Competent Electrical Service

I had 2 light fixtures which were suspended from a soffitt over a bathroom sink. I removed the soffitt and had to have the wiring moved and 2 new wall mounted boxes installed. I contacted Competent Electrical Services and Jim Merritt came out and gave me a fair estimate. They were able to work within my schedule and the electrician JT Miller did an excellent job. I would use them again in the future.

They were thorough and did a good job throughout the entire process.

I received 3 estimates and they had the best price for it. Their quality of work was good.

I called and spoke with JT on Friday, 10/9/09. I told him that I lived in an older home and I would prefer to have an electrician versus an apprentice. He immediately made an appointment for me on Monday, 10/12 and said he would be there between 11 and 1. He called at 9:45 on Monday and said he was on his way. My mother - who has alzheimers - let him in to work. I did advise him of her condition when he called me before he got there. He called back a little over an hour later to tell me the three new light fixtures had been installed and it was an old, faulty fixture that caused the smoke in the kitchen light fixture. He was professional and called me immediately after he had left the house to tell me what he found.

Great...the price was perfect and the quality of the work was great. They were professional and completed everything in a timely manner. I especially enjoyed the extra discount for paying in cash.

Jim the owner came out to do the estimate and provided a detailed proposal at a reasonable price. I requested a brand of circuit panel which they don't typically use, and Jim had no problem with it. The 2 gentlemen who did the work were courteous and professional throughout the day and did an excellent job. I highly recommend this company to others.

When I decided that I could not manage the replacement myself, I called and they came and did it the same day.

Initial problem was corrected the first day, but second problem was discovered the next day when the lights that were out the day before went out again. Two problems were unrelated, but they came back promptly the next day after finishing their other job to discover an completely different and potential fire hazard. Wires to ceramic ceiling lights shorted out and were trying to cause a fire. Cermic fixture was replaced quickly and all other ceramic lights in the unit were checked for the same problem. They only charged for labor and parts the second day and did not impose a second trip charge.

Outstanding, prompt and efficient service. I received a friendly and professional response the same day I submitted my initial inquiry for service and estimate. Work was completed quickly, cleanly, and the previously mentioned issue with the brownouts is gone. All equipment functions without interruptions. I am very pleased with the quality of this company's work and intend to contact them for my next electrical project.

My light switch in the kitchen suddenly stopped working and I needed it fixed pretty quickly (the 2 in the bedroom had been out for some time, but they were not critical). I emailed on a Thursday, got a call back and received an estimate the same day over the phone. An appointment was scheduled for me for Monday morning. The technician did not come until the end of the afternoon because his earlier job took longer than expected, but I always got a call to make sure coming later would be ok with me which was the case so this was not a problem. Technician was very professional and courteous. I received a discount for using Angie's List and for paying in cash. I would use this company again. While some neighbor's have paid less for this type of service, I value my time and professionalism is extremely important to me so I don't mind paying a little more for excellent service.

My smoke detectors are fixed electronically into the house and one downstairs wasn't working. We tried to replace it and all of the detectors went off. Called them and they said that we would need to replace them with ones that were compatible of each other. He went out, bought them and put them in.

Their price was extremely reasonable. They readjusted the cost because one of the works did not show. That was nice of them since they didn't have to mention that to me.

We wanted to replace our current service panel, have new updated lines run to several points in the house (including GFI receptacles, and underground wiring to detached garage). Although we have in the past used one particular company, the extent of the work we wanted warranted a second estimate and we were very interested in this particular company based on Angie's reports. The company responded quickly to our request for an estimate, spent considerable time scoping the project and gave us a very detailed estimate. Because the estimate was so proximate to that received from the company we've traditionally and happily used we let this company know that we would not be using them for this project, but we surely would engage them in future work if something happened with the company we did select. This is one of those times when I felt badly about getting two estimates. This company, which we didn't select only because of price similarity with our "familiar" company was outstanding in terms of responsiveness, thoroughness of estimate, and - overall - professionalism in handling our request.

After a windstorm, tree branches knocked down our home's electrical wiring, including separating the ground wire. CES both answered the phone right away and then responded promptly the next day for the service call. They hooked up the wires so we had temporary power. Then, came out the next day to fix a damaged breaker, inspect suspicious outlet failures, and finish their work on the wires. It was Jim and his assistant who performed the work. It went great! We were impressed with their professionalism, efficiency in working quickly and neatly; organized. They were informative and knowledgeable.

They responded in a timely manner and gave us an estimate over the phone. The estimate was for the following work: Fix three power outlets, install 4 Light Fixtures, one > 10 feet high, the estimate was 2.5 hours@110 and a 50$ fee, in the original estimate we did not disclose that one of the fixtures was > 10 feet high, as we assumed they had a ladder. We also did not disclose that two of the lighting fixtures were fans, as we were having them installed in previously wired locations. The first trip out the electrician was here from 2 to 5, but billed for 3.5 hours. He stated that he did not have a ladder for installing one of the light fixtures, and would have to make a second trip. Total cost: $284.17 (including 50$ visit charge). They arrived for a second trip 11 days later but did not call us in advance to let us know what time they would arrive. No work done because no one was home. The third trip took place two days later. Two electricians arrived for this job, the second possibly as a trainee/apprentice. Both men installed a single light fixture over 10 feet up. We were again assessed 50$ a visit charge, and paid both men for 45 minutes of their time. Total cost for the single fixture installation was $160. The quality of the installation is excellent. Because of the reputation and the reasonable phone estimate we did not price competitors. If we had a more accurate estimate we probably would have seen what else was out there, as we ended up spending close to $450 for a job budgeted at $300.

It didn't go over....Competent Electric ignored my requests to schedule an appointment!

Was very impressed with the company overall. Jim gave me an estimate several months ago, refreshed his quote just prior to doing the work and it was still in the same range of the original estimate. Installation was well coordinated, installers were very thorough and cleaned up completely and they did a very nice job with the fan and switch installations. Bathroom fan/light could not be repaired-fan was too old to find replacement. Cost increase related to install of new unit as quoted.

Competent Electrical Services is just that...very competent. They pulled the permit from the city, had the city out to shut power off at 8:00 a.m., brought in the extra service line, removed the old breaker box, installed the new one, and re-wired the circuit breaker panel from top to bottom. They had a city inspector out that afternoon. The inspector noted a few issues that had to be addressed, but gave the OK to energize the panel. They had city electric back out that afternoon to turn the power back on. They fixed the couple of issues (labeling the panel's circuit breakers, some caulking, and tightening) and coordinated a time convenient to my schedule to have the inspector back out who, on re-inspection, passed them. They did a great job! They were courteous, on time, and did a good job for us. I will call them for my future electrical repairs.

The price was great for all the work he did; he is professional and cleaned up his mess and seems very knowledgeable on what he is doing. I would recommend him to everyone.

They where very friendly when they were there working for me. They where very professional about the job. They showed up on time to do the work for me.

My bathroom lights above the sinks were flickering and sometimes not staying on. I also had a can light in the kitchen that did not work even after I replaced the bulb. I also had a loose receptacle in the kitchen. When I called them to schedule a visit on Monday, I had to leave a message on their answering machine, but they returned my call within a few hours. They were able to schedule a time that was convenient for me on Friday. They said Tim would arrive between 8:30am and 9am, but would let him know that I requested for him to come at 8am if that was possible. He arrived at 9am. He quickly determined that I needed a new switch to repair the bathroom light and fixed it. He checked my kitchen light and determined that it was fine, and that it might not have worked because either a tab was not where it should be or it might have been a bad bulb. He also quickly fixed my loose receptacle. He was very courteous and respectful and took care of all the electrical problems quickly.

The overall experience was very good. Not only was Jim very professional during the estimate process, Jim's estimate for the work I requested was the lowest of the three estimates that I received. Jim's guys got to work immediately when they arrived. They installed three fanlights in my bathrooms, where there weren't any previously, which meant that they had to also install the ducts and create an outlet vent. The two guys were rough around the edges from a personality standpoint (I could hear their profanity while they worked), but they did very good work. They allowed me to furnish the fans and floodlights, instead of furnishing the fixtures and then charging me a premium (extra profit). Even when I had a fanlight and a floodlight that were defective, they were willing to come back out and install the replacement fixtures. During the installation of one of the floodlights it was found that the junction hookup was out of code, so Jim had to charge me for the repair.

We are very happy with their work. They were here when they said they would be to provide the estimate, they provided the written estimate the same day, they scheduled the work promptly and were here when they said they would be. The workman were very polite and friendly and treated our home as if it were they own. They cleaned up after themselves. The care they demonstrated in checking for hidden obstacles before cutting, I think, typifies their approach to the job. They even cleared off a counter I had forgotten to clear before they arrived and put everything back in its place. They finished the work quickly and efficiently.

Fantastic - they did what they said they would do. Cleaned up after the work and were quite pleasant in the process. Cost was at estimate and everyone was on-time. Very happy. Would call engage again if necessary.

They gave me a bid over the phone, scheduled the work within the week, came on time, completed the work (as well as one additional item I had not included over the phone), and were polite and professional and friendly and kept my home clean throughout the process.