Root Electric
About us
At Root Electric it is our honor to offer our customers superior service from the first telephone call to the final payment. Root Electric specializes in working directly with homeowners, business owners and facility managers in electrical construction, upgrades and service. All of our electricians are experienced and well-trained employees of root electric. Additionally, we do not sub-contract to any outside workers or companies for electrical work. Root Electric employs a dedicated sales staff to handle customer's telephone calls and to estimate projects. This insures that all telephone calls are returned in a timely manner and that all projects are accurately priced and scheduled. Additional DBA - William J Root Inc, Rootelectric. Award winning. Additional emails - [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. Additional contact name - William Bill. Additional phones - (703) 618-5390.
Business highlights
Amenities
Free Estimates
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 97% | ||
| 2% | ||
| 1% | ||
| 0% | ||
| 0% |
"Thank you very much for taking a few minutes to post a review of Root Electric. It is our pleasure to be of service!"
Overall, I was dissatisfied with Root Electric. I chose them based on the favorable reviews on Angie's List.
Here is what happened.
4/23/2012 (9:20 AM) - I called the number listed on their website (703-494-3989) to schedule an appointment and get an estimate. I spoke with "Will". After a brief conversation, Will said that "Bill" will call me with an estimate.
4/23/2012 (3:42 PM) - I received a call from Bill Root. We had a brief discussion regarding the work that I wanted to have done.
4/25/12 (5 PM) - I sent an e-mail to schedule an appointment for Friday, May 4th between 9:00 am - 10:00 am. I received a reply via e-mail from Bill saying, "Mr. Lum, Friday May 4th between 9:00 and 10:00 would be fine". I sent a reply to his e-mail confirming this date including some additional details about the job.
5/4/12 (10:04 AM) - By 10:04 AM on the scheduled appointment date, no one had shown up or called. I called the number listed on the Root Electric website and left a message with their answering service.
I proceeded to call Bill and he said that he never received my e-mail. He offered to come by later in the afternoon to install the fixtures in the afternoon. I told him that I work at night and that this arrangement would not work for me. Then he said that I could leave the fixtures outside and he would come by to install them and leave an invoice. I told him that I did not feel comfortable with this arrangement and that I would rather be there for the appointment. He was fine with that and asked me if I was going to be at home on Saturday. I said that I would be available. He said that he would call me to re-schedule the appointment.
5/5/12 Saturday - I waited until 2 PM and then I called Bill on his cellphone. It went to voicemail and I left a message asking him to call me back. I never received a return call.
The Bottom LineInitially communication was great. My e-mails were responded to promptly. Bill offered useful advice on good places to buy quality lighting fixtures as well as which brands were good. Over the phone, he was polite and professional.
Ultimately, I was unhappy with the fact that Bill never returned the voice mail message that I left for him.
"Thank you for the very detailed report of our correspondence. It appears that we had a temporary lapse of memory, and sincerely apologize for missing your returned call."
"Thank you very much for taking a few minutes to post a detailed report of Root Electric. It is our pleasure to be of service."
"Thank you very much for taking a few minutes to post a review of Root Electric! It was our pleasure to be of service."
"Thank you so much for the detailed report on Root Electric's services. It was our pleasure to install your new lighting. We hope that you enjoy it for years to come."
adjuster. Called Root, and was given an appointment for the following week. Since we had given a full description of what was needed, the electrician came prepaired with all necessary equipment. The work was completed quickly, efficiently and in a professional manner. .
"Thank you very much for posting a report of Root Electric. We apprecite the detail given in your report, and for the healthy report card. It is our pleasure to be of service."
The stair well light replacement went well.
"Thank you very much for taking a few minutes to post a detailed report of Root Electric. I distinctly remember this project and the problems that were associated with it. I greatly appreciate the customer's willingness to show us what went wrong, and his cooperation in allowing us to remedy his concerns. Our electrician called us as soon as he put his foot through the ceiling to let us know what happened. Before the project was complete, we notified the customer that we would be happy to pay for the repair. Furthermore, we did not take payment on the project until the ceiling was patched to the customer's satisfaction. Again, we appreciate the customer's willingness to allow us to pay to cover this mistake. We regret that the customer's wife is unhappy with the placement of the lights. In this kitchen, we were dealing in part with the structure of the house, and the shape of the kitchen. The actual fixture housing for a recessed light is located inside the ceiling, and is subject to structural and mechanical components of the house. Unfortunately, the location of these components cannot always be determined before the installation. Somtimes compromises must be made to allow for the placement of roof trusses or floor joists, and how they relate to the orientation of the kitchen. The customer was given a concept drawing with the proposal that showed the approximate location of the light installation. When we arrived for installation, we communicated to the customer that there would be a difference between the concept drawing and the final installation and explained why. He approved of the changes before we began cutting in the recessed lights. The customer's wife was not present when he approved of the changes, but voiced her concerns once she saw the installed lights. While we are saddened to hear that the customer is not happy with the installation, we greatly appreciate his willingness in allowing us to make corrections where they were needed. Sincerely, William J. Root Vice-President | Root Electric"
"Thank you very much for taking a moment to post a review of Root Electric. It was a pleasure to be of service. We hope that you enjoy your new ceiling fans for years to come!"
"Thank you very much for taking a few minutes to give a report on Root Electric! We are especially impressed that you did it from your iPhone! It was our pleasure to make the repairs at your house, thanks again for using Root Electric for your electrical repairs."
"Thank you very much for posting a report! Also appreciated are the details of what our electrician did while he was working at your house (i.e. covering the work space, and answering questions.) Cleanliness and open communication are central values in our company, so it is nice to hear from a customer that the guys are being diligent in those areas. It is our pleasure to be of service."
"Thank you so much for taking the opportunity to write a review of our company. It was a pleasure to install your chandelier. I remember that day; it was pouring rain, what a time!"
"Thank you very much for taking a few minutes to write a review of Root Electric! It is our pleasure to be of service."
"Thank you very much for taking a few minutes to post a review of our company! We appreciate the details and the great looking report card. It was our pleasure to be of service."
"Thank you very much for "calling in" a review to Angie's List! It was our pleasure to be of service."
I updated the review & moved them from an F to a C. There were two reasons for the change -
1) The "work not done" was in fact done, it was my mistake.........the change was minor & it took me a good bit of study to actually figure out what had been done
2) The do seem concerned about their ratings, while we may disagree on the overall rating the fact they actually care means something
I still consider the overall job mediocre - more sloppy/complacent than poor - hence the "C" grade. I did find still more left over parts.......yes they were in the attic & it doesn't really matter, just an overall sign.
I also skipped the price rating as it doesn't apply - expensive or cheap doesn't matter, it's doing the job correctly that does.
While installing the fan in the attic they turned off the AC unit (attic switch) - nice, I had to get out the ladder & figure out why the AC was off. Shows a general lack of care/thoroughness.
They were replacing an existing fan. Told my wife "there's a problem with the grating, if you hear a noise it's the fan hitting it.....don't worry, eventually the fan will wear down the grating". Um, excuse me? I'd bet that was a line for my wife......wonder if they'd have chosen that line of BS for me. Of note - I have replaced this fan, it is a pain. It is tedious & requires care. Once again lack of care/sloppy.
Installed recessed lights in the kitchen - the trim rings are dirty with smudges, now I have to again dig out the ladder so I can clean them. Again it simply shows a lack of care (sloppy).
Ran a new circuit for the refrigerator. First joist after the electrical box they ran the wire through an old armor wire loop. While it may be okay it's metal against rubber/plastic wire insulation - would a $.03 staple or other fastener be too much? Once again, nothing horrible just a lack of care/effort.
Found pieces of wire insulation (from wire stripping) in a fish tank filter - nothing major, just another example of being careless.
There's a couple more but it doesn't matter I've given the gist. As I mentioned all minor issues but add up to an overall poor experience. It leaves one thinking "what else is wrong/sloppy" -they do not leave you with a good comfort level. While they may not be the worst I can't see why anyone would use them, there must be better companies out there.
"Thank you for taking the time to post a very detailed review of our services. As one of the owners and a member of the Root family, I am very disappointed to read through this list of problems. The customer informed me via email of his dissatisfaction with the work that our company performed at his house. He offered no specifics, but made his feelings very clear. Within two hours of the receipt of his email, I personally sent a reply email and called, leaving messages at a work telephone number and a home telephone number. In my correspondence, I asked the customer two things: 1. A list of specific items that need to be corrected. 2. The opportunity to correct the problems and complete the work to his satisfaction. This would be done at no extra charge. In his reply email, the customer stated very clearly that he would prefer to post the problems on Angie's List. (Which is his right, and perfectly acceptable in my view.) He was also very clear that he would not like Root Electric to return to his house. After reading the customer's email reply, I interviewed the electricians that were working on this project (one is a Master Electrician with 14 years experience in the trade. The other electrician is an Apprentice Electrician with 9 years experience in residential and commercial electrical work.) My electrician's assessment of the project was in stark contrast to that of the customer. Judging by their current track record, and lack of firsthand evidence of sloppy workmanship, I have no reason to doubt their side of the story. I respect the customers disappointment with our work, and his right to inform other Angie's List customers of the specific failures that occurred during this job. However, I logically cannot offer a complete and balanced response to our existing and prospective Angie's List customers without the opportunity to personally investigate the grievances outlined in this review. I earnestly hope that this customer will allow me the opportunity to review the work so that I can obtain a more complete picture of the issues at hand. I cannot fix a problem that I have not seen, and I cannot admonish an employee without first hand evidence of his or her poor performance. (Especially after I have had many, many excellent reviews of the electricians who completed this work.) I invite the customer to allow the owner of Root Electric (Bill Root) the opportunity to personally inspect the items in question, and to correct items that were done poorly, incorrectly (or not at all). Also, so that we might gain a complete perspective of the work completed by our electricians. It is my earnest hope that the customer will allow me to investigate, and, if necessary, repair or re-install items found to be substandard. Sincerely, Bill Root Vice-President | Root Electric"
"Thank you very much for posting a review of Root Electric. Sometimes we run into problems that turn out to be more complicated than they seem. (Of course, we like the problem to be simple just as much as you do.) We were very happy to solve the issue and make the appropriate repairs."
"Thank you very much for taking a few minutes to post a review of our company! We were pleased to complete the work at your house, and hope that you enjoy the upgrades for years to come."
"Thank you very much for the excellent review of our company! Often, homeowners tend to have different needs and lifestyles than the home builder anticipates when designing the house. We were very happy to make your home a little more enjoyable to live in!"
"Thank you very much for taking a few moments to post a review of our company, and for the stellar report card. It was our pleasure to complete the electrical work at your home."
"Thank you so much for taking the time to write a review of our services. It was our pleasure to complete the installations and repairs at your house."
He asked me some questions; I showed him the rooms with the "out" outlets, and he went to work. He found the problem and fixed it in short order--naturally, the broken outlet was behind a sleeper sofa, which he had to move. Not only did he fix the outlets, he replaced all the outlet covers (which I had removed in an effort to figure out what was wrong). Within the hour, the problem was solved.
The best thing about this experience (even better than having my outlets repaired) was that he was just the nicest guy. I would definitely use this company in the future, and I have already recommended them to a neighbor.
"Thank you SO much for your detailed report on our company. Bill (the owner and electrician who handled your call) is a master electrician, and has been a professional electrician for 40 years. Interestingly enough, his primary responsibility in the company is answering the telephones and managing our scheduling and supplies. However, he enjoys being an electrician, and takes every opportunity he can get to "work in" a service call. Bill takes great pleasure in working in his company and will most likely not retire any time soon. Thanks again for the wonderful report."
"Thank you very much for taking some time to write a review of Root Electric! Because we live in such a transient area, we are well accustomed to working with clients who are currently out of the country but are still maintaining a house in the Northern Virginia area. It was our pleasure to find and repair the problem."
"Thank you very much for taking the time to post a report of our company. It was our pleasure to remove and replace your smoke detector."
"Thank you SO much for your very detailed report on Root Electric, and for the stellar report card! Just to avoid confusion in the future, while Andrew is a long-time employee of Root Electric, he is not a member of the nuclear Root family. However, we are flattered that you associated Andrew with our family. He is an excellent representative of our company, and we think very highly of him. Again, thank you for taking the time to report on our company. As always, it is our pleasure to serve."
"Thank you so much for posting a report on Root Electric. We will certainly pass this report on to John at our upcoming monthly meeting."
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