Hired TLR electric via a special on Angie's List - - 2 hours work for $99. Contacted him via email, and about 4 days after that received a phone call. I called back and we discussed the job I wanted him to do; he said that I would have to go out and buy all the proper materials and have them waiting when he arrived - - he would not purchase them. He said it would be no problem to finish the two small jobs I had in mind in the allotted time period.
He was supposed to arrive at 2 pm, called at 2:12 and said that he was running late, but was on the way. He arrived at 2:38 (I was working on my computer when the doorbell rang and saved the file before answering the door, so I could determine the exact time) with an assistant and stated that it would be 2 guys for one hour instead of one guy for two hours. He asked me to go through what I wanted done again, and I showed him the job. He asked if there was anything else I wanted done, and I said that there were two or three other jobs that we could talk later, but that I wasn't going to do them today and wanted to get estimates on them before deciding. He asked me to show him the jobs right now, and sent his helper to get some tools out of the truck. We spent ten minutes reviewing three possible future jobs, and he gave me ballpark estimates on time to complete the work (he based everything on hours, not a job price).
Told him I'd think about it, and he went to work in the first area. Helper had to go back out to truck twice for more tools, and I had to provide a stepladder. They still had to share some tools (like power screwdrivers and the ONE flashlight they had brought), which slowed them down a little bit. He finished up the first half of the job at about 3:10. At that point he told me that he had been here for 45 minutes, and if I wanted him to keep working then any time over an hour would cost an additional $149. I argued that he had not shown up until close to 2:40, and that he should not be charging against my time while he was soliciting future work. He insisted that he had "looked at his phone" when he got here to determine the start time, and that was that. I told him to start the second job while I thought about it. He got the second job half done and I told him that I would not pay an additional $149 to finish up. I did it myself this morning, and it took me (a non-professional working alone) about 20 minutes.
He spent quite a bit of time while he was here complaining about how Angie's List charges him $800 a month to be listed, and then takes a 40% commission from his "special deals" sold through the website. He also told me that next time he runs a special, he would prefer that I call him direct - he will honor the deal without paying Angie's List their commission and be more willing to give me an extra five or ten minutes. No, he did not offer to split the $40 commission; he was going to keep it all for himself.
Bottom Line: I got one hour's work when I paid for two. I believe that he runs the specials in order to get the job started, with the intent of running over the pre-purchased time and getting another $149 from you to finish the work. Work actually accomplished was acceptable. Technically, I would have hired him to do some of the other work we discussed, but his dishonest timekeeping and proposals mean that I will not do business with him again. read more