Apollo Electric

My wife and I rent a condo in the San Jose area. Recently, our outside lights stopped working and I got permission from the landlord to call an electrician. I searched on Angie's list and selected Apollo Electric due to the high ratings. I called the Apollo Electric number and left a brief message. Shortly thereafter, I got a call from Ted who engaged me in a conversation about the problem. I explained that our outside lights, which illuminate the area outside our front door, had been working as recently as a few weeks ago. They stopped working at some point and we needed him to come and fix them. Ted gave me an estimate of $170 to solve the problem. I thought the price a bit high, but given how happy others seemed with their service, and my own limited experience with electricians, I figured it was probably reasonable. I was surprised that Ted offered to drop by later that day (!) to begin the work. He was working on some larger projects and said he could fit us in at the end of the day. It wasn't a convenient time for me and my wife, so we set a time for him to come by in a couple of days. Ted showed up on time and began work. I found him to be very engaging and pleasant to work with. He inspected the innards of the wall switch controlling the lights and then took a look at how the lights were wired. He knew from the way the lights were wired that the circuit was controlled by *two* switches. He asked me where the other switch was, but I had to be honest and say I didn?t know?I was only aware of the one switch inside of the house. It took Ted all of about 30 seconds to find the other switch outside the house, and, upon discovering it, to recognize the reason the lights weren't working: someone had moved that switch, making inside switch we used inoperable. When Ted moved the switch, he demonstrated that the interior switch now could turn on and off the outside lights. So...in some sense, there was nothing wrong with the circuit. However, Ted told us that the circuit is not supposed to work that way. It's supposed to work like that of any light in a room with two switches. The lights should be controlled by both switches simultaneously and neither switch should be able to "invalidate" the other. The circuit had been wired incorrectly from the start. So Ted went ahead and re-wired the circuit so that, if the lights were off, they could turned on from either switch. While Ted was doing all of this work, we figured we?d take advantage of his expertise, and we told him that there were numerous wall switches in the condo that appeared to have the function of turning on outlets (i.e., so you could plug in a lamp and turn it on via the switch), but that they in fact, didn't control any of the outlets. Ted explained to us how these outlets were supposed to work, and that building coded required that any room without an overhead light must have a switched outlet to which you can connect a light source for the room. Without any extra charge, he said he?d take a look at one of these outlets for us. (This is a non-trivial procedure because he has to uncover and inspect outlets one-by-one to determine which one(s) are controlled by the switch). Fortunately, he found the outlet rather quickly and he was able to make the small modification to the outlet to enable control of the outlet by the wall switch. Again, he did this cheerfully, happily, and without a peep toward the idea of charging us for it. After that success, I called my landlord and asked him whether we might have Ted fix the other non-operable wall switches in the condo. Ted gave an estimate of $100 to fix the other two in the house. This seemed like a reasonable cost. Although the actual fix to the outlets is trivial (once you find them), each room has numerous outlets and it could take him awhile to get the job done (i.e., to move various pieces of furniture out of the way and check switch plate and the numerous outlets). After he started this work, it occurred to me that I forgot one of the rooms, so that instead of two other wall switches, there were three. I mentioned this to him after he started the work, and his response was ?No problem. I?ll do the other one as well for the original cost.? You might argue that $100 was a lot to charge for the two switches and it didn?t ?cost? him a lot to do the third, but the bottom line is that he had no obligation to do that third switch for us at no cost and he simply shrugged it off. He?s just a very reasonable guy and not trying to nickel-and-dime you. [An interesting aside: We had a very good, light-hearted dialog throughout his time on the job. At one point I joked with him that one money-making approach, if he didn?t already quote a fee, would be to maximize his billings by always first checking the outlets he least-suspected of being attached to the switch. That way he?d maximize the amount of time looking for the correct outlet. He immediately got a serious tone in his voice and told me that ?that wouldn?t be ethical.? I didn?t expected this response, as I was simply joking around with him. But it was refreshing to hear and gave some insight into how he approaches his work.] The absolute kicker of the whole thing is that my wife and I recently moved into this condo and had a table in our living room we wanted to move to the (outside) garage. At my wife?s urging (!), I sheepishly asked Ted if he would help me carry the table down a flight of stairs into the garage. He agreed to do this without a moment?s hesitation and with a smile on his face. It really was emblematic of the kind of good-natured, service-oriented approach he takes. To summarize, my experience with Apollo Electric was very positive. The rates, while not cheap, were reasonable (so far as I can tell) and, more importantly, Ted is an ethical, service-oriented individual whom I would not hesitate to recommend to others. I?ve already recommended him to my landlord.

Apollo Electric can do a wide range of jobs and they show up right on time. I will definitely have Apollo Electric come back for the next electrical job that I have.

Apollo Electric did a beautiful, beautiful job. Their rates were comparable to others bids I received.

Ted Bakelis was an absolute joy to work with. He may be my all-time best and favorite contractor, ever. He was patient, professional, prompt, precise, and extremely talented. I am truly thrilled with the work. He met with my wife and I to talk about the switches for the bath fans and came up with a perfect solution. The ceiling fan install was, again, perfect! I even had him install an outlet in the back of the fireplace for a coming gas insert. The master panel upgrade was done before I even realized it. Knowing that I plan on having AC installed he pre-ran lines that my HVAC guy can hook into. He even set up a junction box for me to tap into and run power for the patio. The garage panel allows me now to install ceiling lights, and it is legal and safe! Ted was patient with me, and not once ever copped an attitude when dealing with my dumb questions. Ted was very flexible working around plumbers, fencing crews, and whoever else I had in there while he was here. This is a great contractor, and if you hire him you will also be thrilled with the quality of his work,and how easy he is to work with. Thanks Ted!!

Ted arrived promptly and replaced 2 flushmount ceiling fixtures. He had to do some cleanup of the wires/insulation after removing the old fixtures (there had also been some ceiling damage from heat from old bulbs), installed the new fixtures and cleaned up. He was quick and efficient.

Ted was easy to work with....nice guy, fair price & professional work! He was able to give me an estimate over the phone just by viewing a couple of pictures I sent him, which I really appreciated, so I did not need to be home for 2 visits. Originally, I thought I just needed a dryer outlet I wanted an outside outlet, but he pointed out that the washer needed one as well. He included the extra washer outlet for not too much extra money, so I was pleased with the price and his work was good. He ran the wire through the attic so it looks professional. He also advised me on a couple other issues and even labeled my electrical panel for me! I will definitely use him again for my electrician needs. Great job!

Ted was a godsend. We bought a 1937 bungalow with a kitchen that hadn't been updated since, well, 1937. We did most of the work ourselves, but wanted to employ a qualified electrician and found Ted on Angie's List. Ted gave us a very thorough (and understandable) explanation of what we *needed* to do, along with recommendations about what we *should* do. He was clear about our options and we immediately felt we were in good hands. There was a lot of work involved, and the project ended up looking like it was going to be more expensive than we'd hoped. We asked Ted for creative ideas about how we could save money and he helped us understand what parts we could do ourselves. He was very generous with his "tech support," even walking us through some of the steps over the phone when we had questions about the parts we were doing. He was flexible with his time and broke up the work into three phases while we did the in-between work (walls, cabinets, etc.). Busy as he was, he always made himself available to us when we were ready for the next step. Ted is professional, very friendly, honest, and communicative. He was always on time for appointments, always available by phone, and always had a great attitude. Our project--our first fixer-upper--has been (predictably!) a roller-coaster. In those ups and downs, a couple of the folks with whom we've worked have become like part of the family. Ted was one of those people. As you can tell by now, we'd recommend Ted without reservation. We trust him, we like him, and we have been so impressed with his work and his work ethic. Thanks, Ted!

I was using an iron one morning & lost power half way through. I checked all of the GFCI outlets in the house to make sure none of them had tripped & I reset all of the breakers with no luck. The next day I purchased an outlet tester to see if I could figure what the issue was. This was a 3 light tester & didn't help much at all. I called an electrician on 10/19 that came out on 10/22, diagnosed the issued & quoted me a price ($80-$120). He said he had to schedule a time to come back next week & repair the problem as it could take several hours. After a week of no calls & trying to reach this electrician to get a time line to have the work done, I gave up & called Ted @ Apollo Electric. I called Ted Friday afternoon on 10/29 & explained the issue. Ted said he figured it was a melted connection some were in the line & it would be $150 to confirm the issue, find it & repair it. He mentioned he could fit me in Monday morning & I explained I had a friend moving into the room on Sunday, 10/31. Ted said he could show up Saturday before his first appointment around 7:30am, I agreed. Ted showed up at 7:15am on Saturday to the work. He tested the faulty outlets, back tracked the problem & replaced the burnt out connector with a new & improved connector. The job from start to finish was an hour. This is the second time I've used Apollo and the second I have been extremely pleased with the results. The fact Ted went out of his way to show up @ 7:15 in the morning to help me out speaks volumes for the type of professional he his. He even noticed I had some stucco work & painting done & mentioned how nice it looked...I was shocked since he hadn't been to my home in at least 8 to 10 months. Even though the price was a little higher than the first quote, I got the feeling Ted wanted my business & has earned my repeat business in the future! Another quality job, thanks Ted!

Todd asked me a few questions over the phone to make sure it wasn't a simple problem I could fix myself. He's a friendly person and would call him again without hesitation.

He was very prompt. He was friendly and courteous, and got right to work. Disconnecting, checking and reconnecting to test the circuit only took about 30 minutes. We also tend to overload the wall socket circuit in our kitchen, so he gave advice on power consumption of other appliances, and what could be done to prevent circuit overloads. Overall, a very positvie experience. When I paid in cash, he immediately lowered the price from $85 to $80 without being asked.

Ted has been to my house twice now because I keep thinking up more things for him to do. Both visits, Ted showed up exactly on time and did exactly what he promised. (The tough ceiling fan job took more time than he estimated, but he only charged me the estimate amount anyway.) He works nonstop and cleans up after. I especially appreciated the fact that he explained some options and consequences when he was installing a new outlet, and the explanation was clear enough that I easily was able to make a decision. He is great and I've already booked him to come back and do some more stuff.

Ted was great! We recently bought a 1920's house and needed a good bit of electrical work. Once he started it turned out that he had a do a bit more than anticipated but he was good about communicating with us about it. He was focused on providing the best solution but balancing that with keeping the cost from getting too high. He listened to all our requests. He installed a new receptacle in a wall and did not damage the lath and plaster around it. We were really happy that he rewired an old switch that we liked. In all the work he did he made sure it was as clean, neat and nice looking as possible. He had great advice about what else we might need. He is friendly, and communicates well. He takes the time to explain things and patient with our questions. I highly recommend him and plan to get to return to do more work for us.

I recently bought a vintage 6 arm chandelier from the 1920's. I needed a qualified electrician to install this fragile and heavy chandelier. I called Ted on a Friday, he came by that day to review the job, and it was installed by the following Wednesday. He was extremely careful with our lath and plaster ceiling, and went the extra mile by suggesting he install a dimmer. I am a very visual person, and he understood every detail was important to me; and was patient as I tried 3 different alignments. He also repaired our doorbell, which other electrician's said was too difficult to fix. He is very professional, knowledgeable, honest, and easy to communicate with. My experience with Apollo Electric is one of the best I have had with a electric contractor. Ted did a fantastic job, and I will use him again.

Everything went well. Ted was very punctual and knowledgeable. Did wonderful work. Came to the house, and followed up on some work after the fact. I would hire him again in a second.

Everything went really well. They are friendly, professional, and seem to do great work. I was impressed and will call again if I need electrical work.

Their service was good, and I'm satisfied.

When we bought our house there were 2 outlets that were not working & a bunch of outlets that needed to be switched over to GFCI. During our home inspection we were informed that the 1 GFCI outlet in the garage kept tripping & the only outlet outside didn't work. I had finally switched out all of the required outlets over to GFCI outlets and found that the garage outlet still continued to trip & the outlet outside still wasn't working. I called Apollo Electrical after finding them on Angie's List & scheduled an appointment for the next day. Ted showed up on time & I showed him the problem outlets. He got straight to work on the outlet in the garage & found that we had 2 sets of hot wires going into the one outlet. Since our garage had been finished prior to us buying it he climbed up in the attic space of the garage to check the wiring for the recessed lighting & to trace the wires & try to locate the problem. He confirmed the wiring was correct for the garage lighting & moved on to a system of checks he performs to eliminate possible causes. Due to the walls being sheet rocked it made it harder to trace the problem. The end result was that Ted disconnected & capped off 1 set of hot wires to the GFCI outlet in the garage. This solved the problem with out cutting into sheet rock to locate the origin of the 2nd set of hot wires. He then moved on to the outdoor outlet which he found had no power going to it. He reset all of the breakers & the problem remained. He tried to locate where the cut was but without open walls & was unsuccessful. He offered a couple solutions on how to bypass the current wires & have it rewired by tapping off the wires to an outlet about a foot away on the inside since he was not able to locate the cut in the wires. A project or problem for another day. He felt bad he was unable to fix the outdoor outlet & asked if there were any other issues I wanted him to look at since he was already here. I had him look at a 3-way switch that wasn't working properly & the sensor light which was having flickering issues. He fixed the switch wiring & rewired the sensor light bypassing the sensor so it would work better & keep us from having to buy a light fixture to replace it. Ted was punctual, friendly, knowledgeable & straight forward about the issues he was encountering. In the end he gave me a $30 discount because he couldn't fix the outside outlet or locate the break in the wiring. I would use Apollo in the future, thanks Ted!

Great overall experience. Called and showed up same day. I had another electrician come out before and he could not resolve the issue. Ted showed up with enough tools to build a house and troubleshooted the problem. Definitely recommend.

Quick, smooth, informative and pleasant! I'll absolutely call Apollo again.

he gave a break on the price and also did suggest good ideas for panel. I would recommend anytime. I already plan to have him to come for another job.

competent inspection, good at explaining, cheerful, creative in suggesting reasonable small additional parts replacement, prompt, efficient. Owner is one-man shop, doing the work himself.

Ted thought he might be able to fix our old fan, but the plastic casing holding the fan chain was cracked and could not be repaired. He installed a new fan for us.

We had two problems. The first problem was immediate, we had no power to our watering system, and we were going out of town during very hot weather. We emailed Apollo on Saturday night, they returned with a call on Sunday, setting up an appointment for Monday afternoon. They arrived on time and resolved the problem quickly (within and hour). The second problem was longer term, requiring more work and expensive (rewiring the service to our stove, with higher amperage service). Apollo recommended a better solution then we had considered and gave us a reasonable estimate. After agreeing to accept their estimate, they arrived at the agreed upon time and finished sooner then we thought .They did an excellent job and clean-up thoroughly.

Ted made this a simple job, he took care of it in such a way that interruption to my business was minor. He is easy to work with and did an excellent job.

Ted arrived promptly, at the time he quoted. He came prepared with all his testing equipment and supplies. Apollo Electric, Ted Baskelis, is an example of old fashioned service from a reliable trustworthy contractor. This a rare. Hopefully, this list will not make him too popular to hire in the future.