Let me start my review by saying that ultimately, I want to support small, local businesses,…read morebecause they are part of what makes a community great to live in. To that end, I feel that everyone should know that Carle Place Electric is not doing right by their customers. Maybe it will help this business improve their practices and better serve their community.
I needed electrical work done at my house. I wanted to install 2 electrical outlets at the exterior of the house, along with this, I wanted a flood light installed.
The first problem was getting hold of someone to provide a quote for the scope of work. Every time I would call, someone new would pick up the phone, and then we would have to play phone tag for a little bit until we eventually got to my file. Okay, this is normal, I don't expect small businesses to be super organized but it was still not a great experience to start.
Eventually, the technician came on the day of the install. Mind you, I don't think the business retains any in house electricians - they're just the middle man between the customer and the actual technician.
The man did his job and I paid Carle Place Electric $750 for the work. I observed that the quality of the work was lacking, but I had the end result I wanted, so I overlooked it at the time. What do I mean by lacking?
- The electrician needed to drill holes to run electrical cables. They left the workspace dirty with wood scraps. Minor issue, but it just highlights the commitment to quality, or lack thereof.
- The electrician needed to set up a mounting place for the flood light, and engineered a hack job from plastic parts he had laying in his truck. It did the job, but again, highlighting a certain lack of quality.
- In general, there were loose pieces of wire insulation, fasteners, and other junk that resulted from the job that he just left behind, that I had to clean up. It just seemed really unprofessional to me.
The other issues did not manifest right away.
- The flood light was not properly installed / configured. First issue was that it was installed upside down, causing the motion sensor to trip way more than normal. There was NO work done to set up the sensor for a designated activity zone - even the trees rustling in the distance would cause it to turn on. I had to review the instruction manual and figure out how to fix this myself.
- The GFCI outlets installed are not the weather resistant type, even though the manufacturer, Leviton, explicitly has warnings all over the device that outlets installed in wet and damp conditions MUST BE weather resistant, and should be installed with proper protection against the elements, including the proper outlet box and weather stripping.
To me, this is the mark of an amateur, not a professional. It was a poor job done and I could not adequately assess until after I myself had to go and inspect every aspect of the job. So, what it tells me is that I can't trust the business to do their job. So I don't feel they really deserved the $750 service fee.
We recently had a period of heavy rainfall and it caused the outlet to fault. I could tell because it kept beeping, and no attempt to use the RESET function worked. I desperately needed someone to alleviate the situation. I called Carle Place Electric. The first thing they said, is that the install was done in August, and my 1 week warranty period had elapsed. Have you ever heard of a more laughable warranty period? As if 1 week is enough time to determine issues with the work. Regardless, I was told that the technician could arrive between 4 - 5 pm the same day.
5 pm rolls around, and finally the technician calls me about 20 minutes past, stating that they are stuck in traffic, my service address is away from their home. Basically a subtle nod to me that they didn't really wanna come. At this point, I had already removed the outlet myself, so the immediate problem was resolved. I decided not to pursue the service. I've already learned how to do it myself, I just bought the proper part from Home Depot and installed it the next day.
Do yourself a favor, and stay away from this business.