A few years ago, I was a live-in caregiver for an elderly woman with Alzheimer's. Her son traveled a lot and relied on my judgement regarding his mother's care and anything pertaining to the house.
One time, during heavy rain and wind, there was a city-wide blackout. Hours later, when the outtage was over, power was restored everywhere in the house but the kitchen. It wasn't a circuit breaker issue; I knew enough to check that.
I called a friend who advised me to get everything out lof the frig & take it to my mom or another friend. My friend also told me to call an electrician. It was well after midnight, but I figured I should at least try.
I did a basic Google search for "electrician" near my zio code. I picked one at random-- USA Electricians Service-- and I got lucky. Although they were closed, I called them and left a message stating the urgeny of our situation. Not only all of our fresh/frozen food at the houses of various people, but also medications which needed to remain refrigerated.
I got lucky. The owner of USA Electricians Service returned my call in under 30 min. Much to my surprise, he said they could have a technician at our home by 6am. Did I mention this was on a Sunday?
The technician sent me a text when he was on the way which indicated his e.t.a. and he called when he was a few minutes out.
* When he arrived, tge technician called from the street to ask if it was ok to pull his truck into our very long driveway. I thought that was nice; most people don't think about potentially blocking in others.
The technician was friendly, yet very professional, and explained what he'd be doing. He first checked for any visible damage and/or safety hazards. Then he
examined the breaker box and noted the position of switches. He assessed the condition of wiring and power outlets, and tested some fixtures and appliances.
This inspection was done as promptly as possible, in spite of numerous interruptions by the woman I cared for who insisted on asking many questions. The technician was patient and calmly explained things to her in a kind manner.
The tech provided me with a detailed estimate, with a breakdown of necessary work to be done immediately, and also recommended work which we could opt to have done during the same service call or schedule for another date.
We felt the total of parts and labor for all work (both necessary and optional) was very reasonable. Thus we chose to have the technician complete everything at once.
The work was completed in about an hour, during which time I thoroughly cleaned the refrigerator. I was able to get everything (medications/food) back home and into the refrigerator before making breakfast.
All in all, it was a very positive experience. read more