightbulb in a standing lamp in my bedroom and tried to turn it on. It didn't go on. I discovered that about 2/3 of my outlets and lights weren't working. I flipped switches on my electrical panel multiple times; power was not restored. I called Five or Free, went through a screening with an AI assistant, and got through to Chloe, a dispatcher/scheduler (i.e. not an electrician) clearly working from home, with a baby in the background. Chloe was sweet and helpful and got me an appointment on Tuesday, May 26th. I had to take the 2:00-4:00 slot (I work mornings), canceling a tutoring session to do so. This was my choice, of course, but I did want to get lights and internet working in my home. The electrician was a no-show on Tuesday. Soon after 4 PM (the outer end of the window), I called Chloe (again the AI rigmarole first); she apologized. She said that there'd been a miscommunication and that the electrician had gone to another job. I asked if he could come to me next -- despite it probably being outside of the electrician's working hours -- since it was Five or Free's mistake; she said no, contritely. She set up a visit for the next day. Electrician Tommy Wilson came on Wednesday, May 27th, checked the electrical panel, noticed that one breaker was loose, and said that he or another electrician would need to come on a different day and conduct a more involved inspection, probably going into the garage and checking out the panel therein. He did a write up of the issue and showed it to me (but didn't email it to me, as I later discovered). He said he'd contacted the scheduler and gotten me an appointment for Friday, May 29th, and that I'd need to pay $475 up front, which I reluctantly did. After the second inspection, Tommy explained, the electrician would give me an estimate -- in other words, the $475 was just the base fee; there could potentially be an additional charge depending on the nature of the problem and the scope of work required to repair it. I got stood up yet again on Friday the 29th and called another electrician, JC Electrical Repair Services. Juan Carlos (JC) squeezed me in on Saturday morning before his other appointments. He whooshed in, identified the problem (a standing lamp that needs to be retired), replaced the loose breaker, let me confirm that all lights and outlets were now working, gave me a safety recommendation (a space heater I'd been using was too powerful for my circuits and thus dangerous to use), and tightened all the screws on the electrical panel, noting that any electrician should do that during a visit regardless of the purpose of the visit. He did all of this over the course of about 25 minutes. Later on Saturday, Vincent from Five or Free called. (He had called a few days earlier to check in.) He apologized profusely, explaining that they were short-staffed and stretched thin. He mentioned that they'd hired an electrician who's in the military; this fellow had recently been called to active duty, leaving them an electrician short. I noted that I had actually missed out on income twice, canceling a tutoring session on Tuesday because I needed to book the 2PM-4PM window, then doing so again on Friday for the same reason, and was out $160 as a consequence. Vincent again apologized and said that my payment ($475) would be refunded, emphasising the need to wait 3-5 business days before the refund would go through. I explained that because the charge was still pending, I couldn't yet dispute it. (I will check my credit card activity every day until this is resolved.) Conclusion: Five or Free is a terribly-run company, understaffed and with too many parties attempting to coordinate with one another. It also hires less-than-competent electricians. JC Alameda Electrician Services, on the other hand, rocks. It's just one electrician, I think: Juan Carlos Curisinche Gonzales, 510 828-4993. Give him a call if you need an electrician in Alameda County.

Excellent service. Showed up on on-time (to the minute). Checked all work with me. Identified a…read moresafety hazard other electricians missed. Completed work in a thorough, clean job. Super experienced and knew all the mistakes the prior guys had made (stripped nuts, loose cables, you name it). This was a commercial job.

Our heat pump's breaker went out on a cold spring morning, sparks and smoke, very dramatic. We…read morecalled Williams Electric and within about two hours Geoff was at our house pulling the (disturbingly melted) offending breaker from the panel. He also checked connections on and tightened down all the other breakers on the panel, so we can be confident that there's no other problems lurking in that box. Thanks Geoff for the quick response and thorough work! Our house is warm and cozy again.

I recently hired Boyes Electric for two major projects at my home: replacing my subpanels last fall…read moreand, more recently, installing a new main electrical panel and a Level 2 EV charger. Both experiences were outstanding. From start to finish, their team demonstrated a high level of professionalism, expertise, and customer service. The technicians were extremely knowledgeable, courteous, and easy to work with. They took the time to answer questions, explain the work being performed, and ensure everything was completed correctly. What impressed me most was their responsiveness and attention to detail. Communication was prompt throughout the process, scheduling was straightforward, and the work was completed efficiently. The crew treated my home with respect, kept the work area clean, and thoroughly cleaned up when the job was finished. Their pricing was fair and reasonable, especially considering the quality of workmanship and service provided. It's becoming increasingly rare to find contractors who consistently deliver on all fronts, but Boyes Electric exceeded my expectations every time. I would not hesitate to use them again for future electrical projects and highly recommend them to anyone looking for a reliable, professional, and customer-focused electrical contractor. If you're looking for top-notch electrical work backed by excellent service, Boyes Electric is an easy five-star recommendation.

These guys did a fantastic job adding 4 light fixtures, 2 outdoor GFCI, wiring some outlets etc…read more While these are relatively simple job, retrofitting a century old house comes with a lot of caveats. From Sal coming to provide a quote to them managing Berkeley's permitting regime to making sure everything is done to the strict code, they did everything well with great communication and avoided delays for my plaster and paint crew to start on time. Would highly recommend this crew and would love to work with them in the future for any of our need.

We've used Sugi and his crew on 2 different projects, small and larger. Sugi was great in providing…read moreguidance to us to complete some parts of the work ourselves. When he and his crew took over they worked efficiently and kept us informed of what was going on as well as understanding our preferences when there were decisions to be made. The finished project met our expectations and has performed well with no problems since completion.

I had hired Kardon Electric to sort out a single electrical circuit issue and was impressed by…read moretheir professional work at a fair price. So, when I needed to upgrade the main panel from 100 amps to 200 amps, I contacted Sugi Kardon. A MUCH bigger job, I was extremely happy with the cost, scheduling, permitting, coordination with PG&E and the city. The crew was efficient, respectful, and the job easily passed city and PG&E inspections. I've added Kardon Electric to my contacts list and highly recommend them!

I must have done something right in life to have found Alley Electric…read more There is nothing like waking up with the sun shining and looking forward to a hot cup of coffee. Unfortunately that did not happen, as the electrical appliances in my kitchen had no power No hot coffee for me. Enter Alley Electric. The office was closed as this happened on a week-end. Their message said that they would contact me on Monday. They did. Julio came out to the house on Monday and after checking the circuit breaker box and doing some tests on the inside outlets, quickly solved the problem. Julio was pleasant, very professional and smart. The cost of his expertise was very reasonable and he could have found ways to increase the cost but he did not. Needless to say I am very impressed with Alley Electric and I do not impress easily. Alina, the woman who with whom I spoke, was as nice as she could be, and I appreciate this attitude, especially in today's world. Alley Electric is an independently owned business, and I firmly believe that we should support these businesses if they deserve to be supported, and this business definitely deserves it. They have glowing reviews from others too. Phone: 510-573-0427 Email: Alleyelectric@comcast.net

We had a lot of electrical work done at our house in Fremont, CA (Niles District). The house was…read morebuilt in the 1940s so we needed to increase the amps to the house as well as grounding all the outlets and adding GFCI to some of them. The workers were responsible and courteous and we are very pleased with the work.

After a tough start -- I had difficulty getting an appointment and Micah Electric's scheduler…read moredisappeared for a week -- co-owner Anoush contacted me by email and phone and apologized for the error on their end. They sent a friendly and capable electrician to install a new plug unit, and do a few small electrical jobs. The job took a few hours longer than they initially estimated, and to make up for the scheduling confusion they honored their original estimate and waived the costs from the extra work. It's an odd thing to say, but after a bad beginning Micah proved to be exceptionally considerate. I felt very well taken care of. For my future electric needs, it's going to be Micah Electric!

I'll be fair. This wasn't a quality issue with the work but a review for poor scheduling and…read morecommunication. I never received an estimate, and the scheduling process was incredibly frustrating. I reached out through Yelp, sent them my inspection report, then called and texted, and was eventually given a time for a phone call. That appointment came today and no showed. After I followed up by text, I was told, "10 more minutes." Well here, I'm twiddling my thumbs still after 30 minutes. I'm a patient person and understand busy schedules as I work in a service industry with emergencies, delays, and things that don't going according to plan. This, however, is just unprofessional and almost feels like they're trying to deter me away. Unfortunately, I can't recommend a business that doesn't respect its customers. Good luck.

We were having a solar specialist troubleshoot our solar inverter and discovered our main breaker…read moreto the utility pole was overheating and actually smoking! He recommended calling an electrician asap so of course I started calling electricians immediately. Esed responded to my message very quickly and came over within an hour to do the repair. On a holiday (Friday July 3)! I can't tell you how much I appreciated his efficiency and experience. I'm so glad we were able to get this fixed before the overheating caused a much more expensive repair. I now have a professional electrician I can call on next time we need assistance with our old home's electrics. Thank you Esed!

I called Ideal Electric to come out since our refrigerator wouldn't turn back on after the breaker…read morewas turned off and back on. He had me send a photo of the breaker and he walked me through getting it back on. So grateful he took the time to do this over the phone when he could have easily sent someone out and would have been charged to do something I could easily fix. I will definitely be using them in the future. Thank you!

Installed a new sub panel with minimal wall damage. Hardly needed to patch my plaster walls. Highly…read morerecommended!

Incredibly, they were a no-show twice in a row, with basically zero proactive communication. Avoid…read more First, they messaged they could do the job a day after initial contact (Wednesday), gave me a time they'd be there, then simply never showed up. After messaging them about it, they said they forgot to schedule the actual appointment (!). Next, they scheduled an appointment for Thursday, when they showed up said they couldn't do the job as they didn't bring enough time and need additional components. Left again, rescheduled to Monday (!). And, lo and behold, no-show again on Monday. After 45 mins, I called their office and they simply said something got in the way and they can't help it. Honestly shockingly bad. Can't rate their actual service as I've never received it, just empty promises.