Michael & Son Baltimore

Reviews 3

CH

Charlie Swisko

I lost power to my shed after a heavy rain. After finding no water around the shed or in my basement I thought that the buried electrical conduit from the shed to the house was likely compromised and water was causing the circuit to short. I decided that this was potentially too big a job for me and decided to call Michael and Son. The customer service rep was friendly when I called and the technician arrived on time but those are the only 2 positive things about my experience. When the technician arrived at my house I told him about my problem and what I had already checked. Before setting foot in my house or inspecting anything he told me that I needed a Complete Circuit Restoration and that it was $474. I still havent figured out how he diagnosed the problem and came up with a price without inspecting anything... Unless of course he scammed me. I went ahead with the price trusting that he knew what he was doing and that it was a larger problem than anticipated. He spent no more than an hour and a half at my house before the problem was "fixed". The problem ended up being the wiring from my doorbell that was on the same circuit. He disconnected the wire to the doorbell and that was it. The price was still $474. My doorbell still doesnt work and I also have an outlet that was on that circuit that now doesnt work. I called back later that afternoon to express my dissatisfaction with both the work that was done and the price. The supervisor tried to explain why the price was so much for the repair by citing that the technician had to go into a "crawl space" (That is part of my basement that is 5 feet in height). I hardly think this is justification for charging almost $500 to disconnect a wire. He was very condescending over the phone and spoke to me as if I was a child and didnt know how electricity worked. I could not get him to budge on the price but he did offer to send the technician back to fix my doorbell. The following day I received a call from the same technician around 4 pm saying that he was at my house to fix the doorbell. I told him that I was at work and unable to let him in. He offered to come back at a different time but immediately decided it was necessary to defend his work again by saying he had to go into a crawl space and walk out to my shed several times which is no more than 20 feet from my house. He also slipped up and said that its $200 to check 2 boxes and an additional fee for each one after that. I asked him how he knew it would be $474 when the only box he saw was the 1 in the shed and there is only a total of 3 on that circuit. I dont know why the technician felt the need to argue with me over the phone but after 15 minutes on the phone I ended the conversation by saying that "I dont want you or anyone else from your company coming back to my house again" and hung up. Both the supervisor and technician I dealt with were unbelievably disrespectful and the price of my repair was absolutely absurd. Michael and Son charges like professionals but they certainly do not act like professionals.

FI

First

I have a problem with a 3-way switch in my kitchen. I called several Electrical companies and all of them wanted to charge me an expensive hourly rate. One company wanted a $95 service charge for the first 30 mins and then $25 per 15mins after that... wow! Michael & Sons only charge a small service feel ($30) and then they send out an Electrician who gives you a single charge quote. In my case they sent out David Linkous. He is very professional, is personable, and has a great demeanor. David called about 30mins prior to arriving to let me know he was on his way. David put on those little blue (think surgical) booties over his boots so as to not track mud/snow in the house. Great! I showed him the switch box and explained the problem and he got to work. After about 15 mins he gave me a quote on how much it would be. I accepted it and he continued diagnosing the problem. After about 30 mins, he told me that two of the wires (ground and black) were touching and that was causing a short. Thats why if one of the switches was turned off, the other one wouldnt work at all. He said he thought he problem was somewhere inside the wall so it would require running a new wire. I was a little skeptical of that because normally wires have a protective plastic coating on them to keep that from happening. He said it might have been a staple from when the original Electricans ran the cabling. I ask him if he could just run a temp cable between the two switches (outsid of the wall) just to prove that a new cable would solve the problem. He did, and it worked. So he was correct. For a permanent cable, he would need to cut holes in the drywall. I asked him how much that would be and he gave me an additional quote to run the wire, which was outside of my budget. I asked if there was anything he could do it lower it so he worked with his manager to lower the troubleshooting cost to a Tier2 instead of a Tier1. That saved about $100, but the overall cost with the original service call, Tier2 troubleshooting, and the running of the wire was simply out of my budget. I told him we wouldnt be able to fix it at this time due to budget constraints but we would save money and would have it done later. He said that was not a problem. I also asked him for a separate quote to install recessed lighting in the dining and living rooms. Of course this would also be done later when I have the money. He ran up a quote and went through all of the options with me. I asked him several questions and we went through a few different scenarios. He took his time and answered all of my questions. David also mentioned that M&S has a Home Care Agreement that could also help me save 10% on the wiring job, as well as costs for regular maintenance of the HVAC and AC units. That was helpful to know. All in all I am pleased with M&S and very pleased with David.

KI

Kia Payne

On Feb 27, I had an appointment scheduled for Michael & Son to give me an estimate to move some sconces on my wall. It appeared as though it was an easy task, and although I’m not an electrician, I’ve seen enough to feel confident to tackle the project myself. I live in an older house though…like 1950’s old. And nothing is standard. Nothing is ever easy. Therefore, my attempts resulted in failure. Hence the call to Michael & Son. On the day of the appointment, I received an email with the name and picture of the technician they were dispatching to my house. As a single mom, I sometimes am a bit apprehensive of letting people in my house, so I TRULY appreciated the email. The technician, Anthony Nembhard, called prior to arriving with an ETA. Again, with such a large time block (mine was 8a-12p), I appreciated this. Additionally, it was very close to 8 when he called, so I didn’t have to spend my whole morning waiting. Anthony was AMAZING. He was very patient while I asked a million questions about what he needed to do, and why what I tried didn’t work. I also have a very weird electrical setup with three meters. In one visit, he identified the submeters and explained the setup, which several other electricians from other companies were never able to do. Additionally, he helped troubleshoot a noise I was hearing in my walls, which turned out to be pipes in my detached garage that burst. He found the shut off valve for me and called Michael & Son, asking them to send a plumber right away. I’m so thankful he was there. I wouldn’t have even known where to find the shut off valve. Lastly, while he was there for the estimate, I had a different company arrive for an estimate on replacing my AC unit. Without being pushy, he suggested that I consider Michael & Son for that unit, too. I heard that Michael & Son was reasonably priced for smaller jobs, but very expensive for major jobs. Therefore, I didn’t consider them. Luckily, I took Anthony’s advice. The offer was better than what I received from the other company and accompanied by a better warranty. I’m really glad that I called Michael & Son and that Anthony was my technician. He was a great help in moving my sconces and saving me tons of money with the ruptured pipes and the AC replacement. I highly recommend Michael & Son and, especially, Anthony. Thank you!!

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