Make Sure They're Qualified
Electrical work is highly intricate, detail-oriented, and requires an extensive amount of training. Before hiring anyone, whether this is for a commercial or residential job, make sure your electrician has all of the required certifications and qualifications.
Make Sure You Understand How Their Process Works
Understanding your commercial electrician's process ahead of time will help immensely throughout the process. At Southwest Industrial Electric, we know this and have our process outlined on our website!
Here's a glimpse at what we cover:
Time and Material Process:
This is for a customer who wants to have some work done but doesn't want an official quote; they just want to do it based on time and material. Not all jobs qualify for T&M; it depends on the size of the job to ensure that all parties are on the same page regarding cost.
The Scheduling Department will coordinate with our Production Managers to assign a Job In-Charge as well as a Production Manager. The Job In-Charge will be your point of contact on-site, and the Production Manager will oversee all projects and help as needed.
Our technicians will come out and perform the work while carefully tracking their time and material spent working on the job.
Once the job is complete, an invoice will be provided with the total time and material.
Quote Process:
We provide free quotes for projects with a known scope! This is mainly for installations but can also include repairs in certain circumstances.
Our Sales Department will gather all of the information regarding what you need to be quoted and your timeline. We'll set up a site visit and perform a job walk where our technician will walk the job with you, gathering information, taking pictures, and drawing maps as necessary.
The technician will put together the pricing, obtaining vendor quotes as needed. The turn-around time for a quote is typically 1-2 weeks from the time of the site visit, but it depends on the size of the project.
Once your quote is finalized and approved, your Account Manager will call you to discuss and answer any questions. Once you're ready to go, the approval is given, and your job will be turned over to the Production Department!
Quoted Job Process:
Once a quote has been approved, the job is moved to the Scheduling Department; they'll make initial contact with you to discuss the timeline and the steps moving forward. They will then coordinate the project start date and coordinate the assignment of a Job In-Charge and a crew.
The Purchasing Department will prepare any significant material for the project. We have certain items in stock in our warehouse, and others are ordered from our vendors.
The Job IC will walk the job with you on the first day to verify the scope and ensure the correct placements of devices and equipment. They will be the main point of contact on-site and throughout the project, updating you on the stages of the project and when the job is complete.
The Production Manager oversees the JIC and the project to ensure our highest standard. If you ever need further assistance, you can contact our Scheduling Department to get you in touch with the Production Manager for your project.
The project will be invoiced in progress billings if it is a multi-week or multi-month project.
Make Sure They Have Good Reviews
Checking your potential contractor's reviews and testimonials is an excellent way to gauge how satisfied they leave their customers. There are a variety of essential factors to consider when sifting through these reviews.
Here are some questions to keep in mind:
- Do they fulfill all of their promises?
- Do they stick to the project timeline?
- Are their employees knowledgeable?
- Do they know what they're doing?
- Are they polite?
Make Sure They View You As More Than Just A Paycheck
Make sure to find a contractor who sees you as more than a paycheck. If you need to install a new piece of equipment and someone comes in and says they'll need to completely redesign and install your electrical, this should set off warning bells in your mind. Anytime you're presented with a complicated solution to a seemingly simple problem, you should definitely second guess them and inquire about a second opinion.
At Southwest Industrial Electric, we view all of our customers as far more than just dollar signs. We thoroughly understand that if we took advantage of our customers, they would never want to call us again, and long-lasting customer relationships are far more valuable.