Ahearn Electric Inc

It is unfortunate that this management company has selected someone completely ignorant on construction and maintenance issues to deal with repairsThis call was for troubleshooting a lightThe first step is to replace the lamp as anyone with common sense would knowTo reinstall an old lamp is
simply asking for the problem to recur and create an additional repair requiring high reach equipmentThe complainant does not understand that there is no such thing a a "standard" 20' light poleThere are countless numbers of different onesOur service technicians would need to drive a fleet of semi trucks to carry every possible lamp and photo cellOnce the problem was diagnosed, the tech went to the nearest place to buy the photocell (saving the customer time and money by not returning to our shop where we have them)The customer was also given a discount by not being charged for the high reach equipment during the material runThe complainant has already called our office and had all of this explained to himThis customer has also already been flagged in our system that we will not work for him again

Complaint: ***I am rejecting this response because:
Ahearn Electric's response speaks volumes about the professionalism of their company.
The issue was explained to them that one of the street lamps, about feet high on an arm, wasn't working. What company wouldn't send their workman out with the proper tools to complete the job? If this was a car repair, which could have hundreds of things go wrong, I wouldn't be surprised that the mechanic wouldn't have a spare alternator with him. This is a street light - it's a little less complicated. A fleet of semi trucks to carry every lamp and photocell? Your trucks must be tiny! *** ***, where the repairman bought the photocell, has total photocells listed in stock. Let's see. A photocell consists of wires for power, a photocell to detect light which in turn connects / disconnects the electrical connection to the light. With the exception of differing wattage, they're interchangeable. But what do I know, I'm ignorant right? But even if they weren't interchangeable, a fleet of your tiny, tiny trucks to carry different types of photocell?... Ahearn Electric did get one thing right, ignorance is certainly in play here
But that's not the point of this complaint. If the company doesn't want to send their repairmen out sufficiently stocked to handle a small repair, that's their business. The point of this complaint is that I should not be billed to cover for this company's incompetence. When I contracted with Ahearn Electric, I expected them to come to the site ready and able to complete the repair. They failed to meet that very basic threshold. When the repairman reached the point that he needed a photocell and realized he didn't have one, the billing should have stopped. Once he returned to the job site with the proper materials to complete the job, billing resumes. It is amazing that this company thinks it's perfectly acceptable to bill the customer for time to go buy parts - regardless of whether he should have had them with him at the time or not. Let's go back to the car analogy. This is like me taking my car in to have the alternator replaced, the mechanic telling me he doesn't have the alternator in stock but it will be in on the truck tomorrow, then billing me for the time it took for the truck to arrive the next day! Who in their right mind would be okay with that?
Regarding the discount that I 'received' for "not being charged for the high tech equipment during the material run". First, this is the first I've heard of this. It was not denoted on my bill, nor was I told of this over the phone. Second, I presume the 'high tech equipment' was the bucket truck, for which there was an additional $on the bill to even come out for the repair. By this statement, Ahearn Electric is stating that it is their business practice to not only charge for the time to make the parts run, but to also bill for the use of the equipment to make the run? I'm curious how much my discount was, as the bucket truck was a $flat fee. Did I also receive a 'discount' for gas used? How about if the truck had blown a tire. Did I receive a discount for that 'nonrepair' as well???
In the end, I was scammed. Ahearn Electric has made their choice about how they will treat customers. I've asked that the hour of labor for the time to get the part be refunded, as well as the cost of the light that didn't need to be replaced. They've refused. The only option left to me is to make sure that anyone else considering using Ahearn Electric is aware of their business practices and how they treat their customers.Sincerely,*** ***

Referring to an electrician as an "expert" is just a term. All of our electricians are licensed electricians, certified by the State of Washington to be "experts". Some may have more expertise in one area than another, but all are more than qualified. Troubleshooting a difficult problem can be very...

time consuming. Being billed for the initial hour of labor for four hours of work, particularly while a homeowner is "helping" seems way more than reasonable. The electrician felt bad for not being able to find a difficult unknown problem quicker, so only billed for 1/4 of the time actually used. Our rates are lower than our competitors also.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted].  In order close this case, we will move forward as we see no effect in our comments.  Our business will be taken elsewhere.
Sincerely,
[redacted]