Being an electrical contractor for the last 20 years I have gained a great amount of knowledge and expertise within the electrical industry. If you're deciding on your next electrician or electrical contractor for your project I would like to share a few of these knowledge with you to assist you in making your decision. Let's start. one of the first things I touched on in the previous paragraph is online feedback. When I employ electricians frequently, I've learned a few techniques to determine an individual with the credentials I'm in search of. In the past, it was difficult for electricians to come into my office to tell me all I needed to know, only to discover that they were totally deceiving me. I considered it, and I realized quickly that the best way to determine an individual's character is to ask a friend or acquaintance. If you're a person who has a bad character, it will probably be quite difficult to find someone with good things to say about you. It's the same with electricians and businesses such as electrical contracting firms. Online reviews are a great method to find out what your neighbors have to say about electricians they're working with. I myself have had customers that weren't exactly happy because we showed up early or because the electrician committed mistakes. However , these customers seldom leave a bad review. What this means is that if someone posts posted a negative review on the internet, it is usually because they did something that really irritated their customer. These are the types of people you should stay clear of. Electrical Testing

Phone calls or via e-mail. How does the electrician or electrical contractor you're thinking of hiring on the phone? Does their voice sound professional? Are they knowledgeable about your job and the items that you're seeking? Do they sound as if they've done this 100 times and been through this dialogue a thousand times? Do they ask them to have a look at the job first before giving you an estimate of how the cost will be? If you don't have a positive answer to the first and yes to the second then they are probably someone that you'd rather not work with. People who are annoyed by the normal questions asked and who are rude to their customers are probably going to be people that you really don't want to work with. First impressions are important. If someone answers the phone by saying hello instead of hello it correctly and ask the electric assist you. You know this may be an employee working from the back of a pickup truck. Even worse if somebody answers the phone by saying something. Just leave the call. There is no reason to do business with somebody who doesn't even answer to the telephone professionally. If they cannot handle the phone professionally, it's extremely unlikely they can do the job correctly. I've contacted electricians who have posted resumes to my site and they answer the phone what or are playing some weird music on the other end when they call. Although I wouldn't eliminate them because of this, it's intriguing to me that once they learn that the caller is the person they called and left a message asking for a job, their attitude changes. This basically tells me that they're not writing to anyone in the event that they need something from the person.

Do they have a huge budget for advertising? My skin gets rashes when I ask this question. I've seen many customers who have received quotes in the range of $3000.00 up to $4000.00 for a job. They will come to me and say that their company has been more quoting without telling me the dollar amount they provided. I'm familiar with the major franchise companies with enormous advertising budgets operating in my city. Therefore, when they provide me with the name I already know the approximate price they've been quoted. We generally do the tasks that franchise companies offer for 50% of what they quoted as a rule of thumb. The reason is advertising is very expensive. Advertising on television or radio stations could cost you up to tens of thousands dollars a month. Literally. No kidding. Yes, it's that much. Marketers and advertisers are aware that what they're offering is often times less than what they charge. They have little or no desire to keep you in business, although they might claim otherwise. If you sign a 1-year contract to operate radio or TV station advertisements or even a month-long contract, if it doesn't work for you they will not return a single dime. If you sign-up for an account with the Yellow Pages and decide to pay $6000.00 per month for a full-page advertisement but your phone doesn't sound in a sufficient way to cover this they again do not take any notice and will not refund one cent of your cash. They will furthermore seek litigation and then sue you for the contract amount. If you are forced to close your company, there are thousands businesses that go under every day in the United States. Additionally, there are many people starting new businesses. The marketers and advertisers simply transfer for the next and the cycle goes on. Advertising is a fact that the effectiveness is entirely dependent on the business you run and the marketplace and form of marketing you're using. If you're a huge soda pop bottling company , and you're selling sugar-based water, your profit margin will be quite high. It's possible to plaster your company's name everywhere. Small brick-and-mortar companies have tiny profit margins. If they are sinking hundreds of thousands into marketing, you are likely to find that your customers are footing the bill.

Are they licensed to conduct business in the state or the city in which they're operating. This could sound like an unimportant question. In the end, who walks to conduct business in a city that they're not licensed? Or worse yet doing work statewide with no license. The truth is that we live in a time of economic instability. This crisis causes people to take on tasks that they wouldn't normally do. Many people are able to justify the fact that they're working without an authorization as a way to provide for their families. In fact, I understand this. But as a consumer, you are not looking for a desperate person looking to make a fast cash flow with no license and no insurance working on your home doing electrical work. This is a recipe for disaster. Electrical deaths are higher for small children. Their small bodies cannot handle the force of shocks from electric and many times it causes death. Make a plan first and take action later when it comes to choosing an electricians to work on your home or business. The liability and the pain in your heart could be yours long-term when you try to save a quick buck.

The topic is what leads me to the fifth topic. General liability insurance and workers ' comp insurance. The way to work when a company hires me as an electrical contractor for subcontractors for them is this. They contact me to inform me that they require a certificate in general liability as well as workers' compensation insurance. I then called my insurance agent . He issues the certificate that has their name on it. It identifies them as insured. In the event of anything goes wrong on the job or when one of my employees is injured the customer has the proof that they are not responsible. You can apply for the same certificate for an individual homeowner or private homeowner. Electrician

This brings us to the seven topic are they the lowest bidder? If yes, you may think about asking yourself... How did they come up with such a a low price? The reason could be that they decided not to buy workers' compensation policy or general liability. It could also be that they're following substandard work practices, or not having permit for electrical work, or using inferior materials. This is viewed the same way a examine purchasing plane tickets. A lot of people don't want to pay additional costs for traveling on a plane. They don't want to spend for the additional bag. They do not want to purchase any food or beverages served on the plane and look online for the lowest price. This causes pressure on airlines to make a profit. When you're under pressure to turn a profit you start making cuts to business expenses. One of the major costs for airlines is plane maintenance. I for one don't want to fly on a plane when the airline is under financial pressure and stress. If you conduct any research into plane crashes you will find that often the reason for the crash is due to poor maintenance or making the incorrect screw, and using non-factory equipment. The same holds true when you're hiring an electrician or electrical contractor. If they're the cheapest bidder the money you saved will have to come from somewhere. Food for thought.