Hawkins Electric Service Inc

We called at around 4 pm and they said an electrician would be out in 1-2 hours. I called again at 6 pm to check on status and talked to their answering service, who couldn't give me information. No one called me back for 45 minutes, at which point she said that someone would come in 45 minutes. The electrician finally arrived at 8 pm, at which point he said the problem was probably with Dominion Electric Power Company, which turned out to be the case. So, I'm unhappy that it took so much longer than estimated to get an electrician to my house and they could have told me from the beginning to call Dominion instead.

When we learned our new house had aluminum wiring (as many do in Olney, MD), I researched it and read the recommendations of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Many electricians (even our inspector said that it was fine to use Ideal-65 "purple wire nuts" but many scientific studies and fire inspections have found that they often melt and cause fires. The next step up are Colar Devices, but they're not available for any GFI circuits, so that's only a partial solution. AlumiConn wire lug connectors are good, but they're supposed to be checked (as in check every outlet, switch and light fixture) every year. I know we're not going to do that. Cop-Alum is expensive, but it's the only permanent fix that is approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. It's a cold weld that makes an airtight seal, but the tool is only leased to 10 electricians in Maryland. Hawkins had the best reputation and a reasonable quote. Richard Brewer spent about a week in our new house and sent texts and emails each day to cover what he did. He showed me half-melted wire nuts, and we went over some crazy wiring that the previous homeowner did themselves. He was great at answering questions and offered a few discounts (Angie's List, no furniture for him to move, we removed drop ceiling panels so he had easy access). It was a big expensive job, but it's total peace of mind for our family and eventually when we go to sell the house.

I met with Toney, who arrived on time. He was professional and courteous, and he submitted a bid promptly. I think he submitted an honest price for good equipment, which I appreciate. After debating what lights to use with my partner we decided to do this job the cheapo way. Later on we'll be in a better financial position to do it the right way.

It went very well. The two guys who came were very professional, friendly, and knowledgeable. They worked very hard for about 5 days to do the job. There really weren't any other companies in the area who could to this type of replacement. A number of other companies could have used less expensive methods but research by the Consumer Product Safety Commission indicated that those methods should be considered only temporary and could eventually fail and lead to fires. Although the total cost was a lot, it was way cheaper than replacing all the wiring in the house and will not have to be replaced again.

A job that should have taken no more than two hours took all day. I emphasized in my initial call - and in a follow-up call the day before - that I had a 19ft ceiling. Hawkins noted their need to bring a truck equipped with a tall ladder. They arrived around 10:30, with the ladder. However, after about 35 minutes on the job (some of that time spent outside on a personal call), they informed me the truck was not equipped with the supplies needed for the install!! They had to drive back to the shop to get those supplies. That trip took about 90 minutes...as I waited. When they still hadn't returned I called the shop to determine status. The dispatcher simply said, "Oh yes, he's here. His truck wasn't supplied with the necessary tools." No apology at all. Acted as if this was business-as-usual. That's what ticked me off the most. When I expressed disappointment at their lack of preparedness (particularly given my earlier efforts to emphasize the high ceiling), she begrudgingly and insincerely apologized. Very poor customer service, and no consideration at all for my time. When the servicemen returned, they indicated I needed a different size downrod for the fan (The wires for the fan could not extend all the way through the 8ft downrod.) (Had they checked that initally, I could have gotten the 5ft downrod while they were driving back to the shop.) Fortunately, a Home Depot 5 mins away had the part, and I was back within 15 minutes. I was then told one of the servicemen had to leave early!! We then had to wait for a DIFFERENT serviceperson to drive from DC to help install the fans!! By the time they left, it was 6:30!!! A day I'd planned to arrive to work late, turned into a day of NOT going to work at all!! No recognition of this by management whatsoever. No discount offered, either. Extremely disappointing experience overall, particularly by the dispatcher...and more expensive than other services we've used. Though I will say the servicemen were very polite, friendly and neat, doing a great job of cleaning and vacuuming all areas in which they worked. And the fans were installed well and have given us no problem. However, because of the lack of preparedness, the length of the job, the relatively higher cost than other providers, and PARTICULARLY the total disregard by management, we will NOT be using Hawkins again, nor recommending them to friends.

Richard and Sean were prompt, professional, and did a great job. They fixed the wiring on two outlets, and assembled and hung two fans. Our house is old (1925), so the problem with the wiring was not immediately obvious, but they figured it out and everything is now up and running perfectly! Hawkins charges by the service, rather than by the hour, so that made the price of the job easy to anticipate. They also waived some of the fees because they thought it was fair (i.e. they installed a new fan box rated for a heavier fan, but did not charge the fee associated with that service because it didn't take more than a few minutes to do; they waived the initial fee for coming out to give an estimate since I ended up hiring them for the job). I will definitely use Hawkins again, and highly recommend them.

Excellent and professional: Two basement outlets were dead. Tech arrived on-time and solved the issue promptly and quoted a priced before beginning work! Work took about 2 hrs.

The first electrician who came was very nice, but apparently was doing poor work. They inspected his work before it was complete and took him off the job and sent new technicians. Even though this delayed our work end date, they were very professional and responsive to our concerns. I liked that they showed us what they were doing and explained why certain things needed to be done. Afterwards, one of our switches stopped working and they came back the next day and fixed it without issue. Even with the initial hiccup, we would definitely use this company again.

The electrician showed up on time and my husband was happy with the work they did.

Everything went fine. The fellow was great. He did a very good job.

I was extremely impressed by the service provided. The electricians called me the day before to confirm the work they'd be doing, showed up exactly on time, and were extremely professional and efficient. They explained in detail how they'd go about making the repairs before they began and offered a price quote before starting. The repair was made to my complete satisfaction. Both electricians could not have been nicer or more genuine people. I even received a call from the office following the service to ensure that everything was done to my satisfaction. I will absolutely be calling Hawkins again for any electrical needs.

They did a tremendous job then and we have just kept with them. They were in and out. There was no damage to the walls. The integrity was there. It was pretty awesome.

We changed our living room into a dining room and there was no light except for a socket lamp. So, we had them install a chandelier and they did a beautiful job. I have used them several times.

They were the best price out there I thought for what they were doing. They came right out when they set up to come. They could not come out right away, but pretty quick. They were on time.

We have had problems with our smoke alarms going of randomly when either a batter goes off or one of the sensors goes bad. While we were away for the holidays, our animal sitter stopped by and the smoke alarms were blaring. We tried shutting down the power but that didn't work. I contacted Hawkins and explained we were out of town and needed an electrician to diagnose and fix the problem. They had an electrician there within the hour. Their responsiveness, diagnosis and ultimately fixing the problem were world class. Toni and Rich were truly outstanding.

This is my first time calling upon Hawkins. They are professional, Richard, showed early and was highly organized, detail-oriented, and patient. He explained everything thoroughly and was a pleasure to work with. I really like that Hawkins is transparent in their pricing--it is not by the hour but by the job. I would call upon them again.

The estimate I received was outrageously high. I regret paying this company for a quote. The scope of work I requested included 1) increasing service from 100 amps to 200 amps and 2) relocating all circuits in a subpanel about 20 feet to reside in new 200 amp panel, among other work. The quote I received subtotaled $6,154 for item 1 and $2,750 for item 2, for a combined total with permit of $9,249 . Here is the breakdown the company sent: * Permit: $345.00 * 200amp Panel: $2,466.00 * 200amp Service with Grounding: $2,506.00 * 200amp Service Disconnect: $1,182.00 * Repurpose the existing 100amp panel to make it a junction box and relocate all circuits to the new 200amp panel: $2,750.00 Thankfully, I found another A-rated electrician on Angie's List (who also came recommended by a different A-rated electrician preparing to retire and no longer accepting bigger jobs). This person quoted me a price (for free!) that was about a third of what Hawkins gave for the same scope of work. It was also in line with what Cost Helper suggests is typical for increasing electric service to 200 amps ($1,300 to $3,000). Save yourself the money and avoid seeking quotes from this firm unless you want to pay inflated prices.

After scheduling the appointment, they called 30 minutes before the 4 hour time window to cancel. When they demand a four hour window for the quote, they're essentially forcing you to reschedule your entire workday around the visit. So, to then cancel and casually suggest that tomorrow would work is unacceptable. I'm sure their work would be fine, since they come recommended. Their service left a lot to be desired and I won't be working with them.

Richard was our electrician. He was the best! Very punctual, very knowledgable, very friendly, very efficient. We will definitely use him again for our electrician needs!

Richard was punctual, courteous, and professional. We always appreciate those service providers who put on shoe covers when entering our home (which he did). It is a little detail that means a lot. He was knowledgeable about our concerns regarding certain aspects of the work we plan to do (recessed lights on a sloped ceiling at the roof level, LED-friendly dimmer switches, adding new ceiling fixture, changing up some of the wiring so that the switch that currently operates an outlet will operate a ceiling fixture). Not only was he able to answer our questions, but he brought up a couple of things for us to consider as we move forward. Very pleased, and plan to go ahead with the rest of the work on our quote.

It was done right away and it all worked out fine.

I had a GREAT experience with Hawkins Electric. They were quick to respond and punctual on every occasion that they came, which was over the course of a few weeks after we purchased a new home. Richard Brewer, the electrician we worked with from Hawkins, was fabulous. He was knowledgeable and professional and explained everything he was going to do very clearly. He suggested ideas for saving money on the work being done and how things could be done better, which was much appreciated since we had so little experience with electrical work. He was a pleasure to work with and we are SO happy with all the work he did. We would definitely use Hawkins in the future and would also recommend him.

I ended up letting him address all my fixtures as he advised. I ended up spending alot more than I had intended. He was on time however, and did do a good job.

I called the company this morning because I was very annoyed about the trip charge: not the charge the fact that I was not told about the trip charge. The company said since they did work for me in the past, I would have to pay a "trip charge". I was not told this and did not a appreciate the "surprise. I wished her a happy holiday and told her that I will not be proceeding with the work. . I guess the message is that you penalized for being an existing customer.

Inspected the panel, incoming power, lines and tested most outlets. Provided suggestions as to what could be upgraded and in what order. Very nice and knowledgeable guy, but for $259 I was left feeling like I could have used a little more. Perhaps a comprehensive report I could reference in the future.