Best Businesses in New York

Here is an update to my original review.  I have written this as a reply to the business owner's response as Yelp does not appear to allow me to reply publicly to the business owner.  As a side note, I am considering lodging a complaint with the Better Business Bureau regarding this incident.

Hitch, as I noted in my initial review, a civilized and normal response to a bounced/bad check should be to reach out to the person who cut the check in order to rectify the problem in a business-like fashion.  Why was I singled out to bear the burden of your mistrust of others?  As you say, you have encountered this issue before with other customers, some of whom I am sure were perfectly honest and were, like me, a victim of a misunderstanding.  Were you as duplicitous with them or did you make an exception for me thinking that I would just roll over and let this go?

You lied to my face about a problem with work that you performed.  You made me anxious about (i) the safety of the people staying in my apartment (which included a 2+ year old child), and (ii) the potential for property damage.  Hopefully you can see how twisted that is.  If not, then I feel sorry for you.

Sure, you do not have the time to wait for a few weeks for a check to clear or go to small claims court.  I understand that as I am a busy man too and I certainly did not have time to waste for you to come to my home under false pretenses.  Do you think that I have ample time to read through fine print that does not constitute a contract that I am (1) agreeing to, or (2) attaching my signature to?

If you were not comfortable with a check or if that was not your preferred payment method, you could have told me while we were conducting business in my home that Venmo, Paypal or credit card were alternative payment options.  The onus is on you (as the business owner) to inform me (your former client) of this.  Why was this not done?  Please do not rely on the fact that you sent me something in writing more than a month ago at this point.  We met face to face to settle payment when the work was done.  This could have easily been avoided if you spoke up.

More importantly, your first instinct should not have been to lie to me.  You have seen the building and the apartment I live in.  Does it look like it belongs to someone who (a) could not afford to pay your fee, or (b) would willfully and intentionally avoid payment for services rendered?  If you had even thought this through for a minute and reflected on our course of dealing, I do not think you would have approached this the way you did.

Lastly, I want to fully acknowledge the fact that you saved me significant cost with respect to my light fixtures.  Thank you for that.  However, I will also say this - cost was never an issue for me and I would have gladly hired you to do more extensive work if it was necessary.  What is important for me is that my home not be a fire hazard and that the lights function properly.  In addition, we agreed on a fee rate for the work done (in your words, let's get this down to the minute) and you wound up overcharging me for the work.  How is that fair or honest?  Again, please do not try to rely on a set of terms that we never agreed to for this work.  Especially when we had reached a hand shake deal on cost during our course of dealing.

I am sorry that things have turned out this way as well, but I have not done anything unconscionable, unethical or dishonest here.  Sadly, I cannot say the same for you.

Klod and his team are amazing! They really go the extra mile to ensure everything is perfect. I will recommend them to any friends that are planning to do work on their home.

Rich asked me to write a 5 star review in lieu of being hired so here it is. We met around 6pm.  I waited the full 3 hour time window for him & thankfully he did come through.  He paced around my studio looking carefully at all my stuff, not so much the ceiling.  After careful inspection of the things in my space, he thoughtfully started telling me that he felt I was very particular about my workspace and then let me know not to worry, that I should be, and why I should be, as it is mine after all. Oh. Does particular mean Anal? Difficult? IDK.  He enlightened me to some things, as a Jedi Master would, standing the whole time.  
I didn't have to tell him what I cared about.  He didn't ask, he told me first.  I learned I cared more about aesthetics than the lighting. Oh. I asked a couple basic questions/his opinion about lighting placement.  He said most people would hire a lighting consultant to answer those questions.  But I had already spoken with a couple electricians who had very specific ideas about my questions.  
After telling me about my space, he pointed to a painting and asked me who had done it.  This was confusing.  He complimented it & after asking how much my work sells for, which just shouldn't be asked- sorry-gave me the highest quote of all 5 technicians I spoke to.  More strenuous conversation ensued.  When I apologized & I said I couldn't afford his quote, he asked me what others had quoted me & told me I might get what I pay for if it's less than his quote.
....Thanks? I guess.  He finally left, backing out the door.  But not before saying with both thumbs up, Could you at least write us a good review on Yelp?

Mickle responded to my call quickly and came out the next day, sent me an estimate that evening and was able to start work a few days later. He always responded to my text messages within minutes.
I asked him to install a few new electrical outlets to eliminate our tangles of extension cords in a living room with only two outlets.
He was very cordial and polite, explained things to me, worked conscientiously, didn't chatter or waste time, cleaned up later. It looks great and functions properly.
What else could one ask?
I'll be calling him again in the future.

An electrician named Ralph came and took care of some messed up outlets on my roof; he was super-professional, got everything replaced and working quickly and clearly (the wiring had been done badly when the building was put up) and was really pleasant to work with too.  Highly recommend this company, if guys like this are the ones doing the work!

By far one of the most professional  workers I  have had the pleasure watching. work. A true master of his craft.
  The night before easter I flipped a 100 amp breaker for the last time. I called these guys and within a short time a master electrician showed up with a 100 amp breaker. Unfortunately my panel was obsolete and it cost 1400 to replace it. After it was replaced outlets and switches long thought dead came back to life.
I will definitely call again

I cannot recommend John and JEM enough. My partner and I had some serious problems with a ceiling light- we had tried to replace it with a ceiling fan only to find out that our electric is from before 1960s. There were no ground wires and our previous electrician snapped a wire trying to figure out what was going on and then created a quick fix that shorted out when there were power surges across nyc due to a storm. We had no power in our kitchen and a possible fire hazard on our hands.

John was quick to respond, assess the damage in the pictures and give us a quote that was an extremely reasonable price! He'd worked with old buildings before so the job took no time at all, plus since we're renters he wrote up an invoice for the work as well as an assessment of future work that the light needs, so that we could charge it to our landlord and he could follow up with the rest of the work. So smooth and easy! And he was organized, on time and had every tool possible for the job. Seriously, if you need an electrician I don't think you can find a better one x

I called Conroy electric and the owner was very nice  I have electrical problems in my house I have light fixtures  that didn't work I have switches and outlets that did not work and my fuse box was outdated he install new switches a new fuse box now all the electric Works GREAT in my house. He did a wonderful job his prices were very fair and I would hire and over and over again until he retires I am going to tell my friends and my family about him.

Quick to respond and set up time with me! I needed a burned out outlet replaced and they came by a day or two later. Pricing was slightly higher than with others I reached out to but not too much. Would work with them again. Thanks!

Didn't come when scheduled or call to tell my he'd be late. I had to call him to find out where he was and he said he could come later. When he did come I had him change three lighting fixtures. He charged me $90 for each one. One of them didn't work but he charged me anyway and was going to leave me with no light there until I told him that I needed some sort of light in that room so he reattached a part from an old fixture there so I have a bulb and wires hanging out of the ceiling. Left parts of fixtures, plaster, and electrical parts everywhere. Got plaster all over my new couch. He said he'd come back and put up the new fixture when I get a replacement but I'm afraid he'll get plaster and parts everywhere so I'm going to have to go with someone else. What a waste of money.

Hi, I have to say,
CEL was a lifesaver.
We had 2 prior Electricians look/work on our home, and they left it worse for the wear. CEL was referred to us, and they came through spectacularly.
They replaced our panel ,added outlets and fixed our lights.
I will recommend  this company to anyone who needs Electrical help , when all others have failed

We had some fuse issues on a Sunday afternoon. I called Danik Electrical and Yoni answered, saying he'd be at our place in 25 minutes. 25 minutes later he arrived and fixed the problem. He was super friendly and professional and his rate was reasonable. I can't recommend him highly enough, especially if you're in a pinch like we were.

After a week of chasing another electrician around Llya responded right away and was here the next morning first thing. He did the job quickly and for a fair price. So glad to have a contact for a fair and responsive electrician. Plan to work with him again soon.

Very helpful for a smoke certificate issue. He came when no one else would bother with me. Great company. Thanks !

They came on time as promised and gave a complete review of the work they needed to do. Work was done professionally and promptly. I would have no problem using them again.

I had a toilet emergency where our toilet flushed but required 2-3 flushed for the water to go down. After each flush, it took a few mins to come back up. Our new tenants were upset because the toilet was malfunctioning and they requested it to be fixed at around 6pm.

I called a few places and Eugene picked up. His shop was closed but he still came out of his way to help fix the toilet. After diagnosing the issue, we had to replace our toilet because the part needed to fix the issue is no longer sold. So... Eugene took apart the toilet, went to Home Depot, did not find the toilet we requested for so he drove to another Home Depot to pick one up. He installed everything cleanly and quickly. At last minute, he came to our rescue and got everything we needed.

I double checked the toilet after the work and it was functioning perfectly.

I highly recommend Eugene. He is a very good guy and I would definitely come back for future work.

Eugene, I can't thank you enough!!

Needed help installing two 3-way light switches that kept tripping the breaker. Avi was able to come within a day. He diagnosed the problem and quickly fixed the issue. He explained what he was doing and answered all my questions. Would definitely recommend his services! Thank you, Avi!

I had an amazing experience hiring Handyma'am for a backyard beautification project in Brooklyn! Katie was professional, timely, an amazing communicator, and helped transform our outdoor space. Katie is very detail oriented and went above and beyond on their job. I couldn't recommend them enough and look forward to working with Katie and their team again!!!

Roman was very professional and very nice. He was able to handle installing a new smart light switch with ease. Highly recommend.

Since my original review of Gladiator Electric, we have continued to call on Mike and his crew whenever a big or small job has been needed. We can count on Gladiator to:

1. Answer the phone
2. Show up on time, and follow up with communication
3. Give good, honest advice and estimates
4. Do top-notch work
5. Continue to be available for questions

These are the rare qualities that keep us happy and satisfied customers who will continue to rely on Gladiator for our electrical needs!