CASCADE ALARM

The primary issue we had with them is this: the new system required a new line to provide electrical power. Cascade does not perform this part of the work, and insists that we as the client are responsible for this portion of the required work. They mounted the equipment, and then told an employee of ours that "we needed run power up to the equipment" (the operative words being "up to"). They left no written instructions or details, or made a request that the electrical subcontractor contact them so that the scope of the work was coordinated with their requirements. It was our assumption that they were going to be responsible for the actual wiring and installation of their own equipment -- we were just being asked to run power to the location. Evidently, what was meant by their verbal instruction to our employee is that our electrical contractor was to connect the power to their equipment. That precise point was not part of their verbal instructions. We are now stuck with rehiring the subcontractor to perform this part of the job at our expense. So this is an obvious case of lack of proper communication. What I find annoying is that Cascade contends that everything they did and asked for us to do is clear and obvious: "All electricians know what to do with this". Since this is not what actually happened, then this statement is obviously not actually true. I suggested that it would be better on their part to leave either: a) written instructions of precisely what work is required; or b) insist that the subcontractor contact them before performing the required work so that it is spelled out precisely what needs to be done. Somehow offering this suggestion of how they could prevent this from happening again is not needed: they did nothing wrong. I gather from this conclusion of theirs that either: a) we the customer are stupid and cannot follow simple instructions; b) the electrician is incompetent; or c) that we should be able to read their minds. It is a great method of absolving themselves of any responsibility for the poor communication, but it does nothing to address the root of the problem, nor does it show any concern for their customers. And since they indicated that they intend to change nothing about their procedures, I think it quite likely that this could occur again with some other customer. In a nutshell, I really dislike the implication that the miscommunication is all our fault and that Cascades actions are perfect in every way -- this problem has nothing to do with them. Maybe we are indeed stupid, but I still do not appreciate being treated in that way by someone who in theory, works for us. It certainly isn't a way to get a good recommendation.

Very satisfied with the actual work performed by both technicians (the inspection and back flow test were done separately). The downside is that it took a few back-and-forth phone calls/messages to get service scheduled (although they always returned my calls). Also, the back flow test cost $60 instead of the more standard $50 we've been charged from other testers over the past few years. Finally, even in this age of GPSs and Google Maps, I had to give the inspector verbal directions to our house!