Should I fire this electrician?
I hired an electrician to do some work around my house. Re-wire lights, sprinkler system, fix a doorbell and add an outside power outlet to the side of my house.
The day he came for the quote he was late. He was supposed to be at my house at 2:00pm and didn’t show up until about 4:30pm. His reason was that he had to pick up his daughter.
He gave a very good quote for the work. I found out that he was a neighbor. We are also involved in a very big city project together, but I did not recognize him.
We chatted for a while and I found out he was going out of town for a weekend away with his family. He is a very nice person, but it stuck in my head that he may not be reliable because he was so late and did not call. (He claimed my phone did not work when he called.)
I hired him to do the work and upset everyone. My husband was very angry and we fought about it–he was concerned about the money and need for the work. I cleared 2 days of my plans so I could get this work done. I advised my study group that I would not show and arranged a ride to school for my daughter. I even asked my mo-in-law to come and sit my younger child.
The electrician was supposed to be here at 9am, but I got a call at 8:00 and another at 8:30 advising me that he had family problems and could not make it today….he asked if he could come at 11:30 or 12:00 tomorrow.
I told him it was ok. I am having second thoughts. Is he going to flake on me again? Did he just extend a family vacation or was there a real emergency? I know when my husband finds out the electrician flaked there will be a big fight again and a bunch of “I told you so.”
(The work can wait, but it would be nice to have it done now. I may not win the argument with my husband a second time.)
(This is supposed to be a 2 day job.)
Tagged with: 9am • Electrician • Family Vacation
Filed under: Maintenance & Repairs
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sussex electrics
Give the guy one more chance then fire him. Perhaps he really did have important family business to take care of and perhaps your phone really didn’t work, but too many excuses will raise suspicions, so don’t be pushed around by him, especially when you are paying.
brighton electrician
I would fire him as unreliable. Whatever his reasons or domestic arrangements are they should not be allowed to inconvenience anyone else.
sussex electrical
I think in this case, you have to give him the benefit of the doubt, despite it sound dodgy, if he doesn’t show up tomorrow, how could you have known he would’ve flaked, its not your fault, i wouldn’t worry about it
brighton electrician
i would call him and tell him you had second thoughts about the work you wanted to have done and decided to put it on hold. it sounds to me he has all the business he wants and will only get to you when he darn well feels like. i highly doubt your phone didn’t work when he said he tried to call you. and i highly doubt that he had family problems the 2nd time. business is business and if i were a business owner, my family problems would be dealt with once my business day was over. yea you might have to put up with a couple i told you so’s (i **** that too) but i think it would be for the best. just tell your husband that you were told you should get a couple more quotes. you are just trying to save a little money by getting the lower priced electrician.
sussex electrics
you’ll have to give him the benefit of the doubt (if it was an emergency) if he isn’t prompt and working hard to try to catch up tomorrow then send him home
brighton electrical
The guy’s got more work than he can handle. He should have told you so but in this economy, he doesn’t want to turn anything down. He’s not doing any family things, he’s just using that as an excuse. People are less likely to judge contactors harshly when they have “family issues”. If the guy told you he was working elsewhere or in a bar, you wouldn’t have given this a second thought. Business is business. Fire the bum.