HomeOwner
My first bad review on homestars!
If you dont want to read this lengthy review, just read this do yourself a favour and hire an independent master electrician that doesnt have the overhead with big trucks they have to pay for. Do your homework and dont rush a project.
I had a disheartening encounter with captain electric recently. Firstly, their punctuality was a very minor issue. Despite promising an on time arrival time between 10-12, the electrician showed up at 12:05. This was after my first apt was changed to another day. The Captain will say I was compensated for this change as The original service fee initially quoted at $170 with tax was reduced to $100.
Moreover, the lack of transparency regarding pricing was frustrating. When I inquired about the cost of a very specific part over the phone, I was informed that the electrician would need to assess it in person. I didnt understand the reason for this, but in a rush to get it done I agreed. Lo and behold, upon arrival, the electrician identified the same part I had requested a quote for.
This is where matters get worse, the actual repair estimate was an astronomical $833, with over $500 attributed to labor costs for what should have been a 15-30 minute job for a qualified electrician according to my own limited research. The kicker was the required part was not on their ready to go, fully stocked truck (which I was told has hundreds of parts) so the electrician was unable to estimate how long it would take to get the part for the repair. I wasted 2 hours out of my morning waiting for a technician to pay him $100 for exactly 10 mins of his time to tell me what I already knew.. (actually I had to inform the electrician what amp the gfci I needed replacing was, so I actually did more for the service charge then the electrician). Then the Captain didnt have the part on his truck. even if he did have the part the cost of replacing was insane(somehow this feels wrong).
When I tried to raise my concerns with the company the initially call went to voicemail. I then blocked my phone number and magically the call was picked up right away. I received dismissive explanations about overhead costs, the big truck and the necessity of a service charge. However, their rationale fell short considering I had already identified the issue and merely requested a quote for a specific part. The electrician at my house pulled out a book of costs which listed hot tub gfci at $833.. if this is written in a captain electric branded laminated booklet why did I have to pay the electrician to drive to my house to tell me this?
They have a great business model here keep sending out qualified electricians collect $170 service charge from everyone for 10mins, then quote insane prices for the work. Its a win, win more. if the customer decided to pay for the repairs they win more! Please get more quotes if you do have this company come out you are paying way too much!! I had a master electrician complete the full job for a total of $440.
Ultimately, my experience with captain electric was a costly lesson in the importance of clarity, honesty, and FAIRNESS in service provision. In my strong view no service was provided, only a disservice to my time and money! It appears that their guarantee doesnt extend to the service charge cause I am definitely not satisfied and was never offered my money back.
As a regular user of platforms like HomeStars, it's disheartening to encounter such unfair fees and unsatisfactory practices from a supposedly reputable service provider. If you do have this company come out to do work and you feel like getting angry, check a competitors fees on the same job. This will be my first negative review ever left on homestars and hopefully my last negative.
Answer from pro:
Hi al from Ajax. Your concerns are noted...
We did apologize for being late...... we are humans with real life problems and situations like everyone else, and are on time over 98% of the time. We did decrease the service call of $139 down to $89 (HST is Extra) We maintain a 92% success rate of "on the spot" repairs ..... this is not always the case, and in your circumstance with that particular 2 pole GFCI breaker, we did not have it on the service van.
We are sorry for not immediately answering your call to the office. Both client care representatives must have been on the phone at the time, and we would never ignore our clients or block their calls.
To be clear to the Public.... A Master Electrician must ALSO be a Licensed Electrical Contractor, or work for a Licensed Electrical Contractor to legally perform electrical work in Ontario, Canada, ..... AND they must obtain a permit as required by code. ( see section 2 of the current Ontario Electrical Safety Code )
For your own safety, security and liability concerns... Please confirm with the Electrical safety Authority of Ontario that the installer of your replacement breaker obtained the required permit for this installation.
The replacement solution that we offer includes parts, labour, the required permit and warranty. The cost of operating a legitimate Electrical Service Company has risen dramatically over the past few years, and YES .... we operate a medium size company with a substantial overhead that has been maintained for 32 years.
We are always clear with how we operate, from the initial call, to the on-site assessment. Our excellent Client Care representatives are not Electricians and we always explain that an initial on site visit is required to confirm conditions, components and permit costs to legally complete the work.