American Electrical Contracting Inc

"Thank you for being an American Electrical Contracting customer. We appreciate your business."

"Dear Member Uncharacteristically we have seen 2 bad reviews in a row. NOT for our work but the reviews still point to dissatisfaction by 2 prospective customers. We are an attentive company & the way we do business is partially shaped by our customers. This situation will be reviewed & corrected. Thank you for your input."

"Dear member: We sincerely apologize for not getting back in touch with you, in writing. We are very sincere in what we do for our customers however, I am sure you know it is possible to forget something important. Occasionally we get pulled in many directions in our attempt to do our jobs. That is no excuse, we are at fault. We try to be perfectionist but we do fall short. As you noted, he did make suggestions for improving your lighting. We followed up with the estimator & was told that he did provide you with a verbal estimate, onsite and he forgot to provide you with a written proposal. We sincerely apologize for that. A quick reminder phone call from you would have been greatly appreciated by the estimator."

"Thank you for the good review. As a commercial & residential contractor, we have crews that are skilled in every facet of electrical work. For an A/C contractor to do a great job it is a team effort. We make sure we live up to their expectations so they can provide you with excellent service. A/C is not a luxury in Florida it’s a necessity that must be reliable. It is also a very competitive field with many contractors. The member stays in business because he does excellent work & keeps you cool."

"Thank you for taking the time to give us a good review. The following addresses your pricing question. At American Electrical Contracting, Inc. our goal is to please every customer both in job performance & pricing. There are many ways that various contractors, electrical & non electrical, price their services. Depending on the job & what a customer is looking for, we also have different ways of pricing jobs. First let me state that all estimates are free. There is no charge for an over the phone estimate or an onsite estimate. Over the phone, qualifying questions are asked to determine exactly what needs to be done. We also gather information about the work environment that paints a picture of what obstacles need to be overcome & how long that may take. For example, what year was your home built, (it typically takes longer to do certain jobs in older homes), is there an accessible attic, do you have a circuit there now, etc. The questions vary based on the type of request. A price is then quoted, based on the information provided. That is what we call a quoted job & the electrician charges the price quoted, even if he runs into issues that makes it take longer than the estimated time, he cannot exceed the quoted price. Some people having a flat rate price. For onsite estimates at your home or business, we review your requirements, take notes & we can mail or e-mail a formal proposal. There is no charge for this estimate either. However, for operational efficiency, we tend to do this kind of estimate for larger jobs or in cases where it is not clear what a customer is looking for or we need to see the obstacles that must be overcome to do that job. Obviously we cannot visit every customer to give an onsite estimate & written proposal to everyone. A general quote is time & material (T&M). Preferred by some customers this pricing is based on how long it takes to complete the job, plus the cost of material used. Some people do not like T&M pricing, because your final price unknown until the job is completed. That being said, remember, our crews are skilled & we typically have 2 man crews that get straight to work upon arrival, as noted in many of these reviews. They also start the day with a list of jobs, so they have to be efficient to complete their tasks in a timely professional manner. In the situation above, the jobs were similar but not exactly the same. The higher cost job was a quoted job, to install what was stated, 4 recessed fixtures in one location & 2 in another. This job took a little longer than the second job, which was a T&M job to install 4 recessed fixtures in the same room. The difference in price was due to the variance in quoted vs. T&M and a little more labor installing 6 fixtures vs. installing 4 fixtures. Estimating is both art & science because at the end of the day we want happy customers that receive good value for their money."

"Member: We appreciate your feedback & are happy that you are a customer. We understand that any work can sometimes get expensive, depending on what issues have to be resolved. Panel changes are labor intensive jobs that require coordination & sometimes ingenuity to get all the circuits into the new panel, when working in restricted spaces, that might have other issues. However, we are certain that the entire time our guys were at your home they were working, giving you the best for your dollar. Our crews do not socialize or stand around on your dime. They review the issues, plan the solutions, then implement the plan. They conclude by cleaning up the work areas. These actions ensure that customers are getting a good value for their money. You might want to check with your insurance company to find out if changing to a new safer panel, will get you a lower insurance premium"

"Thank you for the nice review. One of the points that we stress to customers is, they should know as much as possible about the company they are doing business with because you cannot just let anyone into your home. That is one of the reasons why we post a lot of information about American Electrical Contracting, Inc. It is also one of the great features of Angie’s List, allowing other customers to see how they were treated. Best of all the reviews are real because Angie’s system does not allow the posting of phony reviews."

"We thank you for your business, appreciate the faith & confidence you place with us and hope to work for you again."

"We thank you for your business and appreciate the faith & confidence you place with us."

"Thank you for your business. Often home owners have to make service decisions on things they are not familiar with. Is this a good contractor? Is this a good price? Is this good quality product?... And many more questions come to mind. One of the great things about Angie’s List is you can read the experience of others, which will help your decision making. We are not the cheapest contractor in town, nor are we the most expensive. However, we would like to think we are the best because every customer will get great service. Many customers make their service decision based on price. At times that is the only criteria available. Here is something very important to keep in mind when you speak to American Electrical Contracting, Inc. It’s not the hourly charge you should be concerned with, it’s the length of time it will take to do the job. We dispatch crews based on knowing the kind of work to be done & match the electrician with the customer’s requirement. A knowledgeable, experienced crew can get the job done efficiently, in less time, than many of our competitors quoting lower hourly rates. For you, the customer, a lower hourly rate does not always translate to a lower total cost. The bottom line is we have many satisfied customers that keep us as their service provider."

"Thanks member for taking the time to post your review. I do not know what time your appointment was for & what time we arrived but obviously it was not what you were originally told. So the other readers can understand our service crew operations, here I a typical situation. All crews have multiple service calls to complete per day, so they do not waste any time. (Except for those that are on known multiple day jobs.) This means when they arrive they assess the situation & compare it to what is on their dispatch ticket. Usually they have what they need to complete the job, so they get to work immediately. We make the first appointment on time & occasionally a crew may make every appointment on time. However, some jobs take longer than expected, for a variety of reasons. That is why we will call you 30 minutes before a crew will arrive, letting you know they are on their way. We are pleased that once they did arrived all went well."

"Member, thank you for your review. Compared to regular circuit breakers GFi Ground Fault Interrupter circuit breakers are a new breed of protection designed to detect any interruption of current flow & immediately trip to save human life. The standard circuit breakers detect when more amperage is consumed on the circuit than the rating of the circuit breaker. They protect your home from overcurrent conditions that can start electrical fires. Shawn did the right thing by introducing surge protection to you because when good surge protectors, like the ones we install, are used, they offer protection of devices plugged into your outlets that circuit breakers usually do not react to, or react too late. Many older homes do not have the same degree of protection as the homes being built today. If you are not using many appliances & other eletrical devices in your old home there is nothing to be concerned about. However, if your lights frequently dim or you cannot run certain appliances at the same time, you may need a panel change or upgrade."

"We have found Angie’s List subscribers to be above average when it comes to taking the time to post honest reviews. We have evaluation forms that we mail to customers & sometimes we get them back. If there is a problem with what we read, we investigate & where necessary, take corrective actions to make sure we satisfy our customers. Problems with GFCi’s are one of our most frequent requests for service. However, they are life savers & if you do not have them in your bathroom, kitchen, garage or any outlets close to water you are exposing your family to unnecessary danger. GFCi’s (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters) are the outlets with the test & reset buttons on them. They are designed to trip at the first sign of an electrical imbalance, a sign of danger. Unlike a circuit breaker of fuse, a GFCi can react in a little as 1/13th of a second. That is extremely fast & can safe your live. If you have no GFCi’s in your home contact us because they are extremely important. If you do not see a push to test or reset button in the aforementioned areas it does not mean you do not have any. Electricians sometimes install one GFCi & feed other outlets, in the appropriate areas from the GFCi. This is what we call a load side connection to those regular looking outlets. However, because they are being fed by the GFCi the GFCi will still stop the electricity to those outlets to protect you at the first sign of danger. Why do we receive many service requests? First, there are millions out there and usually customers do not know about them, how to reset them or why certain outlets are not working. Also, some are defective & need to be replaced. Additionally, you could be doing something that makes them trip & you are not aware of the danger. Before we dispatch a crew for GFCi issues we walk you through a series of steps, which can be found on the front page, in a video, of our web site. If our telephone support does not fix the problem we dispatch a crew to find & fix the problem."

"Member: We thank you for the kind words. From small to large projects & from commercial to residential, we make sure our professionalism is consistent."

"Some older homes do not have enough circuits to meet today's demand. Also, kitchen appliances, per electric code, are supposed to be on their own dedicated circuit. If running multiple appliances causes your breakers to trip, you need more circuits to handle the load. Thank you for trusting us."

"We thank you for the kind comments. Many of our electricians receive excellent comments from our customers & it means something to them personally, as well as the company. On occasion, customers will call asking for the same electrician we sent on the last job. We try to accommodate but are not always successful, based on the customers timing & that electrician’s availability. When we state that we will send someone just as good, some customers are OK with that, others will wait for their request. In the case where we send an alternate electrician, we often receive a phone call or an evaluation form that says, the alternate was as good as the requested electrician. When we dispatch, we match the customer request to the electrician’s expertise. We do this for both commercial & residential dispatches. This ensures that the jobs are being done correctly & in a timely manner. Our on-going training, keeps everyone up to speed in their area of specialization & keeps customers satisfied."

"Thank you, we sincerely appreciate your business & the kind comments."

"You will be contacted by us to get to the bottom of the issues you have noted above. I do not know the facts so I really cannot comment. However, I am concerned that this work was done in August of 2010 & this report was posted March of 2011. We are very responsive & customer service & satisfaction is extremely important to us. The last time we investigated a negative report the customer did not post their name so we could not investigate. However, Angie's List did contact the person that wrote the report for us & let us know that they had made a mistake & we were not the company that did the work. In our database we could not find a description that matched that customer’s issues. I am not sure after we post this, if we will be able to update other readers but we will try. Sincerely, American Electrical Contracting, Customer Service. Update: Unfortunately our space is limited so we cannot go into detail. Additionally, readers will lose interest, so the quicker we can get to the point the better for all. Here are our comments. To address my personal concern as to why the negative review was posted in March of 2011 & the work was done in August of 2010. I discovered the work was actually done in May of 2009. There is no way we move that slowly and stay in business, on a one day job. Our mode of operation is to work quickly & correctly, collect payment & satisfy our customers. So, what is a panel upgrade? Briefly, a panel upgrade replaces an old electrical panel with a new one, complete with new circuit breakers. No rewiring of existing circuits takes place. Why do people get panel upgrades? A variety of reasons, their panel is too small & new circuits cannot be added; They need more power / service upgrade; They have old fashioned fuses, not circuit breakers; Their panel is defective, like FPE (Federal Pacific Electric) panels, which were recalled years ago because their breakers do not trip and can cause fires. If you own an FPE panel you should get it changed. When a licensed electrical contractor does a panel upgrade they file a permit and an inspection, by The City Building Inspector takes place at the end of the job. If your panel upgrade was not inspected, either it was done by an unlicensed electrician or your electrician did not file the job. Either way that is a violation. This job was inspected by The City Building Inspector and passed, certifying that this was done properly. If we work at your home & notice an unsafe condition, we will point it out to you. For example, if you did not have a dedicated circuit for your microwave before a panel upgrade, as previously noted, no rewiring of existing circuits takes place with a panel upgrade. However, you are advised that a dedicated circuit is necessary. It is up to the property owner to authorize the work after an agreed upon price. If an unsafe condition is critical & you choose not to take corrective action, we will note it on our job ticket. Or in the case of an inspected job, the Building Inspector will note it on the paperwork. Customers typically make appointments for us to come back at a later date to keep their family safe. However, we never talk people into anything. What we do is no different than the mechanic that told you your brake pads were worn, as he rotated your tires. We provide a free service, advising you of unsafe conditions because we value human life & want to keep people safe."

"At American Electrical Contracting, Inc. we have knowledgeable professionals that are genuinely good people. We all share a common goal, to be your best service provider. We are happy that you are satisfied with the service we provided."

"Thank you for choosing American Electrical Contracting. We sincerely appreciate people putting their faith & confidence in us. For those that wonder about pricing, we do a quality job for a fair price or as our slogan says, “Wired Right at a Fair Price.” Electrical material, especially wire, is very expensive. That is why so many people risk their lives to steal it. There are times when we can give an accurate estimate over the phone. There are other times where a visit & formal proposal is required. In either case, for residential or commercial estimates there is no charge. We look forward to making you another satisfied customer."

"Thank you for doing business with us. We are happy to provide you with timely service."