My tenant called to say that a 4-plug outlet in the kitchen wasn't working. No problem--I'll just call an electrician out of the phone book, one that advertises "no job too small." Electro Serve also advertises "We come today or you don't pay!" Sounds great. I call them, and they can indeed come today--the charge for the visit is $189 if I want a one-hour window, $109 for a three-hour window, or $59 to be on "standby." I opt for the three-hour window, since I do have other things to accomplish today. Went to the unit and waited, and sure enough, the guy calls after an hour. We go in and look. It's not immediately obvious what the problem is, but there is one, and he tells me that it will be $335 for a diagnostic. That's on top of the $109. Uhhhh--okay, I guess. Ten minutes later he comes out and tells me that the GFCI is wonky, but he's got the part in his truck. The only problem is--and he does sound apologetic, and shows me the charge in his book--it costs another $320-ish. So, it cost me $765 and change to get this outlet fixed, which took the repair guy about 40 minutes from start to finish. I'm not used to dealing with electricians for small electrical repairs; is it unreasonable for me to feel somewhat taken?
Pros: very quick service, competent and polite service guy, two-year warranty on the work included
Cons: they don't really warn you in advance that you are going to get in too deep, step by step, to avoid a reaming
more