Mister Sparky - Cherryville

I have an insurance policy with a company called Direct Energy based out of Houston, TX. I don't even remember how I got enrolled for $9.99/mo. by direct payment. Their policy covers $500 per visit, up to $2000 per year in electrical problems. A short time ago I received a letter saying that they were discontinuing my coverage on 2/28/22. They're doing away with these plans, so it's everyone and not just me. (It was good peace of mind insurance. The service visits more than covered the small premiums. Which is probably why they're discontinuing the coverage. ;o)

So, I decided to take care of a couple of minor things before my policy expires. One is a light switch in my master bath. That has been an inconvenience for awhile. Secondly, the ballast needed replacing for my kitchen florescent lights. Another hassle that I learned to work around.

I called Direct Energy a few weeks ago. They called Mr. Sparky and set up a technician service call for today, Friday, 2-18-2022. Mr. Sparky confirmed the visit with emails on several occasions as the date approached.

At 4:30 p.m. a technician, Dayne Homesley from Mr. Sparky, Cherryville, NC, called to let me know he was on his way. Dayne wore plastic shoe covers to prevent getting my carpets dirty. He offered to wear a Covid mask, although both he and I have been inoculated and boosted, so it wasn't necessary. I appreciated his kind offer though. He was extremely courteous and well-mannered while he was in my home. Mr. Sparky is EXTREMELY fortunate to have him as a technician. Every tech from Mr. Sparky - Cherryville that I have met has been A-1.

Dayne got on the speaker phone with Direct Energy, after I provided him with the telephone number, my insurance policy number, etc. Within ten minutes he received authorization to proceed, and get paid directly from the insurance company. It could NOT have been easier. I breathed a sigh of relief. One thing that brought me great joy was that my repairs came to $498.00 with parts, labor, tax AND upgrade. My policy covers up to $500 per visit, so I came in just under the wire on cost. That is almost (and probably is) a minor miracle.

Dayne looked at both problems. The bathroom switch was worn out and just flopping around. He had a new switch installed in five minutes - problem solved.

Then we walked to my kitchen. There were two options: replace the old fluorescent ballast or upgrade to a new LED unit that bypasses the ballast, so that I never have to worry about that going bad ever again. The LED upgrade was within the budget, so that's what I approved. The decision was so simple.

Dayne didn't have the four LED bulbs in his truck, so he's going to come back on Monday afternoon to do the replacement. That's just fine with me. Getting all this looked at and repaired made me very happy.

Dayne said that the kitchen upgrade to LED's will be quick and simple and only take a few minutes. I'll be using LED bulbs in the future, but they're not much more expensive than florescent lights, they last a lot longer, and they're available from Home Depot. And there's no ballast to ever wear out again. Dayne said that he would go through my circuit breaker box on Monday, to make sure that everything was cool.

All in all, every visit and every person that Mr. Sparky has sent to my home has been simply wonderful. The technicians are extremely competent. They look over what I need, determine if wiring is up to modern specs., quote prices for upgrades, and they have a zero pressure approach. Whether I choose to spend the money or not they're okay with whatever I choose.

I've read some of the other poor reviews, and I'm happy to say that hasn't been my experience. I understand enough about electrical wiring and repair to know when someone is BS'ing me or trying to overcharge. Years ago I was quoted an astronomical price to switch the entire house to LED's, so I just declined. I researched the upgrade and it wasn't that hard or that expensive. I could have done it myself. In time, I'll probably have Mister Sparky upgrade every fluorescent light in my home, five more multi-bulb fixtures, but I'm in no hurry.  Everything works!

To say that Dayne was competent, friendly, and a joy to talk with is a huge understatement. He rates FIVE STARS all by himself.

As far as my service from Mister Sparky...I couldn't BE happier.

I am extremely disappointed in this company.  I had a consultation for a generac. After going through the whole process and getting a loan for 18k and confirming multiple times it was infact a generac and the sales man clarifying they showed up with a knock off 3000$ generator off brand. After having a fit they infact changed it to a generac.  Moving forward they damaged wallpaper while installing the electric portion which would have been fine  if they handled it correctly.  They never mentioned it and when I brought it up they wanted to glue it back together. U told them that was not acceptable and finally got their Insurance info. The generac also came with no key which I also wasn't told, and a broken wifi module which the tech assured me would be ordered and installed as soon as I received it. Upon receiving the wifi part months and months later I called Mr. Sparkys  to let them know it finally arrived and was ready for install and that I also had never recieved a key. They scheduled an appointment and then ten minutes later I recieve an email not a phone call, that  I would need to call generac who had nothing to do with the install of this iteam. I called back and they basically told me to kick rocks and pay another place to install the wifi module that they promised would be taken care of to recieve payment.  My opinion is that things happen and if a company makes it right that is perfectly acceptable but in this case they skeemed and lied and treated me like garbage instead of taking accountability and treating their customer with care and being apologetic after spending 18,000$ .

I needed an electrician fast...so I called based on an ad I had seen. The call center tried to sell me on a service agreement right from the start...really?! I told them I was not interested but they had a script to read and by golly he was going to read it.

The tech arrived and was nice...they told me I would need to replace my entire panel for $8,000. They wanted me to authorize them on the spot...at 6:00 PM.

I told them I would need to reschedule....they then gave me a form saying they did a complete safety check of my house (they asked me questions) and that this added service was done for free but was worth over $500...hmmm.

I had another electrician come out the next day and found that a lug was lose...5 minutes...DONE.

The only reason I have 2 stars and Not 1  is because they did get someone out the same day ($199 cost). Otherwise if felt bait and switch.

Be very careful.

We got off to a bumpy start when we thought they were not going to be able to arrive at promised  scheduled time today, however, Will the technician they sent out more than made up for that. He drove over an hour to make sure that I could be seen today and tested everything he could to rest assured any fears that I had with the safety of my home. I was a little Taken aback by the prices but to be honest I have nothing to compare it to and that just may be the going rate. This is the first experience I have had needing anything repaired on my home with electric. I do feel given the time that he spent making sure everything was fixed it was worth what I paid.

Brandon came to my house and quickly diagnosed the issues with my kitchen outlets.  He then provided me with 3 options to fix the issues. He explained each one and the associated  prices. After selecting the option I wanted, he fixed the outlets the same day and even checked a broken track light and offered 3 options to replace it.  He exceeded my expectations and I would definitely request him for future projects.  I was also grateful that Rusty from Mr. Sparky helped me get a satisfactory resolution to my concerns.

On Tuesday July 18, 2017 Scotty and Dante stopped by the house to give us a quote on having a 50 amp. plug on the side of our house for our camper. GREAT guys, they knew their stuff and explained to us everything they would need to do. Both guys were very personable which was great because I'm a talker and like learning about things!!!! Scotty said he would be back on Thursday to do the job and he was here when he said. Today he had Daniel to help cause it was a bigger job, yeah, he knew his stuff also and very personable too.
They cleaned as they went and left NOTHING for me to clean up, NOTHING!!!!!! They kept putting on those booties over their boots and I told them they really didn't have to because they were just coming in the back door to the electric panel but they both said they are required to do so, which I can respect! GREAT service and GREAT guys!
THANKS FOR A GREAT EXPERIENCE!!!!!! We WILL be having you back for more work

Terrible. Just awful. Do not use this service. 1 star for quick to setup appointment...everything after that is downhill. Wanted to have dimmer switch replaced, outdoor step lighting fixed and 4 fluorescent light ballasts fixed. Was quoted EACH ballast replacement for $400...that's $1,600 for 4. I YouTubed the repair and easily figured out how to change a ballast. The ballast at Lowe's cost $29 and if I wanted to go nuts and replace the ENTIRE fixture with LED it was $65 bucks. TOTAL RIP OFF. Also, couldn't figure out how to fix my step lighting BUT STILL CHARGED ME $400 FOR THE diagnostic. Lastly, replaced the dimmer switch with a regular two-way switch that didn't dim...had a family member come help me replace Mr Sparky's crappy work and was terrified how the wires were loosely connected and had electric tape holding them on to the connectors. My family friend said this was 100% the wrong way to install the switch and potentially could be a fire hazard because the switches they replaced was arcing. All and all, I think I was told to pay $800-$1,000 for not fixing two things and poorly replacing a simple switch. DO NOT USE THESE PEOPLE