I will preface this by saying that I actively seek out black owned, small businesses for products and services. I found Rollins and Sons through an online search that led me to their professionally done website. After verifying that the company was licensed by the State of Louisiana (license #45036) and had no reported violations, I was happy to seek out their services to assist me with all of the hoops the City of New Orleans is requiring for me to have my utility meters re-installed on the vacant side of my family's double shot gun home.
I called on 07/13/2020 and set up an appointment with Troy Rollins for 07/16/2020 at 9 am. Because I work overnight, I prefer afternoon appointments. However, I accepted an early morning appointment with Mr. Rollins because he expressed a preference for the early morning.
On the scheduled appointment date, I made arrangements so that I would still be awake to meet with him at the property. At 9:24 am, I called because he had still not arrived for our 9 am appointment. Mr. Rollins stated that he was just getting in his truck and would arrive in 30 minutes. The address for Rollins and Sons is a house that is located no more than a 15 minute drive from my property.
He finally arrived after 10 am. He did not arrive in any semblance of a work truck nor did he have any tools with him. He looked at the panel on the side of my house and explained that while the panel was fine, he would need to repair the outside of the panel box to make it weatherproof. He also stated that he would need to build a "stem" from the panel box to the "drop" at the front of the house and that he'd need to build it around the gutter that was next to the panel. He quoted me $1,700 for that.
He then proceeded to walk through the inside of the residence merely giving everything a cursory glance. He did not stop to inspect anything; he just said that it was all fine. There is furniture stored in that residence, but he did not look behind or move any of it. The entire meeting with Mr. Rollins lasted about 15 minutes.
Obviously, I am not an electrician but my panel is already located at the front of my property. The repairs that he stated needed to be made to make my panel weatherproof seem to be nothing more than replacing the sealant on the outside of the panel box. Furthermore, this "stem" he claims to need to build seems to be nothing more than a PVC conduit that can be purchased from Home Depot for less than $20.
The moment that I even hinted that $1,700 might be too much, he became defensive and was in a sudden rush to leave. On the way to his car, he stated that that was "his price" and that "those other people" may not charge that amount. He further stated that he needed to contact the City of New Orleans to find out if I also needed a building permit. He stated that he would do that on 7/20/2020 and would give me a call to let me know. Today is 7/27/2020 and I have not heard from Mr. Troy Rollins yet.
I will not say anything negative about Rollins and Sons, but this was my experience. Glean from it what you will. read more