[villagetinker]

Originally Posted by Pairadocs

Been asking neighbors, at local hardware stores, coffee shops, etc. for recommendation for competent and "reasonable" electrician to do some routine work. Over and over hearing a version of the same story which goes: One guy (company) bought out all the electrician businesses in this area, and make outrageous charges for things that were not even in need of work. A handyman we have used for years and is very trustworthy, told us about his neighbor, a window, who was told she needed over $2000 of work on her breaker box. He took a look for her, found out none of that was true. Anyone had a positive experience with an electrician ?

OP, what is "routine work", if this is replacing outlet, GFCI, switches, or anything else that does NOT require NEW wiring, you may be able to use a handyman, as typically you are allowed to do this work yourself. If your "routine work" involves NEW wiring, you need a licensed electrician, or plan to have 2 inspections, one pre-wiring completed, and one post wiring completed. I did 1 or 2 wiring projects myself and got the permit and the inspections. The only reason I did these was I was able to get to the areas for the new wiring, and my rates were a lot lower than the local electricians and I was able to work immediately.
On a side note, in the past i have used ECI, Lenharts, Galaxy, and one other I cannot remember. Interesting point, Galaxy was out for low voltage repair (under warranty), and I had to fix their repair. The one I cannot remember did the initial hot tub wiring (240 volt 50 amp circuit), and this was found to be NOT TO CODE when I had the hot tub moved. If you have any concerns about the work, call the county for an inspection, or hint that you may be doing this to the electrician.