NELSON ELECTRIC

Simple version: I asked them to do a simple fluorescent-to-LED light exchange in my shop. They did the easy half and never came back, despite multiple calls and this letter. AND sent me an invoice for the whole job ! It’s hard for me to express how Disappointed and Astonished that a business I once held in high-esteem so utterly failed me. Are they on the way out? Did I do something to offend? Here’s the mildly worded letter I sent them 3 months later. Consistent with the rest of our interactions, I got no response: Dear Nelson Electric: Please help me understand. Early December 2022, I asked you to to revise the lighting system in my shop from Fluoro to LED. ‘Twas a natural choice, because you wired and lit my shop in 2008 and did a really sweet job. The circuit box is a work of art. You sent a senior electrician and apprentice out Dec 13 and we had a good day. He surveyed the situation, did some research, gave me good advice, and brought all the bulbs needed. The difficult part was five 8-foot fixtures on a high ceiling that needed ballasts removed and circuitry restored before placing the 8-ft LED bulbs. Your team didn’t have the necessary ladders/scaffold to reach the 3 difficult (16-ft high) fixtures, so they did the easier 2 and left me with the impression they would be back. I never got a call-back, so after about 2 months, I put a call into your general office, and eventually 2 calls to “Buddy,” job scheduler? I emphasize all interactions were cordial and I think admirably honest, except for one thing: I THINK IT WAS JUST A DIFFICULT, LOW-PAY JOB AND NOBODY WANTED TO FINISH IT! Buddy told me during the first call that he would try to get the completion scheduled, but a couple weeks later during my second call, he was honest enough to tell me that he was having significant manpower shortage problems and he didn’t think the job would be completed within 6 to 9 months, and when I asked if it would be appropriate for me to prep the work place and hire a friend independently to complete the job, he welcomed that option. I understand that. I’ve done my fair share of difficult jobs. But I don’t really have a grasp on how a company with your reputation could start a job and verbally contract to finish it, then just blow it off. I got a bill for services invoice (attached) on December 17. It is my personal compulsion, my mission in fact, to pay such bills in full immediately upon job completion. But it is also my cautious character to avoid paying for jobs that have not been finished. The services and advice (and of course materials) that you provided were valuable to me. I’m not trying to get out of paying for that. But it cost me considerable $’s to buy and build a scaffold and hire a friend to complete the work and I think maybe some downward adjustment of your bill is in order. The invoice implies the work was completed. Thank you very much for your consideration. I’m sorry this is so long, but I wanted to make sure you had all the details. Invoice attached. Sincerely, Mark Taylor

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Agreed on a cost of $50 an hour, which wasn't so bad.
Two guys spent about 8 hours, worked slowly.
Put in a light switch 6' from a door because they'd inadvertently put their own wiring in the way of putting it within reach.
Agreed to move the light switch for free.
Put in a bid to do more work: 3 outlets and a light switch for $825.
Another contractor, Miller Electric, did the 3 outlets and a light switch for $165.
We obviously didn't give the bid to Nelson, since they were 5 times as much for the same work.
They (Andrew Mott) then changed their mind and refused to move the light switch without a charge.
The concerns I have here are:
 - Not building a good reputation by fixing poor work
 - Not following through on commitments
 - Not be willing to make a short trip to fix a problem after overcharging so much
 - Charging 5 times as much as their competition
I communicated with Andrew Mott and the owners, notifying them of my decision to make this post, and they chose to not address the issue, and still wanted to charge for moving the light switch.

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