J.J. Galvin Electrical

I would also give zero stars if they were available. I made a 9 am appointment for an estimate to get some cans installed in 2 rooms only for a technician to show up with a ladder at 7:30 am to «change my light fixture». I explained that I did not have a light fixture to replace but needed an estimate to have cans added to a foyer and living room. The technician said okay show me what you need. He spent 20 mins with me walking around my house and asked to see my basement for accessing the wires. On the way out he told me he would let his boss know what I needed and I should expect an estimate.
I expected the office to call me to apologize for the mix up but they never called. Later that afternoon I called the office to let them know what had happened. I did not get any apology. I spoke to the same admin girl that made the incorrect appointment and all she could tell me what that the technician misunderstood. When I asked her if anyone was going to call me she told me that the technician said I would be calling the office to reschedule my appointment because he doesn’t do estimates. WHAT? I asked to speak to the manager.
«Peggy Galvin» called a few mins later only to tell me about her frustration with me because of the way I spoke to admin girl. Peggy went on to make excuses for admin girl not calling me to reschedule the appointment she messed up because she is very busy and how the technician showed up because admin girl misunderstood my appointment request. Oh and how they have been in business for 35 years and have very happy customers (note the horrible Unilocal reviews). I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, what about the customer and the inconvenience for a guy ringing my doorbell an hour and a half early with a ladder to change a light fixture and then wasting my time for 20 mins when he wasn’t the right person to do estimates? These people have no sense of customer service whatsoever.
Peggy suggested that I find a new Electrical Service. Seriously? Why would I consider being a customer after that experience.

If the option to give zero stars were available, that’s what I’d have chosen. This guy is easily one of the most heartless, apathetic contractors I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting.
Long story short, he did an electrical job for us in our Waltham home and charged us $ 519.30; about $ 200.00 above and beyond the estimate he gave… and most of it seemingly going to labor, but whatever. I’d run out of checks at the time he provided the service, but I told him I’d just get a money order and he was fine with that. I mailed the $ 519.30 money order and figured that was that.
Cut to a little under four months later, I get a phone call from out of the blue and it’s James Galvin. He said he never received my money order. I told him I sent it month ago and asked why I’m just hearing about this now. He had no answer for me; only that he needed to be paid. By this time, I’m doubtful that I still have the money order stub to check and make sure he’s not full of it.
I look high and low and, sure enough, no sign of the money order. I told him to please double-​check his records because I sent my payment to 164 Adams Street in Newton, NEVER got returned mail and hadn’t heard a peep out of his office for four months.
James Galvin just cut me off and said he’s already looked for it, he doesn’t have it, and I owed him $ 519.30. I said I’d need some time to check this all out. He gave me three days and hung up on me. On the second day, he left a voice mail on my machine saying if he wasn’t paid the money we owed him by the end of the week, we could expect to receive a summons and complaint from the sheriff.
During this time, my wife was several months into her pregnancy and the aggressive stance he took against us caused her great distress to the point where she started experiencing womb pain and had to go to the hospital, fearful for our child’s safety. We were living paycheck-​to-​paycheck as it was so to cull over $ 500.00 for a electric job ONCE was hard enough. Now, we were forced to come up with another $ 519.30 or risk being sued.
We were about to buy our future daughter’s crib, but we instead had to use our infant’s crib money to pay this tyrant off. By this time, my replacement checks had come in and, not surprisingly, I used a personal check to cover the balance; something we could trace for years to come if we had to.
But HERE’S the kicker… the job that James Galvin did for us wound up being shoddy work and within three months from the time he «fixed» our issue, we were right back to square one.
In other words, we paid $ 1,038.60 for nothing.
I wouldn’t recommend James Galvin to my worst enemy. Horrible work and a horrible human being.