We are a first time user and have now become a customer for life! We required 3 light fixtures to be hung and I needed to have a kitchen socket reconfigured so that I could use the pretty kitchen appliances I had purchased from Amsterdam. Firstly, we called around a lot of electricians. They charge just to even come see what work you need done and on top of that these electricians charge "travel time" to drive to your house. The clincher...the two I dealt with before calling Handyman called to reschedule for obscene reasons and were unbelievably unprofessional. I was getting upset with the lighting store we bought our fixtures at. They were quick to sell the fixtures, but no help when it came to installing them. I googled my heart out and came across Handyman. Very courteous over the phone, the lady took our request down and immediately connected us to Duane, a certified electrician. Within the week, Duane came by to provide a free estimate. A FREE ESTIMATE! No obligations to sign up either. What a kind man with many years of experience and excellent recommendations. He gave us an incredibly reasonable estimate. Less than the amount the previous electricians would "guestimate" that their time would cost to just come by to see our fixtures plus charge us travel time on top of it. I signed up right away! Duane came by on time today to get to work. Where should I begin. 3 light fixtures, 1 of which is a chandelier for a 17foot tall ceiling. He came prepared with a tall ladder. But that's besides the point. When I told Duane that I wanted to change a socket in my kitchen to be able to use my appliances from Amsterdam, his many years of experience said it's not a problem! He hunted across the city and found a European socket brought back from Europe by an electrical store owner. Duane didn't want to ruin my appliances by changing the ends the my appliances. (I almost cried from happiness! The other moronic electricians I had to deal with over the phone talked my ear off and "guestimated" obscene costs and possible reconfigurations to our electrical panel and wiring and then never showed up). Duane has many years of experience and it truly shined today. He changed my kitchen socket, 2 that were 110v and configured it to 1 socket with 220v and attached the European style socket to the wall!). My Amsterdam kettle and toaster finally work; quick and easy! I was using an adapter before, which is fairly useless. Then, he installed my 1st fixture in the kitchen. Don't believe lighting stores when they say you can install it yourself. Firstly, home insurance won't cover you if a fire starts from the light fixture you install yourself. Secondly, it doesn't take "only 5 minutes for the electrician to install the fixture". Thirdly, it's not an easy task even for the electrician. It's in intricate job that ONLY an electrician should attempt. And Duane shined again. The 2nd fixture was in my den, which the store promised I could do it by myself within a few minutes. I'd like to report them to BBB for wrong advice. It says right in the instruction "do not attempt to install yourself". Anyway, the 3rd fixture was the chandelier in our high ceiling. Oh my goodness! That is scary work and Duane did it excellently. Duane worked 27 years with the City of Calgary and then worked for the UN across the globe, hence has many experience with electrical work across the world. He knows his work! Thank you so much Duane!! And Thank you Handyman! I would rate 200 out of 10 if this site would let me:o)
