Square 1 Electric

The work was done exactly as I had hoped. The results were beautiful. The electrician also checked my circuit breakers and gave me some suggestions. He was prompt and efficient.

I attempted on two separate occasions to have electrical work done by Kurt and Square 1 Electric. Each time, I left work to meet him at my home and received calls just before or after our appointment times letting me know he would be either late or unable to make it. Here's my advice: 1. Give your customers 20 min advanced notice if you are going to be late or unavailable to meet. 2. Schedule arrival windows instead of exact times so that your customers can plan for any unexpected issues you run into at your other jobs. Although arrival windows are a pain in the a**, rescheduling meetings and driving all the way home from work to meet and find out your electrician won't be able to meet you is an evening bigger pain. Things come up. I get it; I'm late sometimes also. A good company puts customer service first, yes, even before their professional skill set. That's the difference between a "company" and a group of people who know how to do something. You're providing a service to a customer. I like to think of myself as a pretty forgiving person, and I still think I am. I can get over the fact that your punctuality is extremely poor. You know what this does say to me though? It says to me that the quality of your work is also at jeopardy and that's what's most important to me. Needless to say I'll just look for another electrician. I don't recommend Kurt or Square 1.

The work was done well. When they come out they have to get a permit as well which cost extra which I was surprised. Done in a timely manner. Wish the agreement was a bit more clear but other than that the service was good.

The electrician arrived on time (actually a bit early). I pointed out where we wanted the sockets and he looked at the sub panel and main panel in the basement. He first suggested that we upgrade the subpanel for approximately an additional $500. I said no, that we had blank circuits on the main panel and had easy access to run the wires through the basement ceiling. He then said it would be an extra $250 to run wire from the main panel because the Deal was only to put an outlet on the back of an existing internal outlet. The language from the Big Deal was "get electricity safely to where you need it", not "get electricity on the outside where you already have it on the inside" (see below). The original $278 did not seem cheap to just put two outlets on the back of existing outlets. I asked if he could call his office and see if there was a way we could work out a deal on the extra $250. They said no. He let me know we could ask for a refund, pay the extra amount, or put the outlets on the back of existing outlets. We chose the refund. The electrician who came out likely had nothing to do with arranging the Big Deal. But his approach to immediately trying to upgrade a panel and then raising the price on the outlets came across as a bait and switch. We read and reread the big deal fine print and there was nothing about requiring that the outlet be placed on the back of existing interior outlets. Big Deal language: $139 for Outdoor Electrical Box Installed! SQUARE 1 ELECTRIC, a 2010 & 2011 Super Service Award winner and an "A" rated electrician on Angie's List, is offering to install an outside GFCI outlet with weatherproof cover on your home for only $139! This service is normally valued at $300, saving Angie's List members $161! Summer is here and it is time to enjoy the outdoors with more lights and sounds. Stop ?fighting? with unsafe extension cords and let the professionals at SQUARE 1 ELECTRIC help you get power to where you need it, safely! The Fine Print: Coupon valid for residents in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington County only (DO NOT service homes in WA). Not valid for cash back. Coupon cannot be combined with other specials or offers. Coupon cannot be applied to current or past jobs. Coupon is for residential service only. Appointments are to be performed during normal business hours, and are scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Limit 2 per household (additional can be purchased as gifts). Outlets must be installed 6' ft or lower, additional fee may apply for anything over. Coupon expires 6 months from the date of purchase.

great job done well and quickly.

I responded to the Angie's List Big Deal to get a restroom fan replaced. The ad bragged up the quality of their fan, so the higher than normal cost was expected. I was OK with that. The half-off price, pulled the price from expensive to reasonable, so I bit.. Their electrician arrived on time, so I gave them an A for punctuality. He noticed that my existing fan had a built-in light bulb. He said that it would be an extra $75 or so. I had also heard from a previous Big Deal electrical deal that I had just cashed in a few days earlier (another vendor) that a $75 permit would also be required on top of any work done by an electrictian. So I was seeing my price go right back above the money I set aside to do this work. The permit surprise wasn't their fault, and I didn't raise it with the guy. The extra $75 for the light bulb should have been mentioned in the ad. That pushed the cost past my budget. I said, "no thanks, send me a refund". Refund arrived quickly, so they get an A for responsiveness. I was also bit irritated when the owner tried to add me to his linked-in network, thinking that 1) He wasn't paying much attention to the outcome of our sole interaction or he would not have done that, and 2) This was to market his company to my connections. That brought down the Professionalism rank from an A or B to a C. UPDATE: I observed today there was a respose. I will respond to that: " ... you wanted to add a light with your fan for a combo install ..." No, the unit I wanted replaced already contains a light along with the fan. I wasn't "adding" anything, I was asking to have one unit replaced with a similar unit. " ... also, we did tell you of a permit ..." I don't recall having any conversation like that prior to his showing up, about a permit OR a bulb. Perhaps they spoke to someone else that day and marked down my name, or perhaps made the appointment with someone else in my house who forgot to pass along the full information. My surprise and annoyance at going over the expected budget is the only thing I clearly recall. But it is good to know going forward.

First time I need a bid for a 210 electrical plug in to be installed for a AC unit. I work in the utility industry so, I know that plumbers and electricians can basically charge what ever they want. I had called several other companies for bids and hands down this company beat out everyone I found. Of course I was terrified something this good may be too good to be true, so when the tech showed up same day and was very professional. He was on time and very helpful did a fantastic job. I will call them any time I have a electrical need!

Sadly this was one of the worst contractor experiences I've had. My simple 1 day job in a vacant house took 3 weeks and many phone calls and emails to get completed. They were long on excuses and short on performance, call backs, scheduling, all the stuff that matters. This is first negative review I've ever posted to Angies List - something I don't do lightly because I know it can impact business. But in this case, people deserve a warning. Their reviews were great, their quoted price was in the middle of three, but Kurt the owner promised attention and professionalism so I took the bait. What I got was the exact opposite. The list of trouble, broken promises, and delays is long. Initially I let the excuses fly (have to delay because of an emergency with another client, then have to delay again because of a family emergency. 4 days after it finally started, there was no power, lots of debris, and no contact from the company. When I called them, the excuses started again (a problem with the power company, a problem with the electrician, a problem with the city). Up to this point I was still giving them the benefit of the doubt - the house was vacant due to other work so I could be patient. When they asked for final payment, I went to the house and found debris and a failed inspection form from the city. I sent the owner pictures of the form and the debris, and called him to get things wrapped up and let him know issues remained to be addressed. The excuses (internal miscommunication, health emergency) continued and my emails and calls letting them know I was not happy and needed some attention to get the job wrapped up were only given promises that the owner would call me back (which he repeatedly did not due, even after promising to do so himself). I hope this company makes some changes to improve. I want them to succeed but I fear they won't.

He was very efficient. He got the job done in no time.

I bought an Angie's List coupon for a ceiling fan install. Our fan had stopped working. When everything was installed, the new fan still wasn't working. Square 1 took the time to figure out the problem and fix it right on the spot. Now everything is working great!

I received a phone call twenty minutes prior to the schedule arrival announcing he would be 10 minutes early. Upon arrival he expalined in detail what he would be doing and an approximate completion time. The installation went very well and the craftmanship was excellent.

My appointment was at 8:00 and Kurt arrived right on time. After introducing himself Kurt explained what he was going to do and got right to work. After installing the outdoor electrical box in the front of my home--an Angie's list special--he looked at the outlets that I wanted him to troubleshoot. After inspecting both outlets, he concluded that it was a loose wire connection with my bathroom outlet. He fixed the loose wire and replaced the GFCI outlet because it was no longer working. Once he fixed the wiring and replaced the outlet, the outside outlet started working. However, the outside outlet was not GFCI, so Kurt replaced that outlet. Throughout the whole process Kurt was very patient with my questions and very courteous. I would definately call Square 1 Electric for any electrical issues that I have and recommend them highly to my friends and co-workers.

I purchased two of the Angies List deals, $139 for one GFCI outlet. I had been wanting to get outlets installed so I could get rid of some extension cords etc and when I saw this deal I thought it seemed like a good deal. I bought the deal online then called Square 1. The gal that answered the phone was very friendly and helpful. I was able to schedule them just a few days out. My appt time was for 10:30 and I was told Kurt would call when he was on the way. Sure enough Kurt called and said he was on the way and would be arriving early if that was ok with me, which it was. I showed him where I wanted the outlets, which can pretty much be anywhere that you have an interior outlet. He made quick work of it and cleaned up after himself. He was very friendly and when asked to look at another electrical issue I had questions about he took the time to explain the possibilities. I would highly recommend this deal and will call Square 1 again in the future for electrical issues.

After 5 days they still had not responded to a simple question I had about the $149 Angie's List outdoor outlet installed.

Kurt arrived on-time and listened to my description of the problems we were having. Very polite, very professional. Problem #1: He took some voltage readings and found that there was about a 10V drop between power at the switch and one of the lights on the circuit. Immediately began looking for a wiring problem and found it in a very old ceramic, pull-chain overhead lighting fixture in a small, rarely used storage closet. Wire contacts on the fixture were visibly fried, but still maintained a weak connection, dropping the voltage enough to keep the other lights from working. The fixture was from the original house build in 1962 and was not replaced during the 2006 whole-house remodel. Rewired and re-installed the fixture, reconnected the overhead lights and everything worked as it should. Problem #2: Took voltage readings at the switch and began tracing the likely wire path to the outdoor fixtures. Found a GFCI outlet under the front porch that we never new was there. The GFCI outlet was tripped and just required a reset. Once reset, everything worked as it should. Although we expected it to be a costly, beneath ground wiring issue the fix was quick and inexpensive. This was a pleasant surprise - and might have turned out quite differently with a less capable electrician. Needless to say, we are very happy with the work and I wouldn't hesitate to call Square 1 again or recommend them to friends requiring electrical work.

The electrician that showed up was very nice, worked very quickly, and left no mess at all. He worked straight through the job and was very efficient. We've never had any problems with the fan, and my wife and I are very pleased.

The light fixture was attached to a light weight brace which was not strong enough to support out new ceiling fan. Paul our service technician went above and beyond the call of duty to navigate a very tight area in a very hot attic to install the appropriate ceiling fan brace to insure a safe installation of the new fan. In addition he informed us that we did not have any ceiling insulation above two of our bedrooms. His valuable feedback will help us avoid higher heating bills in the future. After installing the brace, Paul completed the fan installation in a very timely and professional manor. Thanks for a job well done.

Mitch arrived promptly and hooked up my new dishwasher and new disposal. He was very friendly, helpful, and professional. I would definitely use Square 1 Electric in the future, as well as recommend their services to others.

Strange insistence by Mitch on coming into my home just to check what work needed to be done. Then never contacting me again to complete the work I had paid for in Big Deal. Do not want him in my home again,. No response from him since June 11, even though he agreed in writing to complete the purchased work. Tried to send a letter to company, returned as a bad address. Worst exeprience ever with Angie's List company in several years of being a member. Have forwarded all emails to Angie's Member Services for proof of his promise to provide balance of work.Don't hire this guy!

It was quick but neat and clear that he knew what he was doing but I would have prefered not being rushed through and offered more work before he ran off to do other work and left me feeling short. Perhaps I don't understand the Big Deal? I used the same company to replace the bathroom fans with much quiter fans and that was a wonderful experience. Perhaps it's just this person and not a reflection on the whole company.

We had 5 different electric companies provide quotes for this, my husband is capable of doing it himself but wanted an electrician to do it because of the increased amperage. Square1 had the simplest plan for running the power and the most reasonable quote. They came and got the job done quickly and professionally the day before our new range arrived. We had to have them come back out after the range arrived and move the outlet over a couple inches so it would match up with where the plug for the new range was, but they came and quickly did the job and were really nice about it.

Excellent in and out in just over 1hour

I phoned in the morning to report an overheating light switch, and that I had spent the previous evening in the dark because all my lighting went down when I threw the breaker out of a safety concern. Kurt said he could get here at 1:30 PM, and arrived promptly. We spent some time discussing the light switch, which he characterized as a serious fire hazard. He then informed me that he didn't have tools with him. He was the only person on call, but tried in vain to find someone else who could make the service call. I was in complete disbelief, as I had made myself perfectly clear that I had an electrical problem that involved severe overheating. This left me late on a Saturday trying to find someone else to make the repair.

I had a new dryer delivered and the when they went to install it, they informed me that the electrical outlet didn't match the plug for the new dryer. They said I had 30 days to get it fixed and then they would come back out and install it. As they were taking away my old dryer, I knew I didn't want to live 30 days without a dryer so I called Square 1 to see if they could come switch out the outlet. Kurt was at my house within an hour, took a look at the outlet, and determined he had to run to grab a part. He was back within 20 minutes, and it was all fixed within 2 hours of the dryer guys leaving my house! And I only paid for the part! Kurt even offered to install my dryer for me...although I figured I better let the original guys do it....even though they are now two days out! I wish the appliance company took some tips from Square 1 :)

Mitch Kahl is a wonderful person and a great plumber. He was on time, fixed the problem, and cleaned up everything. He was very responsive to our questions and I will use his services again in the future.