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Recently, a friend of mine living in another state, called me for some advice. He was having his electrical panel upgraded from 100 amp service to 200 amp service and moved to a more convenient location in his house. He thought he had hired a reputable and responsible electrical company, they were licensed and insured, but almost as soon as the job began, he began to question his judgement.
The first problem was a problem. In other words, the electrician ran into a problem in relocating the panel. Now, it isn’t like we electricians don’t run into problems when we are doing a job such as this. My friend’s house had originally been built in the 1940’s and had been through several owners as well as several additions and DIY projects. If the electrician had not run into unexpected issues, I would have been shocked.
When the electrician ran into this particular problem, a junction box hidden behind some drywall, he freaked out and complained to his client, my friend. He also acted like he didn’t know what to do and my friend had to coach him and talk him off the ledge so to speak. Really? The consequence of this was my friend lost all confidence in the electrician’s ability and began to question his knowledge and his work. The owner of the company was called in along with several other of the company’s electricians in order to solve this and several other issues they encountered during the job.
Another big problem for my friend was the fact that the electrician also had not budgeted enough time for such a big job and got upset because the job was going to take longer due to these unforeseen issues. They tried to make my friend feel like it was his fault that they ran into trouble and didn’t budget enough time for the job. This was very shortsighted of this electrical company. Electricians should always build in enough time to get a job done and deal with potential problems without burdening the client.
Things really went downhill when my friend called me and asked for advice, and I began to explain to him the code electricians are required to follow when working on a job. He then began to understand that the electrician he hired made several errors and omissions and was not properly following the NEC (National Electrical Code) book.
Fortunately, my friend followed my advice and was able to get most of the issues resolved in the end. The one issue not resolved, however, which really should have been, were all the holes the electrician left in my friend’s walls. That really bothered me, but the electrical company wouldn’t budge, and my friend grew tired of fighting with them, so he acquiesced and allowed them to leave the job without fixing the walls. That should never happen!
When you hire a licensed and insured electrician, you should be hiring someone who is going to follow the rules. These aren’t made up rules, these are straight from a code book for electricians: The National Electrical Code (NEC) book. Here is an excerpt from that book that will give you an idea of what I am talking about:
Section 110.12 requires that installations shall be installed in a “neat and workmanlike manner.”
My friend experienced anything but a “neat and workman like manner” from the electricians he hired. Along with all of their complaining about running into problems and not completing the work properly, they left a big mess! My friend’s floors were covered in mud, there were big mud spots on his carpet, there was even dirt on his curtains, walls and clothing! I was absolutely astonished by this and encouraged my friend to tell the electrical company that they needed to pay for cleaning his house, curtains and clothing. This was an absolutely unacceptable way to treat a client!
Friends, when you hire Peter Needham Electrical and HVAC you hire a company with over 30 years of experience and electricians who are professional, neat and who take pride in their work. When Peter and his crew leave your home or business, they will leave it neat and tidy with no holes in your walls. We will respect your property and will treat it with the same care we would treat our own.
If you need electrical or HVAC work done for your home or business, please consider calling Peter Needham Electrical and HVAC. We also have 24/7 emergency services.
