For lack of a better word, I'm sad.
I used Zwicker back in April to fix my wonky microwave. Without my knowing it, the microwave was hooked up to a lower amp breaker which was bad news bears. Long story short, I fried a breaker, sparks were flying from the outlet box, and I was panicking. I used Yelp's price estimate tool to ask around various electricians and one of the owners of Zwicker, Terry, called me not long after (at 10 pm) to discuss the problem. He came out the next day to troubleshoot. I ended up hiring Zwicker to run new wiring from my microwave to my electric panel in the basement and install a new, more appropriate breaker.
They got me on the schedule quickly and two guys came out and busted out the job in an hour. Total bill was $225. Super reasonable for peace of mind knowing my microwave wasn't going to explode.
Fast forward to a month ago. During a project, two of my outlets in my basement suddenly stopped working. Both my father and I checked the breaker boxes and couldn't see anything wrong. Worried something else was happening, I called up Zwicker to help. I made sure to ask the receptionist if I would be charged. She said yes, there would be a service fee. Which I expected to be $50-60 based on the last time I used them and was A-OK with that fee.
There was some minor scheduling confusion. I thought I was scheduled for one afternoon, took off work and sat at home...but turns out I guess I got the date wrong (even though I could have sworn I didn't, oh well). So had to re-schedule it to fit my work day. That Friday, Terry had free time and was able to swing by my house earlier than expected, which worked out because I was already home with a plumber. He came by, and 10 minutes later, said it was a thrown breaker. I felt (and still feel) so dumb for not having seen it.
He left the house saying it would be the regular service fee. Again, I'm expecting to pay $60. Imagine my surprise when I got the bill 2 days later for $120. I was so upset. My blood pressure probably sky rocketed.
I spoke to Terry on the phone a couple of days later and expressed my confusion. He proceeded to say their prices had to go up due to insurance, employee wages, new taxes, etc. I get that. I do. What I don't appreciate is why I got charged for $60 worth of labor, a full hour of labor, when he was at my house 10 minutes.
I requested the $60 labor fee be removed. No can do, he said.
He did nicely offer to give me a 20% discount for being a returning customer. But said that in the future, know it'll pretty much always be a minimum of $120 for someone to come out, even for simple stuff.
So, I'm sad. I thought I had my go-to electrician in Louisville since I'm not from here and I desperately miss having for sure people I can count on. But I don't. I paid the bill, I'm glad to have my microwave in working order, but this has been a definite learning experience.
Always know what you're getting into price wise before scheduling work is my best piece of advice because you won't always get transparent honesty. read more