Did I get ripped off by an electrician?
Recently I needed some work done on an outlet, a switch, and two lights in my garage. Essentially I just needed the whole thing wired correctly so that all the components worked.
The only guy I could get to answer his phone, let alone pay me a visit, was a “master electrician” whose card I found on a corkboard in a local coffee shop.
The guy was very pleasant and professional, but he charged me $285 for about 15 minutes worth of work and no parts. I’m rationalizing to myself that I couldn’t have done the work myself, and given how hard it’s been even finding an electrician, I was better off paying what he asked than getting a bunch of people to come give me estimates over a period of a week or so.
But bottom line: did I get ripped off?
Tagged with: Bottom Line • Coffee Shop • Master Electrician
Filed under: Maintenance & Repairs
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brighton electrician
by a factor of 2 at least; maybe even 3
C’mon. That’s 1140.00 AN HOUR!!!!! Pick up the phone book and you can probably hire an electrical engineer for 1100 an hour
at $200 an hour it’d be $50
brighton electrical
Hard to say, without knowing what he did. He also had some travel time to get to your place. I think that the price sounds a little strong, but who knows. At least he came to your house and fixed the problem. So in that aspect, it wasn’t so bad. good luck.
sussex electrician
Well, that does sound a little high for 15 minutes of work, but if they are in short supply where you are, they are going to be expensive and will charge you for travel etc. You could have probably called a couple more and got a better price if you had the time to get some estimates. What he did was very simple if you had all of the wiring done, but he probably saw you were in a hurry. Next time, I would shop around. You didn’t get completely ripped off, but you didn’t get a bargain either.
sussex electrics
you got major ripped of dude
brighton electrical
Probably. But I’ve found electricians hard to find to come out for “little” jobs, and I live in a pretty big area. Could be you got charged a travel charge, then a charge for the work he did, but $285 is steep. They also could have a minimum charge. So does everything work properly now and are you satisfied.
sussex electric
No you didn’t get ripped. It’s not the amount of time it take to do a job it’s the level of expertise and time. You see it as a 15 min. job but he drive to your location and drive back it’s a wonder you got anyone to do that small of a job because it’s not worth the to drive out just to do 15 min of work.
brighton electrical
PROBABLY NOT.
brighton electric
It sounds a bit high especially with no parts. You might give him a call and have him break down the bill. Ask what his per hour cost is.
sussex electrician
It sounds a little high but like they say ” it’s $1 for the labor and $99 for knowing which wire to cut”. He may simply have done the job quickly . Does he charge per job or per hour/half hour?
Always ask what it’s going to cost before an electrician starts, he or she will have to examine the wiring for 10 minutes or so before they can give you an answer but they will usually be able to give you a reasonably accurate quote.
brighton electrical
Next time spend half that money on tools and education. You could pick up a Greenlee multimeter, screwdrivers, cutters, a reference book on home wiring, etc. At Home Depot or Lowes or your local hardware store.
Lack of knowledge makes you another mans legal prey.
Improve your own knowledge. Don’t let ignorance cost you money. Chalk this up to a lesson learned.
Miketyson26
sussex electrical
I don’t think anyone can answer that without knowing what other electricians would have charged – although it does seem a bit steep.
In the future, you can try general handymen for easier type work and they might be cheaper and willing to do small jobs.
sussex electrical
No.
I had my basement filled with those canned lights set into the ceiling. Each one cost me $80.00 to install.
I had them move my breaker into another room for code issues and upgrade my watts from 60 to 120. It cost me $800.00.
Electricians are really expensive.
sussex electrics
You were charged for the job and not charged at an hourly rate. Are you satisified with the job? No you didn’t get riped. That’s what the job cost. I can go to three different dentist for the same work and get 3 different prices. No difference. Your satisfaction is what counts. Enjoy your garage.
brighton electrician
No I dont think you did.
You are paying for what he knows, not what he does. You hired a master electrician to do a job and he did it.
sussex electrics
That sounds pretty high. Always get more than one estimate. But don’t bother calling now because everyone will tell you they are much cheaper. The work is done.