Meyer Electrical Construction Inc

"We are grateful to each customer who takes the time to let us know how we do on each electrical project that we undertake for them. A common theme that we have learned over 25 years in business is that clear communication between customer and service provider is the key to providing quality service. We first learned this lesson in our own lives when we hire services to perform work on our homes, and do our best to apply what we have learned from other small businesses that excel at what they do. We thank all of our customers for their time to help us “get it right the first time”. We depend on your regular feedback to keep our focus on what works best for all concerned, and to keep working on aspects of our business that need improvement. Thank You!"

"We do our best to utilize our expertise for the benefit of our customers. As a small family business we get overwhelmed sometimes, and cannot always live up to the high bar that we set for ourselves. Our goal is simple in theory: Bring each old building into electrical code compliance, and make sure it is safe. As with most theories, the work in real time takes on its own life as we address specific issues when encountered in the process. Mr. Colville communicated with us regularly as we worked, and we have found over many years that this is the key to accomplishing the thorough job that we are trying for with every customer. We are thankful for each and every customer, and appreciate each report on our work whether positive or negative."

"Our goal is simple in theory: Bring each old building into electrical code compliance, and make sure it is safe. As with most theories, the work in real time takes on its own life as we address specific issues when encountered in the process. The member communicated with us regularly as we worked, and we have found over many years that this is the key to accomplishing the thorough job that we are trying for with every customer. We are thankful for each and every customer, and appreciate each report on our work whether positive or negative."

"We are not clear on what work that this customer is addressing. We did perform electrical work for the condo association where this customer resides, but our contract was with the association and not with any individual owner. We did repair a CATV problem for this owner and billed it separately since it was not part of our contract with the association. We repaired the problem after our regular hours and did not charge overtime as a courtesy. Our minimum is $125.50 and no where near the $2500 that this customer reported. It took over 12 months to collect the $125.50, so we are not sure why this report was submitted since it is not about anything that actually took place."

"This job is a good example of the service that we do our best to provide for all of our customers. We pay attention to each call, and do our best to respond to everyone regardless of the size of a particular project. As a small family business we get overwhelmed some days/weeks, but always take down everyone's call and respond as soon as we possibly can. We are thankful for each and every customer who needs our electrical service."

"We have many customers with whom we have developed ongoing relationships and appreciate our ability to remember them and their building's particular electrical circumstances. We keep a file on every job that we do, large, medium or small, and this helps us to provide appropriate service based on our previous experience. This saves time and money for us and our customers, which is exactly the service that we hope to provide."

"CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS AND COMMUNICATION WITH CUSTOMER: 5.10.07 INITIAL CALL REQUESTING ESTIMATE. 5.18.07 MET WITH CUSTOMER AT JOBSITE TO REVIEW ELECTRICAL WORK NEEDED. 5.25.08 EMAILED ESTIMATE FOR $1300. 5.26.07 RECEIVED EMAIL REQUESTING BREAKDOWN OF ESTIMATE INTO 3 PARTS. 6.5.07 REPLIED TO EMAIL W/APPROXIMATE % BREAKDOWN OF COST WITH SUGGESTION TO DO ALL WORK AT SAME TIME IF POSSIBLE, SINCE THE WHOLE JOB WOULD TAKE LESS THAN 1 WORK DAY FOR OUR CREW. 6.19.07 EMAILED REVISED ESTIMATE FOR $830 PER REQUEST TO INCLUDE ITEMS #1 AND #2 ONLY = ½ DAY'S WORK. 6.28.07 PERFORMED WORK PER AGREEMENT. DISCOVERED PLYWOOD BEHIND DRYWALL REQUIRING EXTRA TIME TO FISH WIRING. 7.26.07 EMAILED INVOICE FOR $830 (LESS $10 ANGIE'S LIST DISCOUNT). 9.8.07 RECEIVED EMAIL COMPLAINT (75 DAYS AFTER COMPLETED WORK WITH NO EFFORT TO PAY OR CONTACT US AS TO WHY). 9.8.07 REPLIED TO EMAIL THAT WE WILL FOLLOW UP AND GET BACK. 9.10.07 EMAILED RESPONSE TO ISSUES RAISED. 9.18.07 RETURNED TO JOB SITE TO PATCH DRYWALL (NIC IN ESTIMATE, N/C). 9.19.07 CALLED TO FOLLOW UP AND REQUEST PAYMENT. CUSTOMER SURLY BUT SAID CHECK WOULD BE SENT. 9.24.07 PAYMENT RECEIVED 91 DAYS AFTER JOB DONE. IT TOOK 261 DAYS AFTER WORK WAS COMPLETED FOR THIS CUSTOMER TO POST THEIR NEGATIVE REVIEW ON ANGIE'S LIST. WE DEPEND ON IMMEDIATE RESPONSE FROM CUSTOMERS IN THE EVENT OF ANY DISSATISFACTION SO THAT WE CAN RECTIFY THE SITUATION ASAP. OTHERWISE, WE CANNOT PERFORM OUR SERVICE TO THE EXCEPTIONAL STANDARD THAT WE STRIVE FOR."

"PER CLIENT'S JOB FILE: A)1ST MEETING W/CLIENT ON 3.8.04 WAS A VISUAL INSPECTION OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IN RECENTLY PURCHASED OLD HOME. AFTER ESTIMATE APPROVAL, ELECTRICAL SERVICE UPGRADE COMPLETED ON 3.25.04. FINAL PAYMENT NOT RECEIVED UNTIL MAY 4TH, 39 DAYS PAST DUE. B)OVER 1YR LATER CLIENT CALLS FOR ELECTRICAL WORK AFTER THEY REMOVED PLASTER (ONLY DINING ROOM ON 1ST FLOOR COULD BE INSPECTED, OTHER ROOMS WERE FILLED WITH MOVING BOXES & FURNITURE). C)6.22.05 SUBMITTED T&M ESTIMATE FOR VIOLATION REPAIRS (INCLUDING ILLEGAL WIRING INSTALLED BY CLIENT'S FATHER) THAT STATED CLEARLY WORK IN EXCESS OF 3 DAYS WOULD EXCEED BUDGET COST RANGE. D)7.11.05 CLIENT CALLS AUTHORIZING ELECTRICAL WORK PER T&M AGREEMENT. E)CLIENT THEN VIOLATED TERMS NOT PAYING REQUIRED DEPOSIT. STARTED WORK IN GOOD FAITH THAT PAYMENT WOULD BE MADE SOON. F)4-1/2 WORKDAYS LATER (CLIENT ADDED ELECTRICAL ITEMS EACH WORKDAY) WE STOPPED WORK DUE TO NONPAYMENT. G)FINALLY 123 DAYS LATER WE RECEIVE DEPOSIT + PARTIAL PAYMENT FOR WORK WE DID BACK IN JULY. H)3.22.06 CLIENT PLACED URGENT CALL ASKING US TO FINISH THE BABY'S ROOM + NEW FAMILY ROOM IN BASEMENT. TWO DAYS LATER WE DID THE WORK, DUPED INTO BELIEVING THAT AFTER THIS WE WOULD BE PAID REMAINING BALANCE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR'S WORK. I)NOW 2-1/2YRS LATER AND WE ARE STILL UNPAID. NOTE: AFTER 20+ YEARS WORKING ON OLD ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS WE RECEIVE ZERO COMPLAINTS FROM CLIENTS WHO PAY ON TIME, RETURN OUR CALLS AND ARE DEDICATED TO DOING A THOROUGH JOB."

"I UNDERSTAND WHEN A CLIENT IS NOT SATISFIED WITH MY COMPANY’S SERVICE WHEN WORK WAS NOT PERFORMED AS AGREED. IN 20+ YEARS OF UPDATING EXISTING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS I’VE FOUND THAT ONLY VISIBLE ELECTRICAL ISSUES CAN BE ADDRESSED AT THE OUTSET. MY POLICY IS TO RETURN AT NO CHARGE TO FOLLOW UP ON ANYTHING THAT WAS NOT COMPLETED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SPECIFIED SCOPE OF WORK. AND MY CLIENTS (AS IN THIS CASE) ARE NOTIFIED IF ANY VIOLATIONS NEEDING FURTHER EVALUATION INVOLVE MORE LABOR/MATERIAL COST. AS A LICENSED ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR THIS IS BOTH MY DUTY AND PRACTICE. ON THIS JOB I FOLLOWED THROUGH WITH WORK PER SIGNED WRITTEN AGREEMENT, BUT FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON AM NOW CAST AS A VILLAIN. IN SPITE OF THIS CLIENT’S REPORTED NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE WITH MY COMPANY, I HOPE THAT ANOTHER LICENSED ELECTRICIAN IS HIRED SOON TO CONTINUE TRACING EXISTING WIRING AND REPAIRING VIOLATIONS FOR SAFETY’S SAKE (IF NOT CODE COMPLIANCE, WHICH IS WRITTEN FOR OUR SAFETY). RENOVATING OLDER BUILDINGS REQUIRES TLC AND A WILLINGNESS TO FIX WHAT PREVIOUS OWNERS IGNORED IF NECESSARY. ATTACKING LEGITIMATE CONTRACTORS FOR THEIR HONEST EVALUATION MAY PROVIDE SHORT TERM SATISFACTION, BUT DOES NOT GET THE NEEDED WORK DONE."

"THANKS TO THIS CUSTOMER’S EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION WITH US PRIOR TO THE JOB STARTING, OUR ELECTRICIANS BEGAN THE JOB VERY WELL PREPARED, WHICH RESULTED IN A RELATIVELY TROUBLE FREE INSTALLATION. (ESPECIALLY FOR A REMODELING PROJECT, WHERE SO MANY VARIABLES EXIST THAT CAN AFFECT THE FINAL COST.) THIS CLIENT WAS A PLEASURE TO WORK WITH, AND WE REGRET ANY LACK OF PROMPT COMMUNICATION. AS MUCH AS WE TRY, ON SMALLER JOBS WE SELDOM HAVE TIME TO PROCESS THE FINAL BILL IN TIME TO NOTIFY OUR CUSTOMERS OF POSSIBLE COST OVERRUNS BEFORE THE JOB IS DONE. IN THIS CASE WE WERE HIRED TO COMPLETE ELECTRICAL WORK STARTED BY A PREVIOUS CONTRACTOR, AND ESTIMATED THE COST BASED ON WHAT WE COULD PHYSICALLY SEE AND PLAN FOR. AS IT HAPPENED, WE DISCOVERED SOME UNUSUAL FRAMING OF THE DECK SUBSTRUCTURE, WHICH WAS NOT VISIBLE UNTIL WE STARTED THE WORK AND REMOVED SOME FLOORBOARDS. THIS DISCOVERY REQUIRED SOME CREATIVE CONDUIT ROUTING AND MORE DRILLING THAN ANTICIPATED, WHICH PUSHED LABOR AND MATERIAL EXPENSES HIGHER THAN ESTIMATED. SO WHILE WE FEEL THAT THE FINAL INVOICE WAS JUSTIFIABLE AND FAIR, WE ALSO UNDERSTAND OUR CUSTOMERS RIGHT TO EXPECT COURTEOUS AND PROMPT COMMUNICATION, PROFESSIONAL WORKMANSHIP, AND TO LET US KNOW IF WE FALL SHORT. WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR ALL FEEDBACK FROM OUR CUSTOMERS BECAUSE IT HELPS US APPLY OUR ENERGIES IN THE MOST PRODUCTIVE WAY POSSIBLE FOR THEIR BENEFIT."