I’m writing this review about Captain Electric in regards to the $99 I paid to obtain a quote to upgrade my electrical panel.
Prior to contacting Captain Electrical, I did some research on this company including finding someone else who posted comments that they had Captain Electric update their electrical panel in late 2015 for $1,500. I also found a number of internet blogs indicated that the average cost for a panel upgrade should be between $1,500 and $1,800.
If you look at the Captain Electrical website, they claim to do exact pricing, no estimate or ballpark pricing; and the cost of the quote would be reduced from the estimate if they did the job.
On Oct 11, 2016, one of their technicians arrived at my place and inspected the work to be done. After the inspection, the technician pulled out a binder with a pricing listing with 2 options, one $2,754 and another for $3,022 that included the surge protection option (so much for exact pricing). I requested references on other jobs that Captain Electric had done as I want to know what I was reading from this website was actually true as the price was more than double what I expected.
In December after not receiving any feedback from Captain Electric regarding to the references, I contacted another Electrical contractor that had high ratings on this website; and had obtained positive feedback on their work from another source. I then contacted this other company by phone and received a conditional quote of $1,600 with the surge protection package over the phone pending inspection/verification by one of their technicians.
On January 4, 2017 the work was done as promised for $1,600 versus the Captain Electric price of $3,022!
- Approximate cost of services:
- $99.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Company Response
Thank you Mark for your candid review of Captain Electric. We apologize for not providing you with the additional information you requested (names of clients you could call for a reference). This mistake is clearly our fault, as when I reviewed our electrician’s notes for your service call, it was clear that he requested the office provide references for you [we did have the busiest October, November, December in our 25 year history, but I will not use this as an excuse for dropping the ball]. .............
Regarding charging a Service Call Fee - Every client that calls Captain Electric is advised that there is a service call fee for a site visit, which is to have a professional to their home. You agreed to this when calling our office to book your appointment. Many of our clients appreciate that there is a service call fee associated with a site visit, as this guarantees that we will arrive within the specified timeframe. There is much to look at and assess for something “seemingly” as simple as a panel replacement. The panel, meter base, service conductors, ground system and bonding are all variable factors when it comes to pricing. For this reason we do not provide pricing over the phone...............
We do use a price guide, however we do not have price binders with complete options as you suggested. The electrician’s notes confirm that he used the guide to provide exact pricing once the work was fully assessed. Two options were presented on the invoice. ............
It is true that our pricing may be higher than “some” other companies. We believe (as do many of our clients, and some who have commented on Homestars) that there is a higher cost associated with a higher level of service. Our level of service, our warranties and guarantees are among the highest standards in the electrical service industry. We do not apologize for charging our clients for the level of service and guarantees that we provide. ................
Mark … please accept our sincere apology for not following through as we should have. We do offer a full refund (please read our warranty on the back of your invoice), if you are not satisfied with the service we provided - and we will be calling you to make arrangements for a full refund of your service call from October 11, 2016. ...bw