Certified Electrical Technologies

Great. Very competent. Was able to show me that the wiring in the basement was sound, even if the layout was a bit unusual. Another contractor wanted to charge me $21k to rip out the entire ceiling and walls and check. He also pointed out that the main line into the house was cracked, and that needs to be replaced eventually. Later, I called them because I was having flickering in the lights in the basement, and thought I might need to add a new circuit. The gentleman on the phone asked many questions, and he suggested that my old fixtures may not be suitable for the new energy saver bulbs, and that those bulbs are not dimmable. Said to replace the bulbs and call them back if I still had a problem. Wow. I will definitely call this group when and if I need electrical services.

The electrician arrived on time, and was very good. He immediately diagnosed the cause of the problem and said it was easy to fix. He took care of it in 30 minutes, and since I pre-paid for two hours, he agreed to return another day to install light dimmers. I went and bought the dimmers, and he retuned as agreed and installed them. He did a very good job, and was very efficient.

CET was a pleasure to work with. They were extremely flexible with scheduling the appointment. The technician was on time and very professional. I highly recommended CET.

Everything went as planned and smoothly. The cost was ten percent less than the estimate provided over the phone. I'll definitely use them again when I need an electrician.

Went very well, done in three days. Day 1 - inspection (Angie's list special) and installation of GF Day 2 - installation of outdoor lamp and new circuit Day 3 - installation of outlet boxes, GFCIs All work done on schedule. Installation of new circuit left holes in wall, but technician had warned me in advance that fixing those holes would be my responsibility. I wish that were not the case, but that's life.

It was a very good experience. The electrician that came out was very straight forward and explained everything to us as far as putting holes in the walls and what else the project detailed.

Excellent. The company office was responsive and courteous and the electrician showed up on time. The electrician was also resposive to questions about the specific work and also answered my general questions and offered professional advice about the electrical situation in my 25 year old home. He showed interest in making the replacements so they suited my needs as to appearance and height of the fixtures. He also worked quickly and did not extend the time even though the company charges at an hourly rate. The Angieslist coupon would have been accepted except the time and charges did not meet the $200 level at which point the coupon would have had an effect. I did not consider this an issue as approximately 2 plus hours of an electrican's time and a light switch they supplied came to only $185. I have no issues with the company, recommend them and would use them again.

I emailed Gary to request a visit to assess some outlets that were not working. Gary emailed me back within 20 minutes and, based on my description of the issue, suggested it sounded like a GFI issue and that I should check all of the GFIs in the house before paying for them to come out and check. While I had done that already I went ahead and did it again and he was right - I missed one the first time around. He could have simply scheduled an appointment and charged me for a service call but, instead, he spent the time to help me help my self and, in doing so, will definitely get my work the next time I need an electrician for anything. Thanks, Gary.

Making the appointment was easy and the electrician showed up on time in the window given. He got to work taking out the light fixtures and installing the fans. In the master bedroom, the fan that was currently there wobbled and made lots of noise and I told him that. The replacement fan I bought was an upgrade and heavier than the original fan. After he installed it he told me that he had to replace the box in the ceiling, since it was not rated for that fan (and I guess it was why the other fan was not balanced). I paid for that, of course, and would have agreed to it, but I thought that before he did the work and put the fan up, Iit would have been more professional if he had told me that there would be an extra charge to fix something that needed to be fixed in order to to the work as requested. Otherwise, fast, inexpensive (I had been quoted $125 and $120 each for fan installation by other companies) and quality work. No problems with the fans--they run all the time and don't wobble.

We tried to set up an appointment with this company, and it started well. They asked us sensible questions and then sent us an email with appointment details. However, the appointment details were in the subject line of the email only, appended to the end, and not in the body of the email at all. I missed this, and asked for the date and time again. We got the following reply: ================================ From: Gary Epstein [mailto:Gary@certifiedelec.com] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2012 1:01 PM To: [email address removed] Subject: RE: Appointment Fri 9/14/12 10-2 It is classified information. We cannot tell you this info Please do not look at the Subject Line (above) of this email Thanks ================================ Now, is that a funny reply? Sure, in some ways. Maybe Gary Epstein is the next Jerry Seinfeld and has just missed his vocation. But how would you feel if you got this as a reply? Only you can answer that, which is why I?ve reproduced in full above. I had never corresponded with Gary Epstein before, so for Certified Electrical Technologies this was a professional contact with a new client. All I can tell you is that I have people who have been clients and friends of mine for 20 years, and I would never even contemplate writing to them in this mocking way. If I did, I would expect to lose their business. I can see the funny side of being a smart-alec, but it just isn?t respectful or professional. But wait ? perhaps the email I sent to Certified Electrical Technologies was rude or snotty. Maybe I kinda asked for a smartmouth response. Judge for yourself: ================================ From: John [email address removed] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2012 12:16 PM To: Gary Epstein Subject: RE: Appointment Fri 9/14/12 10-2 Yes, but when is it? I at least need to know what day and what scheduled time. ================================ Nope, guess not. So then I contacted them and gave them a chance to make it right. Crickets. Now it?s the end of Day 3 with no response and I?ve posted the facts to Angie?s, as I said I would do if there was no reply. This performance gave me enough of a doubt about the professionalism of Certified Electrical Technologies ? and the wisdom of letting them into our family home ? that I passed. Luckily Angie?s List has a large range of excellent alternative companies to install our surge protectors. What a shame. =========== POSTSCRIPT =========== Here's the "angry email demanding that we beg his forgiveness" that the company refers to in its response: From: John {email address removed] Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2012 3:41 PM To: 'Gary Epstein' Cc: 'contact@certifiedelec.com' Subject: RE: Appointment Fri 9/14/12 10-2 Gary- The very last thing I need right now is a service provider with a smart mouth. If you can find the character to apologize, I will give you that opportunity with one call. [number removed]. Otherwise let?s forget it. I may post your email on Angie?s List. =========== This could have been easily fixed if the company could have found the character to make that one call. I waited three days. They didn't call. And incidentally - since we now know that missed appointment information in their emails is a problem many customers have - wouldn't it make more sense ti improve their communication rather than to make sarcasm a policy? Incidentally we never received the "cancellation" email to which they refer. It was we who ended the business with them. Given their response and its reinvention of history, I'm relieved that we walked away. Who wants to fight with a supplier?

I had purchased a coupon for a $75 ceiling fan installation. I called the company an asked if I could have some other electrical work done while the electrician was there. They said fine and gave me a quote for the work. When the electrician arrived he did not know anything about the conversation I had with the company and was so busy with the work generated by this coupon that he couldn't fit it into his schedule. I felt that the technician rushed through the ceiling fan job due to the amount of work he had. For this reason I am reluctant to purchase a coupon for these type of services in the future.

Dave called in advance to tell me he was coming. He arrived on time and displayed absolute professionalism. He had an opportunity just to sell me a new fan, but he repaired my old one. His troubleshooting skills enabled him to fix a non-functional outlet that another electrician had previously stated would not function without a complete, multi-thousand-dollar re-wiring of my home.

The experience was very pleasant. The technician, Phil, was great. Called prior to his arrival. Was friendly, did good work, and very helpful.

We had a breaker trip and it would not resert. We called CET, and they set up an appointment. The technician called before he came as promised and showed up right on time. He was clean, courteous and professional. Because the circuit in question was on the 3rd floor, and the breaker box was on the first floor, he had to go up and down the stairs several times to diagnose the problem. He found the issue (a shorted out ceiling fan motor) and disconnected it so that the rest of the lights and sockets on the cirsuit could be used. He told us what the installer would need to know when we replace the fan. He cleaned up after himself, and left. $125 is certainly a reasonable fee, considering the time spent in troubleshooting and then fixing the issue. Highly recommended!

Overall, the experience went well. I am extremely pleased.

Steve was so nice on the phone when I called to set up the appointment. He walked me through each item and helped me to have everything ready when the technician arrived. The technician, Rob, was prompt and called to let me know that he was on his way. He was very courteous and extremely efficient and professional. Instead of replacing the bathroom fan, he is researching to see if they can order a motor for the unit and will come back to install it. All other items were completed quickly and efficiently. I am very pleased with Rob, Steve and Certified. Update: Rob's second visit to replace the bathroom fan motor was also excellent. He called ahead and arrived on time. He replaced the motor and also replaced the bathroom GFI. I also had an outdoor security light that wasn't working and he replaced that as well. I couldn't be more pleased with Rob and Certified.

Steve in Alexandria resolved one issue regarding several outlets over the phone. He asked me several questions then asked me to check a switch, instead of having me wait for my appointment the outlets were functional again. It was a simple adjustment. I scheduled an appointment which was for the following week at my convenience. The window I was to expect them was three hours instead of the five to six hour wait of other services.Steve showed up on time, was dressed professionaly and got right to work. I felt at ease with hime in my home which has not always been the case with other unrelated services I have had done in the last year.He confirmed my concerns on the wiring on my lighting, resolved and replaced two fixtures. He then replaced the ceiling fan. I plan to use them again.They are professional, polite, and focused on service and a job well done.

The guy came on time and went to work right away. It was a straighforward job except that he mismeasured one of the light locations and started cutting into the ceiling in the wrong place. He caught himself before he cut the entire hole, but I had to go back and repair all of the drywall anyway so it wasn't really a big deal. It would have been nice if they had repaired the drywall, but I knew they wouldn't do it going in. (they're electricians, not drywallers). The guy was nice and efficient. I recommend this company.

He was professional, on time, and explained all discrepancies he found. He also provided an estimated cost to fix the noted problems. I was satisfied.

Overall, they did a fantastic job, made hardly any mess and kept dry wall holes to a minimum.

We had contacted another electrical service company to perform a list of small tasks. They came to the house and priced out everything using a pre-existing pricing list. It come to a very large sum of money and we decided not to go with that company because of the "scare tactics" they used and the price. We went to Angie's list to look for another company to come to the house and perform the same list of tasks. Certified Electrical Technologies was at the top of the list so we decided to give them a try. We called and Certified told us they charged for time and material and the associated rates which sounded reasonable to me, so we made an appointment for them to come over and perform the work. The Certified technician was a true pleasure to have in the house performing the work. He was curteous, professional, and pleasant to talk to while he worked. It ended up only taking two-three hours for the entire list of tasks. Certified even went down to the power panel and gave it an inspection when we asked them to take a look. The other company had stated the box had a bunch of rust and oxidation, there were connections that were not to code, the bus bars used in the panel were substandard, and we needed to replace the entire panel at a cost of over $3,000.00. Certified confirmed there was some minor rust and oxidation but that it looked like it was an old problem, nothing that would impact the panel's safety and service. Regardless, he cleaned it up a bit and applied something to help prevent the rust and oxidation fromre-occurring. The total bill came to $215.00. We were extremely pleased with the cost. In addition, we received confirmation that the electrical panel was NOT about to short out and set the house on fire, it was perfectly functional as well as safe. Much needed and welcomed peace of mind after being told a week earlier that this was a dangerous situation and we had to act to avoid big possible safety issued. We are glad to have been able to find Certified Electrical Technologies using Angie's List. We cannot recommend Certified highly enough and look forward to having started a new, long lasting interaction with Certified for anything that comes up around the house. Bravo to a well performed job by Certified and an excellent recommendation from Angie's List.

The tech was on time, professional and polite. He explained everything he was doing, and reviewed his findings with me to make sure I understood everything. I got a timely followup note with a discount coupon that I could use if I have them do the upgrades they recommended in the inspection. I am now in the process of having them do a formal estimate for the work, and they remain responsive and professional. Two thumbs up!

Some of the lights in the house went out as if a breaker was tripped. After checking the breaker box and not finding a tripped breaker we figured there must be a loose wire. We called called EXCEL Electrical. EXCEL was one of the highest ranked on Angie's List and was currently on one of the "Big Deals." We were a bit concerned how the prepayment to Angie's List may complicate the payment process once the electrician was on site. It was no problem because the electrician (George) was completely aware of the prearranged payment process. We called and left a message to be called regarding the situation. Our call was returned promptly and a date and time was set for the work to be done. The electrician showed up right on time. George was courteous and profressional. He arrived ready to work and had the right tools readily available to him. After a few minutes of troubleshooting, George found the problem and resolved it. Because we had more time remaining. He asked if we had any other electrical needs. George had noticed we had a dimmer switch we had on the counter and without prompting asked away if we wanted it installed. He installed the dimmer and then we asked that he change one wire in the breaker box as we were advised to do during the original house inspection. George moved the wires to the correct the problem which brought the breaker box up to code. We were impressed with the work and with this company's professionalism. George was completely aware of how the Angie's List "Big Deal" worked so there was no question of the payment arrangement. We had already paid Angie's List and we had prearranged payment over the phone using the provided code provided my Angie"s List. A great easy experience overall.

The individual on the phone (Certified Electrical) was more than willing to provide a ball park quote for each part of the work over the phone. However, when I asked to schedule a site visit to get a detailed quote and have the assurance that all parties knew the details of the work they wanted to charge $125 with a steep charge of $85 if we canceled less than 24-hours before the appointed time. Charging a site visit inorder to develop a detailed quote is unreasonable especially for a complex and expensive job.

Work went extremely well. I was pleased with the result.