Kolb Electric

Electrician was on time and provided feedback every step of the way.

I hired this company to install a light over a pool table for a house we had just purchased. There was no existing light fixture so one needed to be installed. The light was previously used over the same table in a different house. The technician who arrived was on time and very friendly. He started the installation and then pointed out to me that we were missing a bracket for the light so he would be able to install the fixture but not the light. He pulled out a bracket from his tool bag to show me what it looked like and suggested I go to Home Depot right now and pick one up. Since Home Depot was a 30 minute drive away, I politely declined and we agreed for him to get as far as he could that day on the installation and then we would reschedule to hang the light once I had the bracket. I didn't quite understand why he could not just use the bracket he had in his hand and showed me (said they are standard) and just charge me for it, but I didn't question it. I showed him a couple other electrocal projects I was interested in having done and he said the office would call me for a quote on Monday (this took place on a Friday). Monday came and went. I waited over a week, no call. Finally I called them only to be bounced around because apparently you have to call the specific location. Once I finally connected with the right office, I was told that my quote wasn't ready. Really? It had been almost 10 days at that point. How long does it take? I was told the technician had not turned in the ticket yet. Huh? After almost 10 days? I told them to forget the quote, I wanted to have someone out to finish the pool table light installation they started. They put me on the schedule for that next Thursday. Later that day someone calls and leaves a message on my phone with the quote. At this point, I did not call them back to approve because I just wanted the light finished and thats it. On Thursday the same technician arrives and I gave him the missing bracket. He then tells me that he cannot install the light because I did not get the right bracket, which made no sense to me since there is only 1 standard bracket and the technician told me that himself when he was here initially. Frustrated, I was about to send him away when all of a sudden he changed his tune and said no problem, he could get the light installed (it was very clear I was not happy). Less than 30 minutes later he was done. Then he wanted to start on the other work that I had asked to have quoted. I told him no, I was not going to do that work. He seemed a little upset and then gave us a quote price that was actually higher than what the office had gave me in the voice mail! I told him no, he then called his office to let them know and then left. I was surprised they would schedule work that they did not receive approval for. At the end of the day, the pool table light installation was fine, but I dont really feel like they were very responsive or professional because of the other issues I've described, so I cant give them an A.

We have used Kolb Electric from Reston and Alexandria in several occassions for other work and we always get the same corteous and professional service. They are our go to electrical service company.

Absolute responded quickly to my phone call, arrived on time and did the work in a time-efficient and professional way. Involved moving a large piece of furniture and they were helpful and careful in that regard.

Technician worked quickly and effeiciently. Installed two lighted ceiling fans and one light onto an existing fan. Our original problem was that our outside lights (holiday and other) had gone out and would not come back on when we reset the circuit breaker. Technicina pointed out a "backup" system which tripped when water from the storm got into the wiring for our outside lights. Easy peasy solution but we didn't know about the "backup" system.

Very well, Technician was on time, personable, efficient and very professional.

On time. Fast & efficient service. Very professional service.

They did surge protection for us. It went very well.

The electrician was extraordinarily resourceful and knowledgable. He fixed several problems encountered during installation including a short circuit in the power line coming from inside the house. I could not have been more impressed with his skills, attitude, and professionalism.

I bought a 'big deal' offer for this and expected to wait some time to get an appointment however they were able to squeeze me in quickly. They showed up on time and were easy to deal with. I had another contractor in the house also doing work and had my attention split between the two of them. The installation was quick and relatively easy. The only thing I wish went better, or I was aware of beforehand, was that they had to install this outside my circuit breaker box because it was full. To do this they needed to cut a small 2" x 3" hole in my dry wall directly next to the box and install this flush with the surface. It is a little unsightly but I am glad I have it.

I’ve used them 3 times. Everything went very well.

Job was planned on 19 August. The technician (Pat) showed up between times planned (8-12am). He performed work as scoped with no surprises; so price discussed earlier held. Pat also explained what work he performed when concluded. I choose Kolb for this job based on positive experience last summer (attic fan wiring) and will continue to use them in the future.

The electrician was very nice. I showed him the items that needed repair, then left for work. He successfully repaired four light sockets. He was unable to repair the two ceiling fans (I later contacted an authorized Casablanca fan repairman who successfully repaired both fans). I was astonished to receive a credit card charge from Kolb for over $700 for the work that was actually done. It just seemed like an excessive charge for what was actually achieved. I made two requests to Kolb for an itemized bill but never received one. Overall very sobering. I will not call Kolb electric in the future.

The electrician arrived promptly at 8:30. He spent most of his time on the phone with his office and then he came to me and said that this was going to be a very large job that would take 31/2 days to install the hot tub.. He said they would have to dig a 3 1/2" trench from the side of the house around to the hot tub (less than 30') and then grind down through the pavers to connect the electrical. This could not be installed on the side of the pergala because it would be a trip hazard. Then the entire hot tub would have to be lifted up (2000 lbs) to have grounding material placed under it. I told him I was not interested in that much work and he said that his service manager was going to come to the sight and give me the final estimate and the technician was getting together a parts list. The technician thought that it would cost at least $5,000.00. He then asked me for one hour of payment. I said no because the side of his trucks said estimates were free and he was giving me an estimate. He said he was just telling me what his boss said for him to do. I called the company and was connected with a gentleman named Lou. Lou started out the conversation with I hear that you do not want to pay your bill. I tried to explain to him that I was only asking for an estimate and not to have any work done. He insisted that I had called to have work done and I tried to explain that the city requires an electrical permit be drawn before any work can be started and I was only interested in getting an estimate. He tried to say that when I made the appointment I did not say this and again I pointed out there was no way the work could have been done today because as a homeowner I had a permit but the electrician also had to have one. He accused me of being argumentative but I was really trying to get him to understand that I had in no way tried to misrepresent what I wanted when I called the company. He was actually yelling at me loud enough that other people standing nearby could hear him.. He finally conceded that maybe his receptionist had not booked the call properly. He started giving me a long explanation of the plan that he had to come out and what he thought that they project would require. When I told him that while I appreciated his time I was not interested in having his company do any work for me he slammed the phone down in my ear. I never had any work done and I never was given an estimate. The electrician was still waiting for me when I got off of the phone and he was very apologetic stating that this was not the first time that something like this had happened at a customer sight. He was upset because he was the face the customer saw and associated with the company. He shook my hand and apologized over and over again before he left.

The electrician installed a surge protector on our circuit box. He also had to install a new circuit breaker. He was prompt and courteous, and finished the job in a couple of hours. Kolb electric is a very good company and I intend to use them for all my electrical needs.

Job went without any problems. Technician was Mark whose trouble shooting proceeded in a logical way and he promptly found the problem, He needed a switch which he had in his truck. No wasted effort. I asked about two problems which I had not included in the initial call and he fixed one and advised on the other. He also found a weather damaged receptacle and replaced it. He was thoroughly professional throughout. Will call Kolb again when there are electrical problems.

[I sent this report in once before but AL says I did not finish it. I hope this one goes through.] The service man came right on time at 8A.M - 5 minutes early to be precise. He offered to take off his shoes but I told him it was not necessary. I showed him the main panel and he went right to work. He had to get a different surge protector for my panel. This meant calling in to his office so they could find him a close by place to get the parts he needed. He also had to rearrange the panel to get the top breaker to be this new surge protector. It took him 2 hours to do all this extra work, but they kept to their price on the deal. I only had to pay for the breaker, as per the deal. He then did the convert to 110V outlet which took an hour. He was very pleasant and courteous. He charged me for the one hour to convert the outlet and the cost of for one breaker. I had paid $150 in advance for the surge deal. BYW they called the same day I sent in the credit card fee for this surge deal. I was impressed by this as I did the same for another AL deal and that company never contacted me, never did the work as they always canceled at the last minute and I got fed up after 2 months of games. NO GAMES with Kolb! EVER!!! They are professional in everything they do. Very reasonable price and very professional . He left me with a 10% card for my next job. I have used Kolb before and have always been very please. For some reason plumbers and electricians can not always be top notch professionals - at least I have found this to be true over 35 years of owning a home.. I will always use Kolb given the great experience I have had with them.!

Fixture was fine; but when they installed they had put the nuts on so tight that I couldn't remove myself to check the bulbs. I had to have them come back to see if the fixture needed new bulbs or something more serious.. I'd have been happier if they had accepted responsibility for installing the fixture in a way that made it impossible for me to change the bulbs myself.

A Kolb technician installed an inexpensive Sycom surge protector on my panel. It was my stupidity for not asking ahead of time what type and brand they were offering. Turns out, I could have bought this for $50 on E-Bay and installed it myself. They charged me $175 so essentially, they installed it for $125 which is hardly a "deal." Kolb claims that they normally charge twice that amount and I have no reason to doubt them. The Sycom surge protector is the least expensive surge protector that you can buy. Other brands use different techniques for preventing the surge from even entering your panel by providing in-line breaker boxes, but they cost hundreds of dollars. This Sycom and others like it are mounted on the panel and connected to a breaker in your panel. It takes about 10 minutes to install one. The idea is that any surge would be detected by the device and the excess would be absorbed by the device and prevented from affecting other circuits. Having been an electronics technician earlier in life, well let's say I am simply keeping an open mind as to whether this device will actually protect delicate electronic circuitry. By-the-way, if you have sub-panels in your house, for your air conditioner for example, you need a separate protector for that too, so I wouldn't call the Sycom a "whole house" surge protector. Two weeks after this was installed we had a power failure. A transformer in our area blew up and Dominion power replaced it. An hour later the second transformer also blew up and a third was installed. The effect of restoring power to your house is to cause excessive variations in voltage and current. An in-line surge protector, unlike the Sycom, will help regulate these power fluctuations. In my case the result of the power fluctuations caused the circuitry in my electric range to malfunction. When I called Kolbe to inquire about the ("lifetime $25,000") warranty associated with the Sycom surge protector they said that they didn't handle the warranty and that I would have to call Sycom directly. Sycom said that I would have to hire an electrician to uninstall the device and then mail it back to them for warranty verification, but if it passed their test then they would not reimburse me for any costs or damage. At that point I started to investigate surge protectors more thoroughly and discovered that I had overpaid for something that would not provide the type of protection that I wanted. And, BTW as an electronics tech I did mange to fix the range myself. I have given Kolb a "C" rating, as opposed to an "F," only because this seems to be the way most electricians provide surge protectors; I.e., it's average. Buyer Beware.

I did have a problem with the first person that was sent to our house but I later found out he had just been employed and he did not know what the process was for Angie's list process. Another electrician came out to work on the order the next day and compleled the job. It was all done in a very professional manner and I appreciate that it was completed as quickly as possible. I also hired them to work on some outlets that I had a problem with and it also was completed in a timely manner. I would use them again.

Agent was professional and explained in detail what was being done, and what surge portecter would do.

Things went very smoothly. Immediately after purchasing the deal for the surge protection, I contacted Kolb. I was pleasantly surprised that there was virtually no wait to have it installed and an appointment was made for the following Monday. The electrician arrived promptly at the scheduled time, worked quickly and without any mess. Of course, it is hard to know that it is working correctly, but as best as I can tell, it should do what it is intended to do.

I purchased the whole house surge protection from Kolb electric for a fixed price. Additionally, I asked them to replace 3 outlets on a time and materials basis. The technician arrived on time and completed the work efficiently. When finished he went out to his truck to write up the bill - this took 15 min. When he gave me the bill he had charged me for the time to install the surge protector as well as the outlets. I had to show him the on line offer that included the word "install" in the description. When he redid the bill he charged me 45 min to install the 3 outlets. When I told him I timed his install and it was 30 min at most he told me he also charged for the time to make out the first bill (15 min) and then the time to make out the corrected bill. Needless to say this did not fly with me - we settled on 30 min which is what it should have been. The lack of professionalism at the end soured the entire experience. I will not use them again

My wife bought a new stove and when we went to slide it in after delivery...we learned that the old stove was hard wired into the wall. I found this company and called them up. I told them exactly what I was looking for. I was able to get a friend to do the install but they were my back-up plan if needed.

90 minutes from Mike's arrival to departure. As described for service performed ... awesome.