A1 Electric, Heating, & Air Conditioning

Expensive and not the same company name as originally provided the quote. Electrician was not familiar with basic electrical theory, circuit loading, etc.

I can speak from experience that the negative reviews for this company are unwarranted. They came out on an emergency basis and worked tirelessly to solve our problems after a storm. They came out the day after Christmas when the crew was supposed to have a day off and they couldn't have been more professional, kind and diligent in their work. We would recommend them without hesitation. As with any contractor, get your pricing upfront and there should be no issue. They were competitive and fair in the pricing for our job, even during an emergency.

In the beginning service started great until it came to discuss prices. Electrician wanted to charge $600 dollars on work on a new water heater. I said that the new system was new as well as the electrical work so I was surprised at how much he was charging to supposedly replace a part on the electrical panel. I asked since the work is new and that it was covered under warranty that perhaps it best that we call the manufacturer. He said that most likely it wouldn't be covered and that I needed to decide now since he had another job to go to. I paid the service charge which was $120. I called the manuacturer and explained to them we weren't having the best luck with electricians and plumbers. They told me the parts weren't even close to 100...so they were basically charging over 500 to install one little part. The manuacturer sent their technician and the tech came and said that what they said was an electrical problem wasn't even the case that it was something else and it was remedied immediately. I would shop around and save money instead o blowing money away on something that wasn't even the problem. We saved 500.

Under no circumstances DO NOT HIRE these guys! Issue: tripped circuit breaker for my A/C caused by a shorted a/c compressor. Details of what transpired: I live in Jersey city. After searching through angie's list I got a call from Luis 973-277-2237. He said he can send a technician and will charge $65 to troubleshoot and if any parts needs to replaced then $65 will be rolled into that as well. I accepted his offer and the technician showed up the day after. I believe the tech is of Egyptian background. After checking the circuit breaker and a/c he said the issue is with the shorted compressor and needs to be replaced. He was rude in explaining my questions and reluctant to discuss how the problem might have transpired. He said cost is $900 and the way he put it is take it or leave it. I agreed and gave him $200 cash deposit for which he didn't give me any receipt. When I asked for a receipt tech said Louis will text me the receipt. I never received the receipt for it even after asking for it multiple times. Louis sounds very courteous on the phone but don't let that fool you! He wouldn't return calls or let you know any update/progress. He will say things like he will call you back with an update but never will until you call back. After few days I got tired of not hearing any update about the compressor. then they started telling me that the company they deal with doesn't have a compatible compressor for my condenser and its better i replace the whole unit which would be $2100. I reluctantly agreed to $2000 including all fees and taxes and I was told that I could pay in check. Few days went by and then finally the same tech called me. The tech was more about getting the money than providing the service. He said if i pay by check then I have to pay him the tax otherwise he doesn't make money. He kept asking me so what's the deal I want to make. I told him that Louis said I could pay by check including all fees and taxes but the tech said I can pay him otherwise I will have to pay the taxes. I asked him whether tax is the only amount he would make from this service then he changed to he wouldn't make as much from he wouldn't make any money. He was so obnoxious and wanted make a deal with cash. I said fine I will give him cash. He came about 2 hours later and he acted friendly toward me. I didn't feel like saying "Hey/Hi" to him because of the earlier phone conversation and how he treated me so he got offended and went back to his truck and told me that I can call someone else. He left w/o doing any work. I called back Louis but as usual he didn't pick up. Now I'm down $200 and my a/c is not fixed and have to find some other tech. I should've checked A1 Electric's yelp reviews before working with them. Again do not hire these guys! They are rude and only care about getting their cash without providing service.

The good: They kept to their quoted prices. The crew is nice, they're friendly, and they're eager to help and will help with things that they don't have to do (my granite was delivered and they helped the granite guys get it in the door).
The bad: They were late (thus they were still working when the granite guys showed up), they're sloppy and they overcharge for things such as installing a dimmer ($125, the going rate is $50).  Here's the email I sent the owner 12 minutes after he emailed me inquiring about some additional work I had mentioned (he was trying to drum up business, nothing wrong with that).  This email came about 2 weeks after the original project was done.
"Louis, good morning. Upon further inspection of the work done in the kitchen, we weren't as pleased as I originally thought. 
For example, once the recessed lights the crew installed were turned off, it became obvious they'd oversized the holes on half of them and we now have drywall to repair as there are .5-.75 inch gaps around the trim and the ceiling- unnoticeable with the bright light on but extremely noticeable once off. And the dimmer you charged $125 to install was installed upside down such that we pushed the dimmer up to turn the lights lower. Unacceptable and sloppy. 
Further, they didn't install the two lights in the middle in line with the first two. One was so bad they had to recut the hole and try again (they screwed the drywall back in). Thus, more repair work for us. The other is about 2 inches out of alignment and was left as is. We can either fix it and do even more repair work or live with it. For now we're choosing to live with it. Lastly, when they installed the pendant lights one was way off center. So they recut and reinstalled the light. They left the hole in the ceiling from the miscut- so we have to cut drywall, replace it and then repair it. 
For the amount charged this is unacceptable and we decided not to use your services again." 
As expected, I heard nothing back from Louis, the owner. I went with another electrician for the other work I had done and will continue to use his services or anyone else's for the rest of the work being done to my home.  The work Louis' crew did for me totaled nearly $1500 with taxes.  So it was no small expense to me, but clearly not enough money for him to care about the quality of the work done or apologize for any of the mistakes.  It's really too bad for A1, as I probably have another $3000-$5000 worth of electrical to get done in the next few months and I need my HVAC unit repaired (I will not use them for this either).