I just wanted to take a few minutes to send you some feedback on the work CET did for us on May 27. We were very satisfied with all aspects of the work! We had Alan out here on May 27 primarily to install fluorescent fixtures in the basement to replace very old, buzzing, hanging lights with pull chains that had been put in long ago by previous owners. Prior to Alan's arrival, I had mapped out all the circuit breakers and traced many of the visible cables in the basement. The old lights were plugged into lightbulb socket adapters and were on the same circuits as some of the upstairs rooms. We also had a refrigerator on the basement that was sharing a circuit with something like 10 other outlets and a bunch of ceiling fixtures. I had wanted the lights to be connected to a specific circuit breaker (that had only one outlet on it) and also to move the refrigerator's outlet to another breaker that was controlling only one lightly-used outlet. Finally, I had done quite a bit of work myself (wiring the hall lights with a three-way switch, cleaning up some overcrowded and problematic junction boxes in the attic, and installing GFCI outlets to protect ungrounded outlets) and had asked Alan several questions about this work to make sure it had been done properly and safely. (It had.) Having done some minor electrical work myself and also having hired other electricians in the past, I had a special appreciation for Alan's work. He was meticulous and thorough, and he took care to make sure everything was done neatly and properly even in places where the work would not be seen like inside junction boxes or inside the circuit breaker panel. He also worked very efficiently, making me feel that your $90/hour is at least as good a deal as the slightly lower hourly rates I've seen with some other contractors.
When I called the office, Gary was willing to answer several questions I had about the job, but was not willing to answer theoretical questions about whether a specific problem was fixed properly or what might be causing something I observed. He said he was not going to do trouble-shooting over the phone. This seems like an entirely reasonable position, particularly since I'm not paying for time spent on the phone.
I feel that my questions weren't so much trouble shooting as academic questions intend to help me understand the reasons behind what I was seeing, though as someone who does a bunch of trouble shooting over the phone in my job, I can certainly appreciate Gary's position. While Alan was out at the house (and I was actually paying for his time), he was willing to answer all of those kinds of questions and provide possible explanations for the kinds of things I was seeing. By talking to Gary, I felt that I knew everything I needed to know to be fully prepared for Alan's visit, and after Alan finished his work, I felt satisfied that the work he did as well as several other things in the house were done properly. Of course, I would not hold CET responsible in any way if there were a problem with work I did myself, but I was still grateful to have had a professional look it over.
Oh, and while he was here, he was able to install a GFCI in the one place that was too tight for me to get at and to add an extra couple of outlets near the workbench so I don't have to unplug the sump pump to plugin my power tools. Those jobs probably took 15 minutes total, which is definitely an example of why your policy of charging by the hour rather than by the task is a winner for your customers!
I would definitely not hesitate to call CET again for future work. A month later, the novelty of being able to head downstairs and flip on a light switch, instead of stumbling in the dark for a pull chain, has still not worn off.
I also appreciated the reminder card, the thank you note, and the follow-up email. You're obviously concerned with satisfying your customers, which you have certainly done in this case.
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