ave you wondered why the most inexperienced, costly contractors end up in your home? Don’t worry; it’s happened to me too. Yet it could have more to do with the information you’re getting up front, and these “Top 5” have caused untold grief.
Let’s be plain: You usually call an electrical contractor because a) something broke, or b) you’re considering an electrical upgrade or c) you’re getting a new building, home, or addition built. Since any of those can be stressful all by itself, the last thing you want is to add to the panic or irritation. Yet it happens regularly.
That’s why we created this list for you. You can save lots of headaches if you’ll check…
1. Credentials – If a contractor’s palms start sweating and a stutter appears as soon as you ask for licensing information, it’s probably a safe bet that you should take your business elsewhere.
Electrical contractors should be able to readily (and eagerly) provide licensing and insurance information, as well as at least five references from recent customers. Be sure to check the references and inquire about timeliness, job performance, and overall satisfaction of results.
Dixie has been licensed and certified for electrical work for over 100 straight years (I’ll assume this is a record of some sort!) To us, “Unlicensed” or “Uninsured” is the same as saying “Unconcerned with potential disasters and home safety.”
2. Training, Experience, Character – You don’t want to be the training class for an inexperienced technician, or else you’ll pay while he learns. Electrical guesswork should be settled in the classroom, not your living room. With 30,000 home fires a year attributed to “poor electrical wiring”, we don’t like “guessing”.
Problem is, by the time you see him shrugging his shoulders and tossing the “extra” wire back on his truck, it may be too late to ask about training. So, simply ask about training policies for technicians and strict hiring requirements. You’ll have to judge from the answer whether you still feel comfortable with this company in your home.
At Dixie, we don’t mind telling you (okay, now we’re bragging) that our techs go through the Advance Professional Electrician course and each year we re-train on basics, and advance train for specifics. Modern electronics and electrical demands on homes and businesses are way different than just a few years ago. If you don’t keep up, you’re left behind.
On the subject of “character”, you’ve heard and read enough about Contractor Scams, Drug Use Among Tradespeople, Illegitimate Billing Practices, and more to worry you (and me!) into a corner. That’s why we Drug Test regularly, background check,use Photo IDs, triple-check the quality of our work, use standardized billing, and hire people like they were coming to our house… since in effect, they are. We only hire about 1 in 12 applicants. We presume the others go to work somewhere else.
3. Up Front Pricing – Beware of any contractor that asks for a deposit first. If a contractor claims the deposit is “to buy supplies”, that’s a bad sign; credible contractors should have open accounts with local suppliers. Your deposit may be headed to pay a bill instead of purchasing your supplies.
Dixie Electric Company will give you a price for services before work begins, and ask for payment only when work has been completed.
4. Scheduling– If a contractor says, “We should be there in the next day or so”, keep looking. Are you supposed to wait around on a “maybe”? Or if it’s an emergency, you need a quick response, not an appointment a week from Tuesday. That’s why real-live human beings answer our phones 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, making intelligent scheduling decisions based on travel radius, availability, and urgency.
Plus, at Dixie the scheduling is explained, you’re given a specific time, and we’ll be there – guaranteed, just like we’ve been doing for the past hundred years. To us, a “no show” is unprofessional and uncaring, two pretty bad traits for a contractor.
5. Guarantees –If you don’t get a guarantee and something fails, you get to pay to have the same problem fixed twice. I know that doesn’t sound “fair” but that’s what happens on many jobs we “fix” after another contractor.
This is an awkward situation for us, since the home or business owner is not in the best mood, but we do everything we can to minimize the pain. Usually, we’re told they chose the other company because it was “a bargain.” Paying twice is usually not much of a bargain.
Ask about guarantees in writing. (Sad but true: It’s very hard to enforce the spoken word.) If the answer is something like, “Oh, trust me it’ll be fine. What do you need a guarantee for?”, then I’d be very concerned. This is why Dixie puts our guarantees in writing.
You’re calling a contractor because you have a problem. His job is to solve those problems – not add to them. Being meticulous in your choice can save you time, money, and quite possibly a few gray hairs.
If you’d like solutions to these and other Electrical challenges, just call Dixie Electric Company at 334-262-2946 and we’ll be delighted to help.
