Electrical problems are one of the few issues in a home a homeowner should never attempt to fix by him/herself. They need to be handled by a qualified electrician. Most people are aware of this and thus have a list of electricians in their neighborhood they can call to handle electrical issues when they occur at their homes or offices. Regardless of this, when these issues do occur, some people go into panic over how much it will cost the resolve them. You can however keep the costs to a minimum and prevent yourself from falling prey to scams by knowing the questions to ask a potential electrician before commencement of repair work in your place. Here are some of these questions.
What’s wrong?
The first thing an electrician will do when he or she come to your place is to introduce him or herself and then diagnose the issue(s) at hand. This doesn’t take long as most of the home electrical issues are basic in nature. The electrician will then explain in details what the problem is. If he or she does not clearly tell what the issue is, then it means either he or she is not qualified to solve your problem or is trying to avoid giving you an estimate before commencement of the work.
How much?
A reputable electrical service provider will give you an easy to understand and clear estimate of the total costs before beginning the work at hand. The estimate should include things such as parts and labor costs. Labor is charged either by the hour or in a flat rate. You should however never settle for an electrician who charges by the hour. You don’t want someone fiddling around in your home for as long as he wants, all while the bill is getting higher, do you? Electricians who charge a flat rate are the ones to go for as the bill remains the same irrespective of how long it takes to resolve the issue.
Do you offer any type of a guarantee?
A reputable electrical service provider always offers a guarantee plan for his or her work. However, you need to ask if there is a guarantee in place and what it covers prior to hiring an electrician for the work at hand. To be on the safe side, the guarantee should come in writing and not verbally said.
