Take those other reviews with a grain of salt. It is simple enough for a company to generate fake…read moreusers and reviews.
Barker & Son Electric is overpriced, rude, and unprofessional. At $140/hour with a two-hour ($280) minimum, and two electricians, you would think they could install a simple, lightweight chandelier in the minimum time. Instead, I was treated to a 4.5 hour ($660!!) bill, accidental disconnection of another circuit, failure to return my phone call afterwords, and a rude email. They did later reduce my charge to 3.5 hours, and I managed to reconnect my other circuit myself. But the high price and bad taste remain.
Other, more professional, companies have lower minimums, and will not disappoint you with false phone estimates.
Following is the last email I have sent to them.
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Barry,
I sent off a check, and you should receive it Monday or Tuesday.
I always wanted to pay for the service rendered, but first wanted my phone call returned, some help with the landscape lighting your company seemingly accidentally disconnected, and an explanation of why hooking up a chandelier took two electricians 4.5 hours when I was promised it would almost certainly be done in less than 2 hours. At this point, I have given up on having my phone calls returned. I managed to reconnect the landscape lighting myself, so because of this and your deduction the difference is not worth disputing.
However, you can count me as one extremely dissatisfied customer, who reserves the right to inform others about my poor customer experience.
Let me tell you why.
1) I do not know what your people told you, but I made it very clear that there was no existing chandelier, other than a ceiling fixture 10 feet away that could be tapped for power. No one was "led to believe" (as you accuse) otherwise. According to my notes and my clear recollection, it was acknowledged that a hole would be drilled, and a supporting brace may need to be installed - all before the phone estimate was offered. And this was read back to me, also very clearly. In fact, I was told that, barring any extenuating circumstances, the job would "almost certainly" take less than two hours. In fact, I was encouraged to offer some other tasks so as not to waste the two-hour minimum.
2) The trade-off between my patching, and being billed $140/hour, was alluded to on-site, and I agreed to do any painting and patching myself. I can do that for free, and already had the materials to do so. Further, there was never any question of opening up the ceiling, no matter what course of action was taken.
3) Your employees left my landscape lighting disconnected, and you never even responded to this point.
4) You never returned my call which I believe I placed to your associate, a good humored call during which I was promised I would get a call back.
5) I never collected the registered mail because a) I was told I would get a call back shortly to clear everything up, b) I work long hours far from my post office, and it was therefore rather difficult to pick up the letter, and c) I was trying to avoid going down a litigious path. It would have been far easier for you to pick up the phone. So telling me that I did not "bother" to pick up the letter is a bit unfair.
6) I have seen the wiring in situ, and you have not. You never bothered to call me. Therefore, the only information you have about the job was your employees' say so, which it seems I myself am disputing. It simply beggars belief that this job should have taken 4.5 hours, or 3.5 hours for that matter. Two hours for two men at $140/hour for a total of $280, plus $30 for materials, would have been generous for this job. But at least at THAT price point I would not be so upset.
7) My earlier email was not rude or personally attacking, but simply laid out my dissatisfaction. A good businessperson should be thankful for customer feedback, positive or negative, and you should not respond "in kind" as if you were having a personal discussion.
All and all, I am very unhappy with the high cost of this job, and your company's poor customer service and rudeness.
I do not need a reply at this point, and do not expect or even want one.
Dan
