Nothing worse than having electrical issues. We had a problem about 2 months ago when multiple indoor outlets and lights and all of out backyards electrics went out. This included our sprinkler/drip system and all of the plants started to suffer. I get on yelp. Look for electricians in the area and mr sparky shows up with a few good reviews. Now I didn't see the reviews for the other local mr sparks otherwise I would have stayed away.
Anyhow, they were nice on the phone and said they would send someone out the next day. The 2 guys who showed up were super nice and seemed to know what they were doing. They told me the likely problems and told me what it would cost to really diagnose and fix the issues. They quoted me about $350 at the times.
Then the bleeding began. Multiple knocks on the door saying they found more problems. The dude wrote up 3 plans and the given costs. Lots of scary words like melting wires, not up to code, and danger if not fixed were used. Suddenly I'm replacing half the breakers in the main box. At the end of the 2 hour visit I get my bill for around $1000 dollars. Everything is working and although I certainly have some sticker shock, the job is done.
A few weeks ago I meet up with an old friend who happens to be an electrician. This visit gets brought up. He basically explains that I probably got taken and I paid a 500% markup for 2 hours of work and no more than $75 bucks in parts. Awesome. I have a beer with my buddy and forget about the whole ordeal.
This week my phone rings. It's someone from mr sparkys sister company Easy air and heat. They explain to me that when I was visited by mr sparky I also paid for a air conditioning tune up. Shady.....no one every said anything about that when I was getting gouged. I tell them to go ahead and come out. Today they show up. Check out my ac unit, which has been working fine and Is only 2.5 years old. I am told the capacitor is not working right and needs to be fixed or it's going to "explode and leak acid all over". I am told this will cost $290 dollars. I say no thanks and that I would need to go through my home warranty company. He then tells me that if they come out they will say there is nothing wrong and not fix it. I still say no thanks and he leaves.
I'm thinking after the first visit I go added to their "sucker" list. Their work may have all been appropriate. What do I know? But all the other reviews seem to be pretty consistent.
Don't make the same mistake....
2 stars because they were nice and fixed my problem. Now I just can't afford to give them any more...