Stanford Electric Works

Fred T.

Wow, in this day of big box retailers (I hate them FYI) its nice to see a small business that is still thriving and been around 100 years to boot!

In the case of Stanford Electric Works it was the 4th stop in our quest for a mid century modern exterior light for our Eichler Home (more on that below)

Stanford Electric Works is a small store but it has quite a selection on display. We were able to find a few lights that may work for us. We did not get to speak to anybody there as the one person there was busy with another customer in back. However, their selection and prices were on point so it worked well for us.

Sometimes having a distinctive home is both a blessing and a curse. In our case we are lucky enough to own an Eichler. For those unfamiliar, Joseph Eichler was a developer (primarily in the SF Bay Area and LA) who between 1949 and 1966 built what is now termed Mid Century Modern or if you will ""California Modern"" tract homes. Taking cues from not only Frank Lloyd Wright, The Eames, et al, and the famous Case Study Homes they bought affordable high end architecture to the masses. All told over 11,000 of these homes were built.

Given the distinct, love it or hate it style, changing stuff is difficult if you want it to look right. In this case with our recent (yes I did it all myself) exterior refresh we decided to correct a wrong with our exterior lighting and find something in character with the home.

If you are interested in Eichler the ""People in Glass Houses: The Legacy of Joseph Eichler"" is a fantastic documentary

Gloria K.

Always helpful, knowledgeable and customer focused. Truly a great experience every time.

Dana G.

They did a great job installing a new vent fan in the bathroom for us. Same day service! Chris (the owner) was very responsive and Eric (the electrician) did an amazing job installing the vent fan. They definitely deserve a good review.

Pierre F.

Horrible service, zero professionalism, extremely expensive, and incredibly rude.
- They charge you from the time they supposedly leave their office. You have to pay for the time they take to get to your home depending on where they really leave from. Their rates are very high too.
- This is not the worst. The experience I had was horribly stressful! I hired them to replace a switch. They installed a detective one. It took me months to have it replaced. I had to argue for months with the owner that I am not supposed to pay for the bad switch they installed. He wasted my time arguing that they were not responsible for the bad switch, but that the manufacturer was. He totally denied his responsibility even though they are the ones who chose and purchased the defective switch for me.
It does not end there. He then argued that the problem was not with the switch but with my electrical installation even though it was the same kind of switch as the one who was replaced (notice the different argument. He is trying something else now ...). I proved from the symptoms that it had nothing to do with my electrical installation but everything to do with a bad switch. I finally convinced him after stressful months of arguing and told that what I said was nonsense. He was very rude over the phone, not at all professional. The opposite of what his video claims.
Then his tech came with a brand new switch to prove to me that the problem was not with the switch. OOPS they were wrong the whole time of course. Their was no problem at all with the new switch. The tech looked puzzled and had to admit that there was something wrong with the switch they gave me.
After that I haven't heard anything from Chris. ZERO APOLOGY! And all this because he tried to save a few dollars by having me pay for their bad switch!

Rose A.

Wow, my husband and I walked into an empty store. Looked around to see if there was a clerk? Nope, nada. So started to look around, to maybe store closing? The prices handwritten on the cards for the displays were faded. Could not read. They had nothing that caught our eye so we walked out.
Oh just as we took our first step out, a fading voice from who knows where, said Thank you. What a joke. I wouldn't recommend upon our experience.

Tracy T.

I just picked up 2 lamps I had repaired at Stanford Electric. Overall I am happy with the repair but there was a big miscommunication on the pricing when I dropped them off. Short story - in the end they honored the labor price quoted; the manager wanted to be sure I left happy and I appreciate that. It's all about setting the right expectations because I would not have paid for one of the lamps to be repaired if I had been quoted the correct minimum labor fee initially. The manager apologized a couple of times and I would go back and recommend them. Next time I will just be sure to have the initial quote written down on the work order (they don't give anything to you at drop off; I asked for a photo copy).

Details
I asked for an estimate and was quoted a labor price to just look at them + parts. I was hesitant (looking like a deer in the head lights) and said I really didn't like one of the lamps. The employee clarified that the labor price was to look at both lamps and also said if the sockets were in fact the only problem (loose and shorting out) that it would be labor plus parts. I said ""that's a different story if it's the price to look at both"" and agreed. When I picked up the lamps, the labor was over 2.5 times what I was quoted. The employee who quoted me said he told me something else ($5 more than what he actually quoted) but admitted he thought they would be able to combine the labor cost to look at both. Yes mistakes happen so I was happy that, in the end, the manager honored the amount I was quoted. Thank you!

My review would have be 5 stars had it not been for the issues I mentioned here.

Side note: both times I walked in and up to the counter both employees were busy. They weren't super friendly (they were busy). However they did acknowledge me and let me know they would be with me in a minute. I did not have the same experience as others on Yelp so perhaps they have taken note of the prior feedback and made a change for the better.

Indy P.

Stanford Electric Works came highly recommended. I called about an issue and spoke to Chris in detail over the phone. He was very helpful and offered potential solutions. We agreed that I would gather more info and get back to him to set up an appointment. However, when I tried to schedule, he failed to respond to my requests (both by email and phone). I understand if he is no longer interested the job or my business, but I would have appreciated the courtesy of a response.

BarkingDO G.

Ya, the personal service can be hit or miss. They are short in the charm dept.

Marc M.

Could not be any more impressed with Chris and Wyatt from Stanford Electric Works. Chris responded within hours of my request for an appointment, he was very professional and courteous. Wyatt, the electrician who came on site was fantastic. He was personable, knowledgable, and most importantly a fantastic troubleshooter who ultimately did a great job solving the issue we had despite having to put on an electrical version of Sherlock Holmes hat and cape. There is literally nothing I could ask for this to have gone better, thanks Chris and Wyatt! We would recommend Stanford Electric to anyone for in home needs and will use them anytime we have the need in the future.

Kevin C.

I had the exact same experience as Yelp reviewer CT posted 10 months ago. In store service was terrible. No-one even acknowledged me even after I said Hi. Well now it's Hi and ""Bye"". I am remodeling my home and needed fittings throughout - someone else will be getting my business.