Power Up Electric Inc

Gabriel Chan gave me an estimate the week before and told me that he would have workers available the week after next. He then emailed me that they would be available this week on Thursday at 8:00. On Thursday I got an email informing me that they would arrive at around 7:30. They actually showed up a little early. Both Frank and Vladimir were very friendly. They took care to cover up all the furniture and move what was movable so that things wouldn't get dirty from cutting holes in the ceiling. They installed the dimmer switch and arranged so that an outlet that was connected to the original switch would have constant power. They did an excellent job cleaning up after themselves and my wife and I are quite pleased with the results. Frank also gave me some excellent advice on my electrical setup. I will definitely use them again in the future.

I bought the coupon for Angie's List Big Deal for "two hours of electrical work" from Power Up Electric in Los Angeles on 5/18. I bought four of the coupons at a cost of almost $400 for 8 hours of work. Since then, it's been incredibly difficult to get in contact with Gabriel Chan, the owner. He came out to do a consultation on 5/26 for the work we proposed, then stated that 8 hours of work was not sufficient to cover the job we wanted. His assessment was fair - he stated that our attic was very cramped and that there were no conduits installed and that the existing wires were insulated with cloth jacketing so it would be difficult to tap in new lines to the existing ones. This is all true. He said he'd get us a bid in the next two days, but I had to contact him multiple times before he finally gave us a bid on 6/5, 11 days later! He said an additional 8 hours would be required at a rate of $85/hr ($680 total) plus I would have to buy the fixtures. I gave him a reasonable counteroffer the same day for $700 including the fixtures based on non-discounted pricing from another company I used before and said that if he refused my counter, we'd have to discuss scaling back our project to fit within the confines of the 8 hour Big Deal coupons I purchased. He didn't respond, so I contacted him again on 6/7, when he said that he'd have a response in "a couple more days." I tried contacting him again on 6/15, and as of today (6/22), he still hasn't responded. I am very unhappy with this contractor - his communication skills are really lacking. I felt like I was held hostage because he already had $400 of mine up front so there wasn't really an incentive for him to provide great service. I complained to Angie's List and they were able to refund my $400 and I was free to write this review. Judging by the other reviews Power Up has received, I don't doubt that they are a competent electrical company and that I probably would have been happy with the work they performed (although I'd still give them terrible marks for responsiveness). I am guessing that they are just swamped with work from the Big Deal and can't handle the customer load if they have to come out and do estimates for each job before starting work. I really wanted to like Power Up, but the lack of communication, empty promises and overall feeling of flakiness made my liking them impossible.

Perfect. Frank was punctual, professional, careful and thorough. He is smart and will talk about implications or consequences of doing or not doing something. It was also raining that day, and he was very careful about tracking debris inside the house; laid down cloths to clean his feet, etc. He is a respectful person and makes you feel like you are in competent and caring hands.

Gabriel Chan, the owner of PowerUp Electric arrived on time in his spotless truck. He was extremely polite and professional. I showed him the first room where the overhead light had not worked in years and he fixed it within 30 minutes. He then moved on to the other switches. For one dimmer, we had a very old dimmer that he didn't carry in his truck so he suggested that he purchase it between jobs and return later that afternoon with the correct part. He came back exactly when he said he was going to return, with the part. Gabriel is extremely hard working and conscientious. I have been looking for a good electrician for years and now feel that I've finally found one. I will use him for any electrical work I have in the future. I highly recommend him.

Purchased Big Deal voucher for two hours of work. Likely because of high volume of interest, took 3 calls to get a call back to schedule appt. After email through Angie's list, got call back and timely scheduling of appt and service (on Memorial Day). Arrived as scheduled. In under two hours, both problems were diagnosed and repaired satisfactorily. Cleaned up nicely. Overall positive.

Power Up is a great company; extremely happy with their work. I purchased the Angie's List Deal for 2 hours of work and had them do an additional hour of work. First arranged a date/time with Gabriel. The person scheduled to come to my house was running late, but he called ahead of time to inform me. Frank showed up at my house, quickly assessed what needed to be done. I instructed what items I wanted him to work on first. For the 3 hours he was there, he got a lot done and was able to diagnose all the issues. He explained what he was doing while he worked, and gave me some instructions on some of the easier items. Learned a lot while he was there. Would definitely use in the future.

Gabriel at Power Up was very thorough about understanding exactly what we wanted. The team that came out was courteous and professional. We are pleased with the results and felt that the charges were reasonable. We plan to use Power Up Electric again.

6/10/11 UPDATED REVIEW: I was pleasantly surprised when I got a call back from the company to say they wanted to make my situation right. The owner, Gabriel explained that his son, who had done the work, was a master electrician but was learning the finer points of customer service. I respected his honestly and desire to make things right. We arranged for them to do the outstanding work one morning at 7AM to allow for me to get to work on time. They came on time. I wanted to make sure that the sensor light position was put back in the same position when done. I suggested they take pictures. They used the pictures to get it right. It was about 90% accurate to my last settings. They finished the patchwork needed and cleaned up fine. Gabriel refunded the labor cost over the original 2 hours that was estimated. I respected and appreciated his desire to make it right. I did discovere a couple minor issues after they left. Apparently their ladder rubbed against the house and left a mark on the house, not a big deal since I need a touch up but more awareness would be nice. The other thing was that I couldn't figure out why the grass was turning brown. Turns out one of the electrical cords they unplugged, I thought was not used but actually, a short trace of the cord found it was connected to my sprinkler's control box. The lawn hadn't been watered in about a week. It's plugged in now... Bottom line, they are honest, courteous and have the technical skills to get the job done. I'm REALLY fussy and need to know my contractor will see things I don't even see so - I'll keep looking. ORIGINAL REVIEW: Problems: Martin, though very nice, didn't realize before he started that he'd have to cut part way through a garage beam on the front of the house and he said the job would take longer than 2 hours well into the job. The job took 3.75 hours and he didn't completely finish. I told him just to leave after 3.75 hours and I would have him finish the rest another time and have him do another job at the same time. Martin just moved MUCH slower than my prior electrician I got off of Yelp. I should have arranged a flat fee for the job but I didn't realize how slow Martin would move. I asked twice if the fixture needed a seal or a gasket between it and the stucco. He said no since it was under the eaves. Later I found the gasket in the box under the installation instructions which said the gasket should be installed. Since some rains have been sideways, I am going to have to have the fixture removed and the gasket installed. Additionally, when I got up on the ladder to adjust the sensor after dark, the fixture's screw holding it onto the house had not even been tightened completely even though the decorative cap had been put on. So when I went to adjust the lights, the whole fixture spun. Lastly, Martin installed the fixture then realized that one of the two lights was shining directly onto the adjacent downspout and therefore was useless. I had to have him readjust it, then I had to readjust it myself again at night. If he would have told me that the light was going to be unable to shine around the corner as I had wanted BEFORE he driled the hole in the house, I would not have put the light where it is now. My other electrician had quoted a flat $200 for this job. Very disappointing, sorry Angie's List - this was NOT a good deal.

When I saw the Angies List coupon for two hours of work for $99, I was a bit nervous that the company would be flakey or mark up their rates to essentially negate the deal. However, I thought I'd give it a try since I needed a new circuit to hook up a microwave hood above my range. I called/emailed Power Up to schedule an appointment, which they only had available a few days later (probably due to the promotion). The day of the appointment I received a call letting me know that they would need to reschedule later in the day. Frank arrived a bit late to the rescheduled appointment, but I was home all day so I wasn't too concerned. Frank did a careful examination and patiently explained the best option for getting electrical to the microhood. Since the estimate seemed fair, we agreed to let him get started as soon as Gabriel arrived to help (apparently it was a two man job). The job went smoothly and Frank and Gabriel were very clean and conscientious. Given how easy the process was, I don't know why I waited so long to have the work done (about a year). I will definitely be calling Power Up for future electrical work.

*****FIVE STARS Highest recommendation! Gabriel is punctual, easygoing, dedicated, knowledgeable. Work was performed quickly and within the time limit of my Big Deal. He's very helpful, resolved my problems, gave me insights into my electrical system, put my mind at ease. He was informative about my options. I'm so glad I found him through Angie's List as other craftsmen have been expensive, sometimes overly so, and some have tried to cheat me. I have had a hard time finding an honest electrician, and I was told by a DWP contractor that it is common for homeowners to be scammed by electricians. They add on unnecessary and sometimes major work when you only have a minor problem. Gabriel is honest and service oriented. His objective was not, unlike of others that I have met, to make as much money off a client as possible. He was dedicated to helping me. I appreciate this greatly.

This was a very pleasant experience. Gabriel and Frank arrived on time with all the proper equipment, including a vacuum cleaner and protective covers to keep the job area as clean as possible. They were informative about the procedures and offered design opinions about the best locations for the two fixtures. As they say, "The lights were on and somebody was home". The rate was reasonable for the time they spent. I wouldn't hesitate to use this company in the future or to recommend them to friends who have electrical job projects.

I have asked that this report be removed, because we have come to an agreement about our misunderstanding. The short story is that I feel Power Up completely reneged on a verbal agreement for a flat rate job. Instead they charged us by the hour. What was supposed to have been a two hour job ended up taking six hours. I immediately let Gabriel know that there was an error in what we had agreed. Gabriel tried to address my concerns and we had several very polite email exchanges. While my concern was not fully addressed was impressed by his genuine attempt to try to understand why the misunderstanding occurred, and his attempt to rectify the situation.

Gabriel was on time and very professional. Even though he did not have some of the items needed on him, such as a new dimmer (the same style currently in our home), he had it delivered while he was working. So, everything that needed to be done was complete while he was in our home, and we did not need a return appointment,

I'd had some experiences in the past with handymen whose work turned out to be shoddy, either because they didn't know what they were doing or because they were less than honest. When some electrical problems surfaced at my place, I was on the lookout for a competent, honest, responsible, licensed and reasonably priced electrician. I wanted to hire (and support) someone from my NorthEast LA neighborhood. After several bad experiences with local electricians who either flaked out (one who came to my house but never submitted the estimate he'd promised; another who never returned my phone calls asking questions about his estimate) or whose estimates were very high (and beyond my budget), I finally chose Power Up. I instantly had a good feeling about Gabriel, because he proposed some creative, cost-efficient solutions that none of the other electricians I'd brought over for estimates had suggested; he took the time to carefully explain what he was going to do and why, and he gave me a reasonably priced, detailed estimate right on the spot. Not only did he do an excellent, prompt job and leave the workspace cleaner than he'd found it, but he even did some additional electrical work (fixing some broken fixtures outdoors) for no extra charge. I also very much appreciated Gabriel's communication skills, and the time he took to explain each step of the job. I highly recommend Power Up.

I felt that they were honest and weren't telling me a bunch of stuff that wasn't true just to get my business and make more money. They were very responsive. I felt that their report was good and accurate. They took a lot of pictures and sent them to me to back up the different things in their report.

They did a superlative job and we are very pleased with the results.

very well. these guys were very professional and friendly. I would definitely use them again. They got out to us in less that an hour too.

The guy who came in was great. His price was very reasonable. He came and did the job well. He was very knowledgeable. He knew what he was talking about and he was very professional. I will recommend him highly. I don't remember how much I paid him exactly, but it was fair. He was here on time and was very pleasant to work with. He was very punctual, fantastic and I will use him again in the future.

My dog had chewed the power cable on my tankless hot water heater. Gabriel from Power Up came over within the hour on a saturday, which was amazing. He quickly fixed the problem and also noticed that the GFC outlet was not working and replaced it even though it seemed ok. Which is a good thing because the puppy got at it again on Sunday and would have been electrocuted if Gabriel didn't see this. Gabriel came back on Sunday and made it puppy proof for me (my plywood barrier failed). Thanks to Gabriel, I was able to handle all the issues and not miss any work.

The workers were fast in figuring out the various problems and suggesting available options and price range for work required in advance, so that I could make an informed decision. Once the course of action was decided upon, the work was commenced immediately and finished to my satisfaction the same day.

I will not work this power up electric in the future

They came on time and they did a pretty good job. They installed the heater in a very efficient manner and they did a clean job.

I am very experienced with electrical wiring. I didn't have time to do this myself. I called Power Up Electric because they had a good rating on the list and because previously a friend had used them and I checked out the work and it was outstanding. When I first spoke with Power Up, I detailed exactly what I wanted done. Power Up suggested two workers at an hourly rate. When the workers arrived, I explained the job, they quickly grasped the project, completed it in a lot less time than I could have, the work was excellent, and they left everything clean. I will use Power Up Electric for my future electrical work.

Gabriel supervised the work and Frank managed the work and workers. On time, professional, patient, clean & reasonably priced. Gabriel & Frank took their time to explain with details, followed guideline, focused on their work & didn't waste any time.

The workers were good guys. The owner himself started the job and did the major work and his son finished up. Other bids we had been given a couple years ago were double what they charged us so we were happy with the price. He was very patient explaining how the circuit box worked as we have never had one before. He carefully coded all the switches so I know what goes to what. The new circuit box has allowed us to add more electrical items to our house.