H&R ELECTRIC

Ceiling Fan Project:  Two prices were quoted by the electrician-one with a ceiling brace installed and one without a ceiling brace installed.  I told him I wanted the higher priced quote which included the ceiling brace since my home was built in the sixties.  Even though his company would receive more money if he installed the ceiling brace, he argued with me that it was not needed.  I thought his stance was foolish since all ceiling fan companies recommend a ceiling brace ( and I had bought one for him to install) on homes as old as mine and his company would receive more money if I had him install it.  Finally he agreed to install it.  While installing the ceiling fan, he broke one of the light bulbs and the fan switch.  He was able to repair the fan switch but had to go to a nearby store to replace the light bulb.  Now the ceiling fan wobbles at the highest speed selection.
The electrician then quoted me $50.00 a piece for each of the other 5 items to be installed ( I had already bought all of the parts) for a total of $250.00.  I did not think it would take him more than 2 hours to install those 5 items which would mean I was paying him at least $125.00 per hour for 2 hours of work.  I should have made him agree to a per hour maximum but I did not.  He got those 5 items installed in 1.73 hours which computes to $144.50 per hour.
When the electrician was replacing the circuit breaker on my Zinsco breaker box, he was using a screw driver to try to pry loose the old circuit breaker out of the box.  Since the Zinsco breakers are stacked on to two circuit rods running vertically, he was jamming his screw driver against the side ot the breaker box and the circuit breaker he was trying to remove.  I told him he should be not be trying to remove the individual breaker from the side but rather pull it straight out with a pair of pliers.  I offered to go inside and bring him a pair of pliers to pull it out instead of trying to pry it loose from the side since he was applying pressure against the two vertical circuit bars nestled inside each circuit breaker.  He insisted he knew what he was doing.  Immediately after that sparks flew out from the circuit box at least 10 feet.  Fortunately his hands were on the handle of the screwdriver or he would have had a serious shock.  There is now a hole almost the size of a dime on the metal edge next to the circuit breaker he was trying to pry loose caused by the electricial sparks he created by refusing to listen to me.          

Our yard had to have a trench dug in order to replace the drop. There was no mess made and our yard still looks the way it did before the work was done.