Barker & Son Electric

Dan L.

I needed to have a 240/60 amp breaker added to my breaker box and a disconnect box for a new split ductless HVAC system I was having installed. I called Tom and asked for an estimate and his availability. I sent Tom some pictures of the breaker box and location of the new disconnect box. Once we ironed out the details, Tom gave me a time and date and gave me updates as to his availability in case I wanted it done sooner. He was very professional, experienced, on time and did nice work. I would used Tom in the future and recommend him for quality electrical work.

Julia J.

My landlord was taking hours to get the maintenance guy to come fix my power. I had lost all outlet power and 1 wall light was out. I called Tom after telling my landlord I could no longer wait. He said he could definitely help me and it wouldn't take long. He was right. I knew when he arrived he was potentially in for a difficult task based on the age of the apartment building and fact that the owners take care of nothing inside. That didn't stop Tom since he is extremely experienced and knowledgeable. He even taught me how to change the fuse that apparently had blown to my unit due to out-dated electrical care. In addition, he investigated and discovered it was my portable heater that was using the most amps, thus I could not use it while other things like the microwave was on. I explained that the heater in the unit never worked since I moved in a few months ago, which was the reason for the portable heater. It turns out Tom has just as much experience in plumbing and got the gas apartment heater working! The next day he came back, out of the kindness of his heart, just to fix the outlet in the bathroom which also wasn't working upon move in. He did all this for the 2 hours I paid him for. I think you get more than you pay for with Tom, which usually isn't the case for most, so I am grateful and I feel secure/confident in his work. We talked about potentially scheduling a few other things I need to have help doing, such as mounting my bike rack which I have no knowledge in.

Ryan S.

Tom is a true professional with many years of experience. Efficiently diagnosed and fixed all of my electrical issues and taught me a lot in the process. Worth the money for quality work. This is my second time using him. Would call him again in a heartbeat.

Christopher C.

I wish I never needed to write a bad review. My policy is: if I have a bad experience, share it. But make sure to write 5 good reviews for each bad one.

The short version: Tom arrived in a bad mood and was unable to do what he'd planned because of his emotional state.

Everyone has a bad day. And when you add in LA traffic and all the stresses of life - it happens.

But Tom showed up and was very unpleasant. To the point of being unprofessional and I had to send him away.

Background: I called the top four electricians listed on yelp to have a dedicated 20amp electrical outlet installed in a garage to power a sauna.

Tom called me back more than a week later and apologized for taking so long. We had a very nice phone conversation. We're basically neighbors and talked a bit about Santa Monica. And we discussed the work I wanted done.

A dedicated 20amp electrical outlet for an infrared sauna. I answered all his questions about the job.

We picked a day for him to come and assess the work that needed to be done. I told him that either I would be there to let him in. Or my mother would be there. Or that both my mother and I would be there.

He said that was fine.

Tom arrived a little later than I expected on the day of the appointment. Not a big deal. But that meant that I would not be able to be there while he assessed the work that would need to be done. My mom was going to be there.

I went outside to leave and got a call from Tom: ""where is the house?"" It was obvious he was already in a bad mood.
The street IS very dark (the house is right next to Clover Park in SM - not up in some hidden topanga valley...) . It's hard to see the house numbers. Tom was having a hard time finding it. I talked with him and guided him to the house. He was clearly frustrated.

And his frustration quickly grew. I told him that the unit was straight down the lighted path on his left. And that my mom would be inside and help him find the electrical box. He started with questions about what work needed to be done... which we had already discussed. And he either didn't take notes or didn't review them. I told him again: dedicated 20amp outlet for a sauna.

Tom: ""how many bolts???""

Me: ""I'm not sure. But I can look it up and get you that info in a few minutes. I'll text it to you.""

Tom: getting more frustrated, ""we'll, I need to know that! And... you're not even going to be here...?!?""

And it continued to go downhill from here.

Tom unloaded a ton of negative emotional energy onto me and my 8yr old daughter who was standing next to me :(

In my view it was completely unprovoked - Tom just showed up in a bad place and took it out on us. No apology ever.

There are enough electricians around that I'd recommend working with someone who is able to maintain their kindness and cool.

Jerome G.

I work at a local business that has high traffic and many electrical needs. It is an older building with a commercial lease, which means we are responsible for all maintenance costs. In the years I have been care taking for the building, I have learned that sometimes it is okay to spend an extra few bucks hourly for the right guy to do the job.

Tom traced down our biggest issues in no time, and I had been through two years of electricians trying to find this short. He also replaced a few ballasts, installed an outlet, rewired a switch, and generally left me with more knowledge than I had before and a piece of mind that we were doing it right.

In a world of impersonal big business where you never know who they will send, I know Tom saved us some dough in the long run and that I also have someone to call that took the time to learn the building and that I know I can have an honest conversation with.

Brian B.

I have had to use Barker & Sons a couple of times now. Tom the owner came out at the scheduled time as Tony was still tied up on another job. Tom is an excellent and professional guy. His knowledge is amazing as he has been doing this for many decades. I had an electric gate guy tell me 1 thing and then Tom show up and it is not what the gate guy said. Tom proceeded to troubleshoot the system which all worked well, including the gate. Tom suggested that we use 1 of the spare breakers and then promptly did it. Yes they have a 2 hour minimum, but remember you are paying for a professional not a run-by-night guy.

Barker and Sons will continue to be my go to electrician.

Lea B.

Friends don't let friends use Tom Barker.
We luckily did not pay for the work of Mr. Barker, but we are still the victims of his work. We live next door to a property where he updated the exterior lighting in early December. When asked about the extreme, not-to-code lighting he installed 3 feet from our window without shields to direct the glare strictly onto their property, he gave every excuse as to why it could not be fixed - including suggesting we tack up a blanket in our window as a solution (no joke). From the initial phone call (where he revealed far too many personal details about his client as a way to convince us to NOT call her) through completion of the job, it was like trying to get a kid to finish their homework. If you know nothing about lighting or code, he will certainly try to convince you of why what he did was acceptable and the best thing out there (new technology, etc..). He told us every reason why something could not be done to correct the work he had not finished to code. I even offered to research and solve the problem FOR him if he would kindly give me the make and model of the lights he installed and take it completely off his and his client's plate. Which he never did. After speaking to Code Enforcement myself and learning how this could be resolved amicably, I relayed the rather simple fix to his client. He then came back, and did work to correct it..... but only half way. Still not to code and still an ongoing issue 2 months later. If I had a tall ladder, a piece of properly cut sheet metal and permission from the neighbor, I could finish this job myself for $40.
If this is how hard he fights to not fix something as simple as this, I would have rather strong concerns about what he is doing behind my walls if I were looking to use him as a vendor. If you do decide to go with Tom, I recommend being in the know yourself about the issue, keep an eye out and by all means, ask questions! He certainly is a talker and I myself would not take him at his charming word. Hope this helps.

Jackie L.

I had an kitchen outlet that stopped functioning and was making a loud buzzing noise - it had me very worried. I searched on Yelp and found Barker & Son. I called and spoke to Tom, he took down my information and said he would be out the next day, probably after 1PM, but that he would touch base with me. He also explained that their policy was to charge customers a 2 hour minimum. I agreed to this because I felt that my situation was urgent. The next day I never received a call and no one ever showed up. When I called Barker & Son I only got the office voicemail. I called another electrician for the following day (another company with equally good Yelp reviews), and he showed up on time and fixed the outlet in 15 minutes. The new company was also about half the price as they charged only for 1 hour of work.

Lyn C.

Very reliable, reasonable rate, honest, and knowledgeable.

I had purchased an oven for my store and didn't know that the plug didn't match the outlet. I called around to see if there was an electrician available asap so I can get my oven up and running for the business. Most places had me scheduled at least two days after getting a quote.

I called very busy Tom and he was nice enough to accommodate me because he understands how having a small business is. He immediately came the next morning, and got my oven set up.

Next thing that broke down, Ice Machine. Perfect! Ice is one of my main ingredients as I have a cafe that sells delicious drinks! I called Tom that night and he showed up the next morning, again!

Who you gonna call? Tom Barker!

Thanks Tom!

Chloe C.

Tom Barker and Tony are the best! They charged a fair price for top quality work. They really listened to us and fulfilled our requests, even changing certain things after completion to make sure we were totally satisfied.

Tom is also a really funny dude, I enjoyed chatting with him. All communication and scheduling went really smoothly and I couldn't be happier with the end results. I'd definitely recommend these guys.