I've used JJ Galvin for more than ten years. Its service used to be great, but not anymore. The most recent upgrade of the panel was sloppy, and the latest project was canceled. I have needed to upgrade the electric panel. Initial evaluation was done in Nov 2024, and I pay a few thousands of dollars for half of the deposit for the work that should start in Feb 2025. Nothing came of it. After a month of calling, leaving voicemails and email, and still radio-silence, I have to threaten them with bringing the claims (to get my refund back) to court before I suddenly and finally get a reply in email rightaway agreeing for a full refund of my deposit. I can't believe JJ Galvin treats its long-time repeat customers (like me) like this. It's a shame. I have to downgrade the yelp review from 5-star to 1-star, and I don't think I'll ever use JJ Galvin again. read more

Made 1st appointment for 8:00 AM No show at 8:30 called office - would call me back 9:30 still no call back I'm done with lousy companies who have a regard for our time read more

This business does not deserve even one star. They booked an appointment right away and sounded very friendly and 3 weeks later, right before the appointment day they cancelled the appointment offering zero reason. After speaking with this woman, it is very clear Galvin electric doesn't know what the hell they are doing and display zero credibility or confidence in their own work or words. So many negative reviews and detailed descriptions of people's agony working with Galvin is a testament to their poor service quality and workmanship. Only a fool will hire JJ Galvin Electrical! read more

This review is long overdue. I got their name from the MetroWest daily news. I hired them to installed my parents generator in Dover. They were priced very competitively. Not only did they install the generator very promptly they coordinated the plumber and inspections smoothly. They just came out to service the generator without me even calling to remind them. read more

J.J. Galvin Electrical - Generac generator - Electricians Near Me - Newton, Massachusetts

My initial experience with Galvin was great. They had fairly immediate availability for a project to install a new thermostat and a new outdoor outlet. However when I called to get them come back because I later learned they didn't install a required power wire for the thermostat (meaning it won't last more than a year), I got a serious run around. Twice I went through their intake process with an admin. She assured me someone would follow up in 24-48 hrs. Both times I never heard from them! Don't bother wasting your time. Their admin clearly doesn't pass messages onto the technicians. Why send me Christmas cards thanking me for my business if you can't even return a phone call? I would have gladly used them again as they're very local. I eventually gave up and called another electrician who returns my calls and actually schedules jobs. They are definitely more of a commercial shop who deprioritizes those easy money neighborhood residential jobs. What a shame. read more

This company is really strange. The came to look at our non-working generator. The young man seemed to know what he was doing (replaced spark plug, cleaned parts,...) but didn't get it to work. We then got a bill, stating that the fuel pump is on back order. No class company bills for an unfinished job, but OK, they had done the work, so we paid. This was 5 months ago, so it appears that they billed us because they do not intend to come back. (We did call after a long time and they claimed the part was still on back order, but by now, it is clear that they lied about it.) What is the purpose of this? Why not just tell us so we could move on? These people are strange. read more

J.J. Galvin has been my electrician for years. We recently moved to a new home so we have not needed many services calls recently until the storm that hit during the pandemic. Lindsey had dispatched a crew to our house. Sean and T came properly equip and did everything from handling Eversource (who was a very grumpy fellow) to rehanging out service and calling the city. They followed up later that night to make sure our electrical service was restored by the power company. Great family run business! read more

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 Yelp 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. read more

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 months 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 was doubtful that I still had the money order stub to check and make sure he's not lying to me to milk me for more money. I looked 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, so I had no reason to believe anything was amiss. James Galvin just cut me off and said he's already looked for it, he didn't have it, and I owed him $519.30. I said I'd need some time to check this all out and verify it. He said, "You have three days!" and hung up on me. On the second day, he left a threatening 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. Note that during this time, my wife was several months into her pregnancy and the aggressive stance he took against us caused her great anxiety and distress to the point where she started experiencing pain in her womb and had to go to the hospital, fearful for our child's safety. We were living paycheck-to-paycheck as it was so gathering $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 by this prick. We were about to buy our future daughter's crib, but we instead had to use our infant's crib money to pay this unscrupulous tyrant off. By this time, my replacement checks had come in and you'd better believe I used a personal check to cover the balance the second time around; 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 literally nothing. I wouldn't recommend James Galvin to my worst enemy. Horrible work and a truly horrible human being. Post Script: I got a snarky response here from the "Business Manager" of Galvin Electric (Sean G), stating that James Galvin couldn't have POSSIBLY called me in 2015 because he died in 2008 (....feel free to read the response he posted below my review). Point of fact there, Sean G. The job in question dates back to the middle of 2006 at a time when my wife was pregnant with my first child. In other words, I never SAID the job was from 2015 when I wrote the review. Sean G. assumed I'd done business with Galvin Electric in 2015 because THAT'S the year I WROTE this review. I wrote it because, in going through old receipts of paid items, I came across the letters I'd written to him, along with that final canceled check, and my blood started boiling all over again (....yes, James Galvin was THAT bad). So YEAH.... I felt compelled to let everybody know that this is NOT a company you EVER want to do business with. In reading how "Sean G" responds to other people who, likewise, hate this awful company, it's easy to see that he's carrying on the terrible reputation that Galvin established years ago. Yes, this was ten years ago, but it's a testament to just how horrible James Galvin was that I still vividly remember his heartless treatment of us all these years later.... and Sean G. tells me Galvin died like that's supposed to make me feel sympathy for him. James Galvin risked my wife's pregnancy, almost killed my infant daughter, then stole that same infant girl's crib money to line his greasy pockets after doing shoddy work. Try to guess if I care he's dead. read more

This place is run like a complete joke. They don't do as they say, they drag their feet and don't know how to communicate, price jobs 20% higher than most just because they're are in Newton, don't reply to emails sometimes for a week and overall just one of the most unprofessional companies I've dealt with. Got so fed up I just told them to get lost finally. What a headache. Sean and Lindsey have no business acumen and have not a single clue how to run a business. They take zero responsibility for anything and you can see that by their defensive and inappropriate replies to customers on here. Stay FAR clear of these people and trust the online reviews. Between me and referrals I would have made they easily lost tens of thousands of dollars. Oh well. read more

Would recommend to stay away from this entity as far as possible. I had a very unpleasant experience and fortunately it was a short one. J.J. Galvin made an appointment and did not show up at all. No phone calls, no texts, no apologies, just pure ignorance and disregard. If you have spare time of course you can waist it with J.J. Galvin Electrical but if you busy like most of us find someone else. read more

We used JJ Galvin a week ago during the Nor'Easter that hit. A tree fell down and took out our electrical service. My wife called them Saturday at 11 am. They were closed but had someone out to us by 1 o'clock. Their office was in contact with us the entire time. They had the new service up, electrical inspectors approval, and eversource to reconnect us by 6 pm. Lynsy texted us at 6:30 PM on Saturday to make sure we had power. Great company. Will likely use again. read more

Made an 8 am appointment for several electric issues. At 8:25 called and asked why no one had arrived. Told I would get a return call. By 8:50, no return call and no electrician. Looking for a new electrician. read more

I have wasted so much time with this company trying to get anything done. The front office is dysfunctional. Shame on me for giving the benefit of the doubt. Either the answering service doesn't relay messages as requested or they don't bother reading them in a timely manner. Emails sometimes don't even get replied to even after multiple attempts. They have NO sense of urgency and when you can finally get an appointment for an electrician to show up they show up with a clipboard to give an inflated estimate rather than ready to do the job which they usually cannot get to for a week or two if ever. Don't hold your breath... Estimates are through the roof as well. Rarely have I experienced so much frustration with a vendor of any sort. Two thumbs down especially if you ant a fair price!! read more

We have been Galvin customers for 15 years now, going back to the days of Jim Galvin Senior, and plan to stay with them. The most recent job was today, Tom was the electrician. They have always done good work, been courteous and efficient. One thing I especially like is, they do what you ask, and don't try to sell you what you don't need. read more

We had an emergency outage from a storm, with my electrical service pulled down off the side of my house and laying across the street. A technician showed up within half an hour of my calling. They coordinated with the utility, brought over a bucket truck, replaced the broken conduit and had everything up and running in a few hours, while the storm was still raging. The technician was pleasant and professional, kept me informed throughout. read more

Fantastic work! I called friday. They were super fast and most importantly they helped me resolving a problem and save me time and money. What else could you ask for.. I forgot to mention that the customer service is superb and very friendly. I will definitely recommend them to my friends.! read more

They came right away because it was January and we didn't have heat. When asked them to give us an estimate they said they didn't know until the job was done. They came twice and got it working but to our surprise they slapped us with a $2,900 bill. And that's when the nightmare started. We complained about the high bill and they said that that's what it took to fix it and that we had to pay if we didn't want trouble. At that point Peggy Galvin started shaking us down for the money. Emails. Phone calls. Threats. She said that she knew everyone in the neighborhood and everyone was going to find out that we didn't pay our bill. Then she called and emailed multiple times threatening to take us to court and that of course she knew people at the court. She said that she would send people to our house to collect and that at what time we would have her check ready. My wife was scared so we asked for a payment plan after giving them $1500. That was not enough. She kept the harassment and threats. Two months later the boiler stopped working. We called another company and had it fixed for $800. It's shocking that these people do business this way in 2018. read more

JJ Galvin did a great job for us. They were very professional about everything they did, right from the beginning. Their estimator was right on time, their installation crew were right on time. The installation of our new lights and smoke detectors was very thorough. All the work was neatly done and professional, and the guys cleaned up afterwards as well. I will definitely use JJ Galvin again. Highly recommended. read more

Extremely dissatisfied with pricing, quality, follow-through and customer service. Would never use them again under any circumstances.

Just recovered from a tree falling on our power line. JJ Galvin was here by 8:00 am when we called at 7:30. Extremely professional and had the re wiring of the connection to the house - all the way to the breaker box - done by noon...including the portion that we were waiting for NSTAR to complete. Really terrific. read more