Geoff came out and fixed our outdoor outlets and recommended our old electric panel be replaced. I'm grateful for his advice as down the line it could have been a hazard (double lugged). Months later my garbage disposal kept tripping off. I sent Williams Electric an email in the evening and Geoff responded that night! He came out the next morning and replaced a faulty switch in the panel gratis! Thanks Geoff! read more

Submitted a request to get service for a nonfunctional outlet. Geoff and his team got back to me within 10 minutes, and walked me through a few diagnostic steps over FaceTime to figure out it was a neighboring GFI outlet that needed to be reset. Saved me a visit fee, so I'll definitely make sure they're the first call I make next time I need an electrician. read more

My girlfriend Heather called Williams Electric because half of our house's power outlets suddenly stopped working. We had flipped the breakers to no avail but Heather got on a call with Geoff from Williams Electric and he walked her through the steps and viola! Power was restored at no cost. Give them a call, you won't be sorry. Thanks Geoff! read more

Got an immediate response (on a weekend!) and call via Facetime to diagnose the issue (fortunately it turned out to be pretty straightforward!). Won't hesitate to reach out to Williams Electric for future needs, appreciated the terrific service and great communication. read more

I had power go out in one room in my house and flipping the circuit breaker didn't work. Geoff offered to Facetime me immediately and talked me through the various possibilities (checking various breakers and outlets) and helped me fix the issue for free over the phone in 10 minutes. Great service and extremely helpful! read more

Called on a Sunday expecting to leave a message - got an answer and an appointment the next day. Phone service was efficient and helpful. We FaceTimed to diagnose the problem, got a quote, and Geoff came out 2 hours later. Was on time. Was fast and very clean. Work looks great. And was friendly with my 2 year old who was quite curious what was going on. Recommended! read more

Geoff just completed another job at our house and everything works perfectly. This was a small job (3-way programmable light switch for scheduling porch lights on/off) but the directions were pretty confusing and Geoff figured it out. This was our third time using Geoff and he's always come through, even when a tree ripped out the power to our house. He rushed over to make sure it was safe and returned the next day to fix everything, all at a very reasonable cost. Another time he installed a 240-volt Nema outlet for EV charging. He also loves dogs, so there's that. Rhonda is great and handles the scheduling; we've never had issues with times or communication. It can be tough to gauge various reviews, so we wanted to post our experiences with Geoff for consideration. read more

I got a prompt response and was able to schedule a timely appointment . Geoff expertly diagnosed and repaired the problems in our 100 year old house. I would call Geoff again when we're ready to have more upgrading done. read more

I know it's been 5 years since my initial review, but this actually pissed me off enough for me to patiently wait to make sure any information he gathered was null and void. Upon leaving a negative review, he THREATENED ME with blackmail if I did not remove it. Our roommates at the time happened to leave their bong out, and he threatened to contact my husband's work to report supposed drug use?? He doesn't even smoke. Geoff went as far as to find my Facebook profile to obtain pictures as further blackmail. He put more effort into this than he did into providing an actual estimate. But guess what I saved? That email, which I now can share with the rest of you so you can see what kind of person you're allowing into your home. F**k you, Geoff. read more

I'm really glad I decided to work with Geoff and Ronda at Williams Electric for my service panel upgrade. My old panel was too small for an anticipated solar upgrade and not up to code due to the proximity to our gas meter, lack of proper grounding, and a host of other problems. They scheduled a virtual walk-through (FaceTime) where I showed them my old panel and answered a few questions, and they were able to provide a competitive quote for the work needed. Geoff did a fantastic job relocating the panel, properly grounding and securing it, and elegantly re-routing the conduit -- navigating the nearby chimney, trees, and internet service drop while avoiding any damage to our unique stained glass windows and antique brickwork nearby. It even looks better than it did before and is solid like a rock! In short, it was a hard job done properly. Geoff was incredibly knowledgeable, polite, and patient with my questions throughout. Working with Ronda on scheduling was easy, communication was prompt, appointments were on time, and work was finished sooner than expected. Goeff was mindful to not leave us without power overnight or for too long a stretch, and avoided cutting power to our sump when there was rain. He and Ronda worked with PG&E and the City of Oakland to get our permit approved quickly, and waited patiently when the inspectors were late (and kind of rude too, but Geoff handled that professionally as well). If I ever need more work done, I expect to call Williams Electric as a first stop. I actually already did, and Geoff was able to replace some old fluorescent fixtures with modern LED ones, install a ceiling fan in place of an old light, and upgrade some ungrounded outlets to GFCI (he had pointed a couple out as potential risks on the first visit) -- and tucked that all in quickly the same day as a planned visit. Thanks again Geoff and Ronda! read more

While I am not a client of Williams Electric (details below), I am impressed with Geoff's willingness to communicate and reach a resolution. Our brief interaction resulted in a miscommunication that stirred up all kinds of chaos. I actually posted a very negative review and Geoff reached out to me personally to explain. Long story short: my home is complicated and would require a host of folks, not just an electrician, to complete the work I want done. It was built around 1910 and is spilling over with original details and character. But with that comes challenges like plaster and knob & tube wiring. As a first time home buyer, I greatly appreciate detailed explanations, especially if my bill is going to be high. Geoff's communication is clear and he demonstrates a deep care for his team. If you want a straight forward answer to your electrical needs, I'd give Williams Electric a call. read more

Edit: Geoff, your gaslighting response just goes to show the type of person you are. We both know how this actually went and your version is just complete fiction. Have a nice life. Terrible experience with Williams Electric. I moved to a new house and had several ungrounded 2-prong outlets that I wanted to upgrade to grounded 3-prong outlets as I wanted to put in some electronic equipment. I asked how much that would cost, they quoted a price, I booked the day. The appointment goes fine enough - it took a couple calls to confirm the appointment and they charged more than other electricians had quoted, but hey, the reviews were great and I wanted to support a small local business. Fast forward a few weeks and I have an amp blow out, so I start investigating. Figure it might be a faulty amp, or a bad power cord, who knows. Took the amp in for service and they asked if the outlets were grounded properly - I said yes, I just hired someone to do that. Turns out after buying some equipment to check the outlets myself that Geoff never actually grounded the outlets. I emailed to explain what happened and offered up that I maybe my equipment was bad or maybe there was something I was missing but I wanted to just figure out what may have happened, and was told "GFIs are legal" - okay fair enough, not sure why we're talking about legality, I just want my gear to not break. So I asked again, sorry I'm not totally clear, the original order was for 3-prong grounded outlets, are these not grounded? And the response was "GFIs don't have to be grounded to be legal". Okay so we're clear now that that the outlets weren't grounded. Maybe email isn't ideal, so I picked up the phone to call and spoke with Rhonda, who told me "we installed GFIs because they're better and more sensitive, also you'd have to rip all your walls out to do install a ground wire" - okay fair enough, but given I specifically asked for my outlets to be grounded when hiring you, seems like this could have been explained to me at some point. I would've ripped out the walls if that's what it would've taken to do this properly. But most importantly, I just want to make sure I don't lose thousands of more dollars on gear, and they're telling me the GFI is "better" so I ask again to clarify, if the GFI isn't the problem perhaps it's something else. That would be good to know so I can keep investigating the true cause. The response ultimately was "you probably need to run an actual ground wire". I asked how much it'll cost for him to come back to do that, and the response was a brusque "too busy and don't want this on me, nothing I did was illegal, you can contact your insurance." Well, up until then I was chalking this up to a lack of communication and was trying to work out a solution. But that response is rude, unprofessional, and unacceptable. You didn't do the job you were hired to do originally, and even though that's incredibly frustrating on my end, I came at you politely and you decided to respond by worrying about "blame" and running away. No one accused you of installing anything illegal - as you repeatedly made sure to make clear - I was even offering to PAY YOU AGAIN to come back to do the job as originally discussed! You've pointed out that what you did is up to code - I didn't hire you to "do whatever you want to bring it up to code" - I specifically asked about getting my outlets grounded. Remarkably unhelpful that you've spent this entire time just trying to make it clear it's not your "fault" and that you "don't want any blame" - no one blamed you for anything! - we could've just easily called this a miscommunication and you could've come back for a second job. But instead you decided to be a jerk about it. I guess I'll hire someone else to come clean up this up. You might be a talented electrician but you clearly don't know how to treat people with decency. To anyone reading: they're great if you want to pay above market to get treated like dirt. So I guess if you're looking for that, hire Williams Electric! read more

Quick response and constructive consultative feedback regarding expectations around what was needed.

I had an issue with my breaker box that turned out to be something Geoff was able to walk me through on the phone instead of coming out for a service call. Not only was he incredibly generous with his time, he called at 8:30pm on a Friday night. Super helpful and saved me time and money. 10/10 would recommend! read more

I called Williams Electric for an issue we had with our outlet. The receptionist was very knowledgeable and gave me great advice over the phone. Jeff came out right away to fix our outlet. He was so efficient! read more

Geoff is honest and trustworthy. I had a problem with one circuit and couldn't figure out what was wrong. He did a FaceTime to do the preliminary troubleshooting steps. Then was kind and generous to guide me through my DYI project. He saved me $200+ dollars and tried to set me up for success! read more

I had an issue at my house related to a non functioning EV charger and power loss in our house. Geoff was a lifesaver; he calmly helped me troubleshoot the issue and quickly got both issues fixed - he even taught me a thing or two so I know how to fix if experiencing similar issues in the future. Thanks Geoff! read more

I'm a total slap dick when it comes to even basic home maintenance, so I quickly panicked when it appeared I'd blown the outlets in my kitchen through careless use. Rather than charge me for a diagnostic visit, Rhonda set up a free FaceTime session with Geoff (on a Saturday no less), who spent half an hour guiding me through various potential fixes until we found one that got everything back online. Was it rocket science? No. But most places would have set up a $100+ appointment to come out and take a look. Instead, Rhonda and Geoff took time to help me solve the issue before making a costly visit. - and didn't even charge me for the time. I'm grateful that Williams were willing to help out a rube, where others might have taken advantage. They earned my trust and I'll definitely go to them first when I need more serious electric work done. Highly recommend! read more

It was about 8 pm, we had a mysterious power outage. We were upset as we were in the middle of making dinner for our friends. I sent my quote request via Yelp but honestly I didn't expect any response that night. Who works after 8, right? Well, Geoff does. As soon as Yelp sent my quote request, Geoff literally immediately responded and kindly offered consultation over Whatsapp or FaceTime. After a few questions, he reviewed our power panel and taught me magic for me to try. Indeed, it did work! He saved our dinner and things in the fridge. It may not always work out this way, but now I have the very best go-to person for electric problems and projects. I know it's already a great story but there was one more thing. I was going to ask how I made payment, but the Master electrician, Geoff WILLIAMS told me it's free. I know you wouldn't believe there is such a great person in the Bay Area. Now it's your turn to see how amazing he is! read more

Called Williams Electric to do some work for me: repairing some broken porch outlets, installing a new dedicated circuit for a new garage refrigerator. They got back to me faster than any other company I reached out to. Geoff came out and did the work with no problems, everything seemed to be working well. Fast forward a few weeks and I got my new fridge delivered and it kept tripping the new outlet off. I called Williams Electric back and did a FaceTime with Geoff who attempted to troubleshoot it with me over video. It seemed like the outlet was the problem so he came out the next day to attempt to fix it for free. All in all it turned out that the fridge was putting off electricity through the grounding wire and it wasn't the outlet at all, but Geoff figured out the problem and didn't charge me for the second visit. Thank you Williams Electric! read more

We discovered an electrical issue the Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend. Geoff was kind enough to reach out the next day and help us through the issue quickly over the phone! He knew exactly what to do to fix the issue and explained what might have caused it. Thanks Geoff! read more

Geoff replaced my main electrical panel quickly and efficiently! He responded to my request at 4:30 on a Saturday, and started work at 8:30 on Monday. By 12:30, I had a new electric panel. Thanks so much! read more

Called on a monday morning and spoke with Geoff William's lovely wife who troubleshooted over phone with me. Geoff came out at noon same day. Several garage outlets were not working and circuit breaker was shot. He replaced circuit breaker and everything worked again HOWEVER, he did not stop there. Wanted to find out the CAUSE of why the circuit breaker went bad. Checked around the garage and even the yard. Found an outlet in the backyard (covered by dirt and woodchips) that had caught fire (due to improper installation 25 years ago) and it still was 'live' . Super lucky this didn't create a massive hillside fire or one of my kids didn't stumble upon it and touch it. He replaced it with proper outdoor housing. Geoff is super smart, came prepared with every part and tool imaginable, didn't give up and do the easy thing (knowing it would only last temporarily). Thank you so much!!!!!! Please check your landscaping outlets and make sure they were installed properly! Will definitely use this company again! read more

Williams Electric - Electricians Near Me - Oakland, California

In order to be approved for California Homeowner Insurance on a older house, we needed to install a water leak detection and shut off device. The problem was that the unit will be attached to our pipes outside, but it needs to be plugged into an electrical outlet. After thinking we would need to have an electrician here all day to install a outdoor outlet with new wiring, we were relieved when we spoke with Geoff about an easier solutions to out problem. Geoff installed what we needed, used the best of materials for keeping the electrical outlet and plug completely dry. And he did all of this in about an hour. He is straight forward, knows what he is doing and gets the job done without delay. Geoff made our life a bit less stressful in dealing with things a new homeowner has to do. Ronda is great too, she returned many phone calls and was able to schedule us in a timely fashion since we were on a deadline for the work to be done. read more

Geof, the owner was great. We did a video call and within 5 min. not only did he solve my problem but he taught me how to solve it myself next time.That is a miracle. I will definitely use Williams Ekectric next time! read more

Geoff was amazing! Literally walked me through what needed to be done in minutes! Saved me time and money! I definitely recommend! 10/10, nice guy with a great sense of humor! read more

I called them because tenant was complaining about tripping circuit breakers. The lady on the phone was courteous and very helpful. She provided lots of good info and instructions on how to do self diagnosis before trying to book an appt. In the end we were able to resolve issue over the phone at no cost. I'd be glad to give them my business in the future if I ever need their help! read more

Geoff showed up quickly to fix a shorted out 240V outlet for my EV charger. After getting everything working, I noticed the next day that my second car wasn't charging and called him up to help troubleshoot. He came back to check things out and even though the conclusion was that it was either a problem with the car or the EV charger and not his installation, he didn't charge me for the return visit. Great job overall in being timely and high quality with the work as well as the follow up. read more

My 100amp main breaker was arching and I called around to different electricians and all of them wanted me to change out my electrical panel and wouldn't just change out the bad breaker. I called Williams Electric on Monday and Geoff video-called me took a look at the breaker and said he could replace the breaker on Tuesday at 8:30 AM. At about 8:45 AM on Tuesday, the breaker was replaced. Geoff is a tell-it-like-it-is kind of guy, straightforward, and honest. I would use him again. read more

Geoff graciously diagnosed my issue and was able to fix it easily. He was very professional and very knowledgeable about the issues related to my old house and the sump pump that was causing the issue. I highly recommend this local business and will be referring everyone I know to them! read more

Geoff has done a few project for us. He brought our under-the-kitchen-sink electric plugs up to code so we could have one of those water heater tanks and the dishwasher too. The prior set up we had failed. He was always professional and made sure the job was done right. He also helped to install an electric plug for a Toto bidet toilet seat. In that project he was the only one of several electricians who offered a solution of cutting a whole In the wall from the opposite room so we could put the plug in the right place. The bathroom did not have a plug avail or an otherwise easy way to wire in a new plug. Other electricians mentioned the idea but were unwilling to go the extra mile and make it work. Geoff did! The other electricians proposed solutions which required exposed extension cords, not ideal. Geoff is a great problem solver. He is honest, knowledgeable, and does excellent work! Also, he was willing to come out for an estimation related to a whole house backup. His advice was great and really appreciate his expertise. read more

We purchased a 1960 home with a hodgepodge of original and updated wiring. We had 2 pre-purchase home inspections, both of which found different issues with the electric. I reached out to Geoff and Ronda who helped with scheduling and Geoff did his own comprehensive inspection of the house. I like that he had an eye to safety and a comprehensive solution. They offered a comprehensive, itemized bid and did not pressure us to do all the work. Geoff was able to talk us through the pros and cons of doing different projects. We ended up deciding to do a comprehensive grounding, adding arc faults, all new switches and fixtures, and a new subpanel. He also changed the dryer outlet which was unsafe (neither inspection found this). Ronda got us on Geoff's calendar right away and he completed the work quickly. He checked in frequently throughout the project and kept us informed about any issues. By and large the work Geoff needed to do lined up exactly with his estimate. He was able to install new plugs in the kitchen without messing with the drywall which was great because other bids included tearing that all out and repairing. Geoff cleaned up the big stuff and did a sweep of the house, and we followed up with more cleaning and vacuuming to get the dust and leftover screws. We are still waiting to do the inspection because of Covid closing down city offices. I would definitely recommend Geoff and Ronda and will call them if we need more work done. read more

I broke my one of my electrical panel switches today while turning off my electricity to replace a switch (lesson learned, never doing that again!) and couldn't get electricity back into my house. It was Friday and I was panicking. I picked Williams Electric because Yelp told me their response time was 10 minutes. Geoff was able to come to my place within 3 hours and fixed everything in 15 minutes including my initial project (the switch) which I was afraid to touch after messing up. I saw the other reviews and think some people were way too harsh. Geoff does look rough around the edges but he seems like he's worked very hard all his life and have been through some things. To me, he has endearing qualities. He was all around professional. From the other reviews and his bio, he clearly knows his stuff. As for my experience, he got straight to work and fixed the problem without wasting my time -- this is exactly what I want when I am hiring someone for a service. Highly recommend and will also be having Geoff back to help me with another project! read more

Quality service. The problem was not immediately apparent and Geoff stuck with it until he found it. This was on a holiday week as well, so we felt lucky to find someone so fast. AND the price was more than fair. I would not hesitate to call this master electrician again. read more

Wow, Geoff just left my house and did an awesome job! I had a circuit breaker tripping in my 3,000 SF house in the Oakland Hills and just googled "Oakland Electricians open Saturday" and Williams Electric bubbled up as the highest rated company so they were my first call. Ronda (I see is Geoff's wife) answered and said "Geoff is booked today but tell me your problem and let's see what we can do." Ronda understands this work and asked me a few troubleshooting questions to help me for free and potentially completely avoid Geoff even coming over. The last thing they were doing was "trying to sell me" on anything. I read some of these bad reviews below and I cannot imagine this guy Geoff warrants any of this and probably think this is really hurting his business. He knows his craft inside and out - that's a fact. So Geoff called me and said what we would be doing, how much it would cost and the steps to figure out root cause - AND HE WANTED TO MAKE SURE I WAS OK WITH ALL OF THIS BEFORE HE CAME OVER EVEN THOUGH HE WAS GOING OUT OF HIS WAY TO FIT ME IN! I said sure and thanks for fitting me in. Geoff comes over and the quote is $250 to troubleshoot, replace the breaker, find root cause, and put everything back together. Sounded fair. Geoff replaced the breaker and it still tripped and we one by one put the lights back on that were on that breaker. Within 10 minutes we found the culprit - the outside lights. We looked at the one below the porch and it was leaking water. Geoff didn't have to do this but he pulled the light down and the wires were shorting and burnt and about a cup of water came out of the light. Geoff seriously saved me from having a potentially really BAD problem. He also went up inside the light and clipped the wires and capped them so we for sure were not going to have more problems. Now I have a serious water leak that I have to get fixed but that's not Geoff's issue. Geoff felt so bad for my water leak issue knowing this is going to cost me money that he only charged me $189 for something that should have been more like $350. Check out my reviews. I write mostly good ones and don't trash people for fun or if they are my competition. it sounds like Geoff is not getting a fair shake on some of these reviews because he knows what he is doing and did a great job. If a reviewer has 60 other 1 star reviews they should look in the mirror. The poor guy is almost paranoid and so careful about taking new business and that's not right or fair. I had no idea who he was before this morning but felt compelled to write this. read more

Geoff and Rhonda are amazing! Rhonda answered my questions, Geoff came out quickly to fix an outlet that wasn't working, he found the problem and fixed it in a short time. Highly recommended! read more

These guys are amazing!!! I had four kitchen outlets stop working and they FaceTimed me - on the WEEKEND - to help me troubleshoot and fix the problem. Thank you Williams! Five stars - HIGHLY recommend!! read more

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! I will never use William Electric again: the customer service and treatment I received from the electrician who did the work was completely and totally unacceptable and disrespectful. In addition, the person was quite rude. Also, the electrician was not COVID safe: he did not wear a mask during the service call. Given the myriad of bad reviews this company has received, if you decide to engage with them, customer BEWARE! read more

William is a genius! This is the go to guy ! He was able to solve our problem in under 30 secs. Had a problem and he was able to resolve it on the spot. Thank you William for making our life better and taking the time of your day to help us. Williams Electric WILL GIVE YOU the peace of mind. God Bless You! read more

Geoff is just a good dude. We had a fried circuit out of nowhere and I called for an emergency appointment. Geoff wasn't available to come out so instead he did a FaceTime appointment with us to tell us what was needed for the job. Ronda helped coordinate the whole thing with multiple calls back and forth. I couldn't believe how helpful they both were when they honestly didn't need to be because they couldn't come out. They have my business for future jobs forever. read more