Russian Roulette, the internet and Electricians
Well as you have guessed, my Saturday was ruined. I had power but the lighting had struck close enough to the house to travel back into my electrical system and phone lines via the grounding wire of the house. Telephones fried! My computers are now big paperweights and the only thing I can watch on TV is the reflection of me trying to turn it on! Off to the yellow pages and out with the cell phone.
I made a couple of calls and it was apparent I didn’t qualify as an emergency because I still had electrical power. So I ended up getting an appointment for first thing Monday morning from one of those companies that have a great looking “you know they pay a lot of money” type of ads. First thing Monday morning actually meant 1:30 pm Monday afternoon. The electrician shows up, oops I mean estimator, turns out all he actually does is write the estimates for the jobs it also turns out that he was a great talker but not such a good estimator.
When the actually certified electricians from the company showed up to start doing the work well the estimate that I had signed was worth about as much as my recently deceased TV. The estimated price didn’t just go up once but every time the gentleman came up from the basement he had discovered a newer more expensive problem that HAD to be addressed. After politely asking these men to leave, it was back to the phonebook and more Russian I mean electrician roulette. The following three interactions with other companies met with a similar fate each with a different twist…not showing up on time….not showing up at all…or the what must be a customary Electrician excuse…” van/truck broke down on the way to your house.”
I starting to think I was in a hidden video reality show. However, my ignorance about all things electrical and a trip to a local home improvement store solved my electrician search. When I met an electrician from Good electric, I was trying to figure out what type of electrical switch I needed to replace one that was damaged. (Why I thought I could do this is beyond me) With no sales staff around I turned to the guy next to me and said, “do you know about this stuff?”
Twenty minutes later he had helped me pick out everything I need and actually showed me how to install it. As I was thanking him and wheeling my cart to the checkout counter I turned back and told him…” you know you should think about becoming an Electrician.” His almost puzzled reply was, “I am, a matter of fact I am a Master Electrician.”
I turned around, started filling his cart will all of the electrical supplies I was about to purchase, and exclaimed… “YOU ARE HIRED!” We exchanged information set up an appointment for the following day. Not only was he on time for the appointment he actually finished the work sooner than he estimated.
Good Electric has now not only worked in my home, but also my parents, and several very important clients of mine that I have referred him to, all are exceedingly happy with his excellent work and customer service.
This Blog was post by Good Electric – Electrician San Antonio
