ENERGY SOLUTIONS

Fink was late for our first appointment. I had to leave messages which he never returned. When he finally picked up his cell phone he said he was just finishing up a job and would be a little late. By afternoon still no-show. I called again and he answered that time. He blamed a building inspector for making him late. Because he had a great rating and was local, I decided to give him another try, and we made an appointment the for next morning. He showed up for that. He talked fast and moved fast. He asked me where I had heard about him. I told him ?Angie's List?. He bragged he didn't need ?Angie's list? because he had good reviews on ?Yelp.? He said a few good ?yelps? from his ?rich Berkeley Hills customers? was all he needed to bring in a lot of business. He said he had a lot of important customers, like the local post office, and they think he's great. The reason Fink used electrical tape was because he didn't have the right electrical harness on hand. He claimed it was doubtful that he could find a source for one, but he would call around and see what he could find, so he said. Meanwhile, he urged me to buy the new heating system he was selling. It was expensive, but it came with a government rebate, and he would take care of all the paperwork for me. But I would have to act fast - to beat the deadline for the rebate at the end of the year. I decided to wait and see if he could get that harness for my existing heater. Fink's tape-up job did get the heater working for a few hours but it broke down again that night. After that he avoided my phone calls and never returned my messages. When he did answer his phone several days later, he claimed that he hadn't received my messages. He said he had ?entered the modern age? and switched to an iPhone, and couldn't get his messages. He claimed he could not find the part he needed to fix the heater. He convinced me they don't make them anymore for my type of heater. I agreed to have him install the new system. As he reiterated, we had to act fast, in time to get that rebate before it expired! He said he would get right back to me with the details. I never heard from him again.

We dealt with the owner, Dan. Of the estimates we received for this work, this was the best, both in price, in explanation of problems and choices, and my sense that the estimator knew what he was talking about. He made some different choices than other estimators in choosing and locating the system, but his reasons for doing so were well explained and logical to me. He was able to install the system quickly as promised and it has worked very well.

Daniel, the owner, was the only bid that actually sat down with us, and fully explained all the workings of the system. He provided details and was very patient dealing with us. His price was the best, too. He was prompt, and provided the work that was necessary. One of the most impressive points was he did not expect any payment until ALL the work was completed. The price he quoted was the price that was expected. He made it clear that the only change in price would be how much the city permit would be. Dan has great pride in his work and wants to do a good job. Dan is personable and friendly as well, which makes the experience a lot easier. I highly recommend him, and hope he is used as well. I told him I wished he had a website, and he said he was working on it.