You call a company, a salesperson comes out to quote the job, and then a completely different crew shows up to do the work. So you get to explain the whole problem all over again.
The person who answers the phone is the same person who comes out to look at the job, writes the quote, and does the work. You never have to explain anything twice.
Flat-rate pricing sounds simple until you realize it's built to cover franchise fees, a dispatch office, a salesperson's commission, and overhead for people who never touch your wiring.
You're paying an independent electrician directly, so none of your money goes to franchise layers, dispatch offices, or middlemen. That's why the rate is typically half what the big shops charge.
Parts and materials get marked up before they ever reach your invoice. A $40 mounting box from Lowe's shows up on the bill at $200, and you'd never know unless you checked.
Hardware is sourced at cost and itemized on your quote, so you can see exactly what everything costs. Cliff brings the parts and charges you what he paid for them.
Your quote can change once the work starts, and "we found something else while we were in there" is the most expensive sentence in contracting.
Cliff will come to you for a free estimate, and the number he gives you is the number on your invoice. If something changes, you hear about it before any extra work happens.
The permit gets signed by someone sitting in an office who never actually saw your house or touched your wiring.
The permit is signed by the same person who did the work, because that's how it should be. NC License #27821-L, 80+ permits on file with New Hanover County.
When something comes up after the job is done, you call the company's main line, open a ticket, and hope someone gets back to you eventually.
When something comes up after the job, you call the same number you've always called and talk to the same person who did the work.
(910) 431-8227You really have no way of knowing whether the person they sent to your house has ten years of experience or ten weeks, because companies rotate crews constantly.
Cliff has been doing electrical work in Wilmington since 1982. Residential, commercial, industrial, and Hobart certified for commercial kitchen equipment. Not the ordinary electrician.
