I recently built a house in Fairfield, inner Melbourne and as the project manager had to source all suppliers.  In terms of sourcing an electrician I was referred to Sam who is the director / owner of AFR Electrical. 

As per usual I rang at least 3 other electricians to compare several aspects -:

Pricing

Reliability

References

Personality.

I have built a few houses in my time and the one thing I find MOST frustrating is that a lot of Service People/Tradesmen can be extremely unreliable and to be honest try to milk as much out of you as they can..  When building a house a lot of attention is focused on timeframes, getting the project to run smoothly and co-coordinating all suppliers to work around each other.  i.e.. I couldn't get the security guys in until the electrician had done his part, again the kitchen guy  was reliant on the electricity being connected, even to the point of getting the electricity connected externally and getting the occupancy certificate I needed reliability and guidance, etc.

Thus I needed someone to work with me in this project not just for me, some one who not only installed the lights, electricity etc but most importantly someone who could act in a consulting role.  Because lets face it I am not the expert on lighting, the electrician is.

I found Sam to be extremely reliable, he would respond when I asked him to respond, he let me be aware at all times of his movements in terms of my projects so that I was never guessing where he was or more importantly when he would be catering to my needs. This aspect was imperative to me getting all other tradies there on time so my house was completed in the time frame expected.  

He did exactly what I wanted and more importantly needed, he acted in a consultancy role.  Sure it cost me a little more, only because he came up with some great ideas that I couldn't resist..  Once again an example, I built a cinema room, he helped me to decide which lights would be more effective as dimmers, suggested flooring lights so people could see when leaving the room and not trip on the 2nd level that was built for seating etc. He helped me understand what I needed to do prior to the project even starting as well, as an example who to contact to get the temporary electricity connected, what documentation I had to submit to get the external companies doing their bit to hook me up to the external power source etc.

He showed up on time, some days even before the builder got there, didn't leave until the job was done, and has even come back with one or two little issues that I have created for myself.  He is extremely responsive, helpful, reliable and price wise reasonable.

I would thoroughly recommend his work to anyone and would be glad to give a verbal referral if need be.  I now show people thru my house with pride and love showing off the lights that make a huge impact in a house and the great ideas that Sam gave me I even take credit for myself - thanks Sam. Lighting is everthing, we are big entertainers and the light can and often creates a WOW affect.

 

Erin Paterson Senior Client Manager