You might think that all electricians are just about the same, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. They can be very different from each other. Because of this, you need to figure out whether you can work with them or not, preferably in advance. 

There are two aspects of electricians that you’ll want to consider before you hire them: 

1. Their personality, general demeanour and attitude
2. Their ability and experience

When exploring their personality, look for somebody you can trust as a person. Usually, you’ll get a gut feeling telling you if you can trust them or not. 

Also, find an electrician who gives it to you straight. They should be able to tell you what needs to be done in a matter-of-fact way. Things shouldn’t be overly complicated or require long consultations or planning periods. 

They should also be friendly and timely. Good electricians have a certain manner that instantly puts you at ease. They are confident and know precisely what they’re doing, and this comes out in how they speak to you and their punctuality. 

Check for evidence of good customer service too. Electricians should get back to you quickly. If they are busy working during the day, they should hire an agent to deal with you if they are working on another job. 

In terms of ability and experience, you also want to ensure that they are good at what they do. Look on their website to check how many years of experience they have and read online reviews. If this information is absent, it could be a bad sign. Select an electrician in Boston who provides it all upfront.

Electricians work locally. They have to. That’s because their job involves physically interacting with electrical systems on their clients’ properties. Relatively few travel more than about 30 miles for a job – it isn’t economically viable.

Therefore, as a customer, it’s a good idea to choose an electrician in your local area. The reason for this is simple: electricians will usually expect a higher fee the further they have to travel. Getting to your location implies both a time and vehicle cost. If it takes an hour to get to you, that’s time that the electrician could have spent working for clients on properties close by. 

When you choose an electrician closer to you, you reduce the risk of high fees. Ideally, you only want to pay for the services that you actually require (such as fitting out a renovated room with new circuitry). Paying for additional overhead, such as fuel and labor costs, is usually unnecessary, except if you live a long way out of town.

Before you work with an electrician, check their location. You should be able to find this in online directories or Google Maps. Anything further than 30 miles from your property will almost certainly imply higher costs.

You’ll also want to check how much the electrician costs compared to the average. You don’t want somebody who is overpriced but, equally, going too cheap could result in low-quality work. Aim for the middle ground. Look for electricians offering good-quality services at a price that is both fair to them and you. 

Electricians typically charge by the hour. They may also ask for a trip fee – a fixed cost associated with their visit, irrespective of how long they stay. 

In Boston, you should be looking for electricians who charge between $50 and $100 per hour. These fees cover both their time, travel costs and any sundry items that they might require when working on your electrics. 

You will also sometimes need to pay a minimum trip fee of between $25 and $75, depending on the company. Electricians who don’t charge trip fees as a separate item will usually quote a price for the whole job in advance (including labor). 

Check the price of the electrician against these industry averages. If callout fees seem high to you, query the electrician. Sometimes they will charge a higher fixed fee and a lower hourly rate to encourage customers to use them for bigger jobs.

When hiring an electrician, you’ll also need to check that they have all the appropriate licenses . Massachusetts state requires that they hold an accredited license to work on your property from the Board of State Examiners of Electricians Licensing. 

To obtain a journeyman electrician license in Massachusetts requires 600 hours of approved coursework plus 8,000 hours of work in the electrical trade. Typically, this requires four years in a trade school or apprenticeship program where the electrician is able to work on the job. 

Once qualified, journeyman electricians must renew their licenses every three years. To do this, they must complete 21 hours of ongoing educational requirements with 15 hours of that spent on the Massachusetts electrical code. 

In Massachusetts, journeyman electricians are allowed to install, repair and maintain electrical items used for light sources, heat, security systems and fire alarms.

Master electricians hold a Class A license and hire other people to work under them. Systems contractors hold Class C licences and design and supervise the installation of electrical systems, usually at businesses.

Electrical work entails high liabilities. Mishaps could result in serious injury or death. It is critical, therefore, that you check that your electrician in Boston has the proper insurance before you hire them. 

As a customer, you require them to have general liability insurance and errors and omissions coverage. General liability provides the funds for electricians to pay compensation payments if their work results in harm to others. Errors and omissions protect specifically against suits related to work-related mistakes, such as incorrectly wiring a building. 

General liability covers the majority of injuries to third-parties, but it does not cover worker compensation. You will need to check that the electrician has a separate workers’ compensation for any additional workers.

As a customer, you want to know whether the electrician you hire can provide a quality service or not. The best way to do this is to ask them for references from former clients (or read reviews online). Finding out precisely what their customers think of them provides a kind of “social proof” that you can use to judge the quality of their work. Remember, even if an electrician has all of the necessary insurance and licenses, that’s not necessarily a guarantee of quality. 

You can also ask to see work in progress. Going behind the scenes on an existing project and finding out more about how they operate is sometimes helpful, particularly if you are a business customer. Things you want to look out for include the quality of finish around the switchbox (on drywall), whether they are regularly anchoring cables, and if they are labelling circuit breakers correctly. You also want to check that cables run neatly close to service panels and breaker boxes. Again, these are all indications of the quality of their work. 

Most quality electricians ask their clients to post them online reviews on sites like Google, Yelp, Angi and other platforms. Over time, they build up a sizable portfolio of satisfied customers, confirming the quality of their work. Read reviews in detail, looking for electricians who’ve worked on projects like yours in the past. Ratings between 4.3 and 4.8 out of 5 are excellent.

For critical work, it often matters a great deal who works for you. Electricians need specialist experience for certain types of work that goes beyond mere education. 

When choosing an electrician, always ask who will actually be carrying out the work. It might not be the person you think. 

Many electrician companies split up work between a master electrician (who holds a Class A license) and journeyman electricians (who hold Class B licenses). They may even supply apprentice electricians to help them increase their hours in the trade. 

Before you hire services from a large company, make sure that it can supply you with people who have the necessary experience to complete the work. If you require a master electrician, don’t assume that the company you partner with will supply one. They may only provide a journeyman with an apprentice alongside.

You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where you’ve paid the electrician, only to later discover that they’ve made mistakes and you can’t get your money back.

Quality electricians will always offer a warranty or guarantee on their work. For customers, this is a sign that they are confident about their abilities and committed to solving your problems. For electricians themselves, it is an incentive to do a good job.

Cover typically falls into two categories: parts and labor. Labor covers the cost of coming back to fix problems. Parts cover defects in the items the electrician supplies. Most will guarantee parts that they buy through their business account on your behalf but you will need to check this.