RAISLEY ELECTRIC

A very nice young man showed up on time. I showed him the work I wanted done in each room and asked how much it would cost to have all the work done. He said he had to call his boss and he went to his van. When he came back he said the cost would be $150. I agreed and said go ahead with all the work. After he started the job he said he needed one more pot light and I went to the store and bought it. Later he said he was wrong, he only had 1 pot light and needed another one. I went back to the store and bought another one. I asked for the bill, but was told it would be mailed to me. I was happy with the work he did and planned to hire Raisley Electric to put in 2 ceiling fans and add more lights, inside and out, and wire a hot tub as soon as I could find the time to have the work done. Today I opened a bill for $390. That's when I realized I hadn't gotten an invoice from the young man who did the work. Having only hired an electrician once before for a $75 job - I had no idea if this was a reasonable amount, but I knew it wasn't the amount I expected. Tonight I called the number on the bill and expected to get an answering machine because it was outside of office hours. The phone was answered and I said I had a question about the bill. The business owner seemed incredulous that I would expect the work to be done for that amount and started talking about the hours on the job (probably 1 of which was spent waiting for me to make 2 trips to the store.) and the trip charge (which I don't dispute - but hadn't heard of before) and equipment replacement, (1 pot light and a few face plates) etc. I explained that I had no idea what the work would cost and that is why I asked up front. He then told me what time it was at his house and I hung up. I wouldn't have minded being told that the call would be returned during business hours. I only called when I did because I have a family member in the hospital and was afraid I would forget to make the call the next day and thought if I left a message the call would be returned. The owners wife called me back and I apologized for making the call and said I wouldn't have called if I had known it was a personal line. She offered to send me an invoice, but I said no need at this point because I realized the mistake I had made in not getting a written estimate to start with and I will pay the bill. I would have had the work done if I had gotten that quote anyway. I don't want to add any inconvenience to what was apparently a misunderstanding. As I said, my mistake, however, I don't consider this to have been handled very professionally. I have just bought the house and plan to make many improvements to it in the next few years. I am looking for tradesmen I can use for years to come. They did the work to my satisfaction, but I need to feel comfortable with someone if I'm going to hire them again.