Brennan Electric

Tom P.

I wasn't happy with this guys services. Overcharged me for fixing a light switch and installing new lights. Replaced circuit breaker box and didn't do a good job. Did not label circuits breakers. Left a mess for me to clean up. All he could talk about was paying for his daughters wedding. The job needed permits which he never mentioned. I would not recommend him to anyone for his service.

Kamesh C.

The first time I contacted Bill was when I needed an outlet for an electric stove in a rental. This was extremely time sensitive and Bill was very accommodating in coming out on a Sunday morning and getting it done for a very reasonable price.

The second time was when I need a new circuit put in in the same rental while in between switching renters. Once again Bill was very accommodating in working with my schedule and took care of the issue along with some other work for a reasonable price.

Overall have had very good experience with Bill and would strongly recommend him.

Macey Z.

Talked to Bill over the phone for a quote and he was extraordinarily rude. Wanted to have outlets put in for nest security cameras and thought that piggy backing off the existing Xmas light outlets or running new outlets in the attic would be two routes I'd be ok going with. He cut me off every time I tried to explain how the existing wiring was done asked a few questions about the attic setup and then said ""Nah I don't want to do the job"" and just about hung up on me. The entire phone call lasted about 3 minutes. Thanks Bill, you did me a favor. Anyone that talks to potential customers like that will undoubtedly do an awful job if you're ""lucky"" enough for him to accept it. And after reading his other reviews, I see this is largely the case. Must be why he's trolling for work on Craigslist.

Jyoti A.

He charged us $150 and he didn't even fix anything. He literally spent 5 minutes at our home.
Bill was the first to respond to my request on house advisor. He was rude on the phone but decided that maybe in person he would be a little nicer.
He came to our home he was rude off the bat. We explained to him that we needed a light switch fixed and some flood lights installed. He quoted $150 for the light switch and $600 for 2 flood lights.

He tried to fix the light switch but caused the other switch in our house to stop working and then argued that there was no way that what we were saying could be correct. He had to undo the work he did so we could prove that we were right. his bedside manner was awful.

Mark T.

Bill Brennan who owns and runs Brennan Electric is the man we run to for our ""Help Our home is falling apart"" moment. He is the master of all trades when it comes to fixing and re-building a home. He helped us re-wire our backyard lights that had burned out. Did a great Job. Thanks Bill.
Two Thumbs Up.
Mark & Melanie. Oakland CA

Vivek V.

I called this guy after finding his number on Craigslist. I start explaining the issue to a lady who picked up the phone and she cuts me off and hands over to a guy, who I think is the electrician himself. I explain the issue and he says it will be $150 to diagnose the issue and if I cannot replicate the issue when he is there, he cannot do anything. He sounded rude and like he was doing me a favor. I immediately decided that I would not want to work with someone like that, no matter how good he may be. There are plenty of other good electricians out there and I found another person who was not only cheaper, but more professional and was sharp.

Patrick H.

I'm not sure what the deal is with this guy. He really seems to know what he is talking about (confident at least) but his ""bedside manner"" and customer service are sorely lacking.

I found his ad in the newspaper, advertising diagnostics and DIY consultation, but I have no idea how that's the case because it's impossible to get a straight answer. I'm in IT so I understand problems are not always easy to diagnose.

The experience went like this: I call the number on the ad. A woman picks up the phone and asks how she can help, so I begin explaining my electrical situation to her. Apparently in the background, Mr. Brennan makes himself available, so she cuts me off talking and transfers me to him to re-explain the situation.

He picks up the phone and before I hardly have a chance to say anything, he starts acting impatient and annoyed. As a fellow busy sole proprietor, I try to give him the benefit of the doubt for his rushed and terse answers. It sounds like we're not getting anywhere on the phone, so I ask to come out for an estimate. He says $150 minimum just to visit, and I say ok to a 10am appointment.

The day of the appointment he calls at 8:30am and wakes me up (I work late nights) to ask if they can show up early. I start to decline because I'm in bed, but he sounds more annoyed so I compromise on moving it up to 9:30am. Not one minute later he calls back and says ""never mind, something came up, let's move it back to 10"". While we're on the phone he even has to ask me to remind me why he's coming out, and once I start to describe, he cuts me off again and says ""oh, yeah yeah 'that' job, got it *click*"".

Great, so now I've jumped out of bed sleep deprived to prepare for his arrival, and get backpedaled for some better job. But even now, against my better judgment, I don't cancel the appointment because I feel like he's the type of guy to charge me anyway for short-notice cancellation.

He shows up 15 minutes late to his own much-adjusted appointment time. An assistant is in tow with a big hole in the middle of his shirt, whom he berates constantly the whole process. At one point the helper goes to put the ladder back on the van, and Mr. Brennan yells at him out our front door ""what the hell are you doing? get back in here!"" and the helper responds ""uh, i was just putting the ladder back"" and he says ""well hurry up we got places to go and things to do"". This was not only extremely unprofessional and demeaning to his employee, but reinforced the idea that my job was a waste of his time.

The entire visit I had to prod him along to the next issue like he couldn't wait to leave the moment he got there. My issues were two porch lights not receiving power, two outlets in a different room not receiving power, an upstairs lightswitch getting hot, and evaluating an old fusebox with knob and tube wiring.

First he tested the light fixture mounts, one was ok, and the other had a broken wire inside the wall which he said was unfixable. He then measured the outlets with a tool and said that the neutral wire is disconnected, but offered no solutions or idea on how to track it down. Next we went into the basement under the room with faulty outlets. He spotted some bad old electrical work, which is helpful I guess. After a little walking around with a flashlight and examining the service boxes, still no actionable information. Lots of responses like ""well this line could run here or there, there's really no way of knowing"".

After all that he drops the bomb that ""there's no way of knowing"" (or he's not willing to investigate) what is wrong with the various electrical symptoms, unless of course we completely redo our main electrical service for $3000.

Once we get back upstairs, with no warning he yells at his help that it's time to leave. I ask him if he wants to look at the hot switch that was part of the scope I described on the phone and he says ""I guess we could..."" like it's an option, and grudgingly walks upstairs with me like I'm overtime on his clock. I describe that the switch is getting very hot under minor load from a fan and light attached. He fiddles with it for about 5 seconds and says that the switch is cold and it's up to me to deduce that and the rest of the problems.

I feebly try to get a few more questions in on the way out the door so I can have a better action plan, but to no avail. All the while I'm trying to figure out exactly what I'm paying for. Weirdly I have to remind him in the foyer that I owe them payment. He says yeah, with a flat combination of disdain and partial surprise. Wrote them a check and they were outta here.

Grand total of a 20 minute visit with no answers for $150. Maybe he's great at the work itself, but this is the last time I bring an entitled angry old redneck into my house. Contractors need to understand that the customer needs to feel empowered with information to move forward with a vendor. I would have gladly spent thousands with him for a better attitude.

Marc C.

Like Bill says.....""I can do anything""...and its true. Bill repaired my old electrical in half the time he said he would. He was to the point and didnt over-do the job. It was reasonable price too. Several other companies either couldnt do the job or were slow or didnt get back to me. 5 stars.

Joan P.

To install 2 light fixtures I had to pay $100 - to me that is overpriced considering I was assisting him in holding the fixtures, etc. A bit disappointed that the small light chandeliers I put up are too dim but that is another story.

Cons: When he came to the door I asked him to take his shoes off since we try to keep the carpet clean. He said ""no I like to keep my shoes on"". To me that is disrespectful. He walked thru the house and closet with shoes on. He was opposed to wearing shoe covers.
He broke the small light bulb in the chandelier as well during the installation.
Beware - he will push jobs on you. He will find things that are wrong or things that can be upgraded and buy himself the job. I did not like that aspect of his business.

Linda V.

i called Bill when i got in over my head on an electrical repair. I am stickly an amatuer but can tell when somebody knows what they are doing after watching them for a few minutes. Bill definitely knows what he is doing with the main electrical service box. He first started by bringing some parts to see if he would be able to save me some money just replacing the interior mechanism. Only when that did not work did he proceed to rip out the main service box and replace it. Power was back on that same day and I will call on Bill again should...or when...i need help.