Hiring an electrician or any other home service professional is definitely not the cheapest thing to do. When you start to google search electrician near me and you get a bunch of options that say they are your best option. Now what?
On most local google searches you will find one or two electrician companies that have close to a 5 stars and hundreds of customers have left them a review. You would think that “wow, no-brainer. Choosing an electrician is easy.” Sadly, not even close.
Now a-days it is not enough to just look at a google star review and how many customers left a review. Like an onion, you have to pull back the layers and look at the details of what the electrician company is offering.
Here are 6 warning signs that the electrician you are thinking of hiring may not be a good fit. Look at the end of the list for a step by step way to hire electrician with these steps.
- Expensive Advertising
- Too Good To Be True Reviews
- Electrician Company Does Not Offer Bundle Discounts On Flat Rate Pricing
- Questionable Appearance
- Getting Too Much Of A Sales Vibe
- No Social Proof of Quality Work
- Refusal To Mention Their Hourly Rate
- No Insurance And/Or State Safety License
1. Expensive Advertising
It’s almost impossible to watch tv or listen to the radio without hearing an advertisement within the first 5 minutes. Though paying for expensive advertising is unavoidable for most companies, it does not have to be when it comes to local business. There are creative ways electricians can locally advertise without plastering your companies face all over the tv and social media ads.
TV ads are by far the most expensive ways to advertise. After that is tends to be a toss up between radio and social media ads. Not saying that you shouldn’t give the companies a chance, just know when you hire these kind of companies you have to make sure you are not footing the bill for a huge advertising budget.
A rule of thumb when hiring local home services in the 21 century is if you see them on the tv then chances are they are overpriced, but they give great service. If you are willing to put in the work in searching. There are better electrician companies out there with the same great service, but without the huge price tag.
2. Too Good To Be True Reviews
Despite Google’s best efforts to keep their review system as authentic as possible. Companies have figured out a way they can trick users that are looking too quickly at their google reviews. Home service companies have learned that you can jack up your prices when you offer great service. Because homeowners were sick and tired of the unreliable no calls/no shows of old school contractor. Marketers saw an opportunity to offer better service, but at a higher price.
There are a couple tricks you can do when internet searching for electricians near me. Here are a few tips and tricks to avoiding the electrician companies that are trying to price gouge you.
- Read into Google reviews with keyword filters focusing on price, quality, honest, and most recent.
- How many reviews is important, but can be misleading. Focus on quality of review not quantity.
- Local Facebook Groups
- Nextdoor App
Review Note: A 5 star company with 30 reviews can be better fit for you then a company with 4.5 stars with 400 reviews.
3. Electrician Company Does Not Offer Bundle Discounts On Flat Rate Pricing
When you have an electrician give you an estimate for a home electrical project there are a couple factors they keep in mind as they are building the estimate.
- How long will the electrical project take to complete?
- How much are the electrical materials going to be?
- How will I schedule home project and will it take a full day?
Electrician price books are set up for buying just one thing, because homeowners tend to only call them for one thing at a time. When you bulk up as many of your home electrical projects into a days worth of work, you can convince the electrician to cut you a better and save 20% or more on the total cost of the job.
4. Questionable Appearance
No matter what first impressions matter. How a company presents themselves and the appearance they up hold is a testament of how they will treat your home. If the electrician company shows up in a vehicle that is not so clean inside or out, and they are dressed like they rolled out of bed. Then chance are their work may resemble the same outcome.
Oddly enough, the exact opposite can happen as well. It’s a big red flag when a electrician company shows up in a letter vehicle that is wrapped in over the top advertisements, and knocks on your door dressed up in an almost “too clean” of fashion. There is nothing wrong with looking nice, in fact it is encouraged. But, some electrician companies that dress nice in collared shirts tend to jack up their prices to an irresponsible level.
5. Getting Too Much Of A Sales Vibe
Simply put, if you get too much of a sales vibe from an electrician, plumber or any home safety service professional then (Nicely) kick them out of your house, and find another.
When it comes to home safety there is no room for sales tactics. Homeowners rely on electricians to tell them if their home is electrically safe or not. When you start adding sales into home safety you start getting into fear tactics and a misuse of authority. People need to trust safety professionals like electricians otherwise their home investment could turn into a pile of rubble.
Trust needs to be prioritized when hiring an electrician. Even though you may call an electrician for one thing, that does not mean electricians won’t cite electrical safety code infractions while they are there. You want electricians to do this. It makes homeowners feel safe knowing they have an electrician approved house. But, do not trust an electrician company that starts to give you all these different options about this, that, and how you can get your dream home. Best just to finish up the estimate and say thanks but no thanks.
6. No Social Proof Of Quality Work
Other than a company website. You have to be able to trace an electricians quality of work to other places like Google, Facebook, Nextdoor, or any other social media platforms. An electrician company should be posting customer photos of home electrical projects.
If an electrician company is not keeping up on their social media accounts, then it doesn’t matter even if they are the best in the area. No one will ever be able to find enough social proof to verify there quality of work.
7. Ask For Electrician Hourly Rate
Getting an honest & quality estimate from an electrician can be one of the hardest parts of your entire home project. Most home electrical projects can be estimated right over the phone with just a few questions. Though not all electrical projects can be estimated remotely. Most electrician companies are capable of giving you a rough idea of what it would cost to get your home electrical project done.
That being said most electrician companies do not do over the phone estimates. They require a home visit to see the electrical project first. But that does not mean that the electrician can’t tell you what their hourly rate is.
An electrician hourly rate always vary depending on where you are in the country. A realistic & reasonable electrician hourly rate ranges anywhere between $110-$200 an hour. You could try to find cheaper, but at those low of prices you have to make sure the electrician company is carrying proper insurance and state safety licensing.
There are electrician companies that are charging a lot more than that! Be careful who you hire. Until you find an electrician you can trust, the best advice in order to avoid price gouging companies is to get at least two or three estimates on home project first.
In order not to waste time and money on finding an electrician. Contact electrician company, and ask what their hourly rate is. If the electrician company refuses to give you an answer, chances are they are overpriced.
A lot of electrician companies are now doing flat-rate pricing instead of standard hourly rate. Flat-rate pricing is fine and can a lot times is the better way to do business. But wither an electrician does flat-rate pricing or not, they still have an hourly rate they use in order to build their flat rate pricing. There are good electricians companies out There you just have to do some creative searching.
8. No Insurance And/Or State Safety License
Finding an electrician that will install your home electrical project for real cheap might sound like a good thing. Sometimes you might find a great deal, but you need to make you are doing business with not just someone that knows what they are doing. You also need the electrician to be responsible and carry the proper insurances to cover any accidents that may happen when they do electrical work on your home.
Not to mention that you may be left without a warranty on your electrical project if anything happen months later. Remember cheap home projects result in expensive repairs. Do yourself a favor and find an electrician you can trust for years to come.
Home Electrical Services
Talk to an electrician about your home electrical project. Most of the time we can build your project estimate together right over the phone without needing a trip out to the house first.
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Location :
53 Langholm Dr
Nashua,NH 03062
Email :
Matt@HomeTradeWork.com
Call Or Text :
(603) 688-0597Areas We Usually Work In.....
- Nashua
- Hudson
- Merrimack
- Hollis
- Milford
- Windham
Our Nashua electricians will always get the job done with nothing but 5 star service. Our promise to you is that you will always feel confident that you got the job done right and at the best value.
Make your google search for electricians near me an easy one. Use our electricians in Nashua, Hudson, & the greater southern New Hampshire area to get the job done right the first time.
