My wife had a disappointing experience with Bourassa Électrique on August 29th 2016 when she called for a free estimate (as advertised on their website) for an electrical short we were experiencing on one of our circuits. A women responded and when my wife indicated she was looking for an estimate she was handed over to the owner, Daniel Malouin, who courteously posed some questions and stated he`d be able to send someone over the next day. He called back shortly thereafter and let my wife know that one of his employees was available and could come over right away.
When the employee arrived, my wife again menioned that she had called for an estimate. He stated that his visit was not a free estimate and that he was on call. Given the pressure of the moment my wife conceded to the pressure tactic and the technician spent 1 hour and 25 minutes diagnosing the problem. The problem could not be resolved as the electrician deemed the issue to be a short in a concealed distribution box that could not be located without opening up walls (fair enough). My wife, not wanting to open up the walls without discussing the issue with me first, pulled the plug on the visit. The electrician let my wife know it would be easy enough for us to fix the short ourselves by locating the box and repairing the short on our own.
When asked what the charge was for the service, the employee stated he did not know and had to call the owner. He came back with $215 cash.
This review cannot comment on the quality of the workmanship provided by Bourassa Électrique. The employees were not rude, however, we did feel taken advantage of. Thus, take these comments solely as a cautionary tale so that you do not get lured in with the promise of a free estimate, only to find yourself in a bait and switch situation.
At the end of the day, labour was provided and we will pay for services rendered (on the condition that a proper invoice is issued, one that includes tax). However, we are not satisfied with the experience or in agreement with the customer service practices that this company employs.
Contractor Pros: Bilingual, was available on short notice (same day)
Constructive Criticism: If you advertise giving free estimates, it would stand to reason that your clients will expect a free estimate, especially when the request for service is initiated by the client asking for an estimate.
- Hourly rates were not included on your website and were not disclosed on the phone or before the work was done. So that future clients are aware, rates for this company are $125.00 for the first hour, and $90.00 for each subsequent hour.
- If you provide 1 hour and 25 minutes of service, you should bill for that amount. In our case, the owner rounded up the service to 2 hours. When asked about this, he stated that it was to account for travel time. Notwithstanding the fact that we had never agreed to pay for travel time, the kicker is that the place of business is located 2.7 KM (or 5 min) from our house. Charging for travel time should be disclosed ahead of time along with your rates as if you were merely to disclose a $125/hour rate, with subsequent hours being $90/hour, a client would naturally assume the additional charge for the first hour would cover travel time.
- Do not get angry if the client wants an official invoice and does not want to pay under the table.