A friend of mine used EnergyONE to install solar panels on his house, and he was very impressed with the people at the company. He even began doing some design work for them. After talking with him, I felt comfortable that I would be dealing with a good company that would treat me right. We talked about what I wanted, and my friend personally prepared two different design options. I chose the larger option, and my friend submitted the plans and got everything rolling. Unfortunately my friend was new and unfamiliar with company processes, so when my friend submitted the plan, he filed both plans, which caused confusion throughout the process.
After getting the plans submitted, there was the normal paperwork followed by waiting for approval from the power company. After waiting a month, the power company approved the plans, but I noticed at that time that the approval was for the smaller design. EnergyONE indicated that they knew someone who worked at the power company who could possibly fix the situation without having to redo everything. Some phone calls were made, and the plans were updated with only a minor delay.
Shortly after that, EnergyONE called me and told me that the licensed engineer they were using only had a Missouri license, and I live on the Kansas side. EnergyONE told me that the engineer would have to wait a month to get his Kansas license, and there wasn't any other licensed engineer who could do the job sooner. I was very frustrated, because I felt like this was something they should have known about at the beginning of the project. To their credit, EnergyONE found an engineer with a Kansas license to do the job, and paid extra out of their pocket to have him sign off on my plans. It was the first of several occasions when EnergyONE did something extra to fix a problem.
After getting the plans signed off, installation commenced. At this point I was watching, and unfortunately my suspicions came true. The workers installed the old, smaller design instead of the larger one. At this point, I was REALLY angry! I could understand clerical errors that resulted in the initial first submission being incorrect, but I couldn't understand why the incorrect plans were still floating around by the time installation occurred. After some emails and phone calls, EnergyONE arranged to have additional panels installed by the end of the next couple of business days. Even though this is probably a mistake that shouldn't have happened, the end result didn't create a significant delay.
Unfortunately, the electrician who did the work for EnergyONE failed to get the appropriate permits from the city. (EnergyONE now checks on permits before paying subcontractors.) As a result, the power company refused to do anything, and the explanation for the holdup was very unclear. I emailed and called the power company myself until I found someone to explain things. I was unhappy with EnergyONE, and I let them know how I felt.
Then the CEO and I had a frank discussion. EnergyONE is a smaller, tightknit organization. The CEO is passionate about what his company does, and he genuinely wants his customers to be happy. It's personal for him, and this attitude is reflected in the company. EnergyONE proceeded to get the appropriate permits as quickly as possible, in many cases calling the city every day to check on progress. Things got done much faster thanks to their persistent calls. In addition, EnergyONE reimbursed me for the lost electricity generation during that time.
When things go well, it's easy for a company to claim that they put customers first. The real test is when issues arise. What does a company do then? EnergyONE really works hard to put customers first. Mistakes were made, some by my friend who was just trying to be helpful. EnergyONE did everything possible to make things right. I would definitely recommend EnergyONE, because most of the time things go smoothly (like they did for my friend), but if there is a problem, they will do everything possible to make it right (like they did for me).
