So the short warning is: the office staff is unreliable and more importantly this company will expect you to pay for their mistakes!
Now, for those interested, here is the long story. I have had this company working on my solar system for many years and despite the field work being acceptable, the hardest part with them was always the office staff. Not that they were rude in any way, but it was always an effort to get them to communicate and pretty much do the work. But considering how infrequently I needed to call on them I figured the difficulty was acceptable and initially there weren’t as many companies to choose from for doing this work (think better part of a decade ago). The final straw, though, came recently when I decided I wanted to try and replace my existing system.
I started conversations with them early this year, and it was clear that the knowledge of the office staff was lacking when it came to the product in question. I had to end up getting involved, dealing directly with the panel-inverter manufacturer to clarify that what I wanted to do was possible. Eventually, the company finally got up to speed and we proceeded to planning out the actual replacement. Now one complication that was valid is that if I replaced all 20 of my existing panels with new panels, the power output would be increased, which would require an upgrade to the existing electrical work and new approvals from the power company (CPS) . The company also had some concerns about the physical footprint of the new panels, but again, after I took numerous pictures and measurements of the existing rack space, panels, and how it all fit on the roof, as well as providing some detailed drawings of the existing system ***(this will be key later)***, it was decided that a direct replacement of the panels in their existing configuration *would be possible*. However, since the full replacement would obviously take more time and effort, the company presented me with two proposals: Proposal A would remove the existing system and replace with only 16 new panels, thereby effectively keeping the same power output; Proposal B would remove the existing system and replace all 20 panels in the existing configuration, upgrade the electrical work, and commission the system with new permits from CPS. I opted for proposal B, signed the proposal, and the company collected the deposit. Now the company had said before this that they were getting ready to go out on a major project, but would get all of the paperwork submitted to CPS before that, as CPS was backlogged about 2 months. I checked with them before this big project to make sure they had what they needed from me, to which they confirmed they had all they needed and would be submitting the paperwork.
Fast forward the roughly two months, and apparently the paperwork had not been submitted because after I contacted them to get a status update (note: I contacted them), only then did they send me some forms to complete for submitting to CPS. I returned any forms they sent almost immediately (same day at the latest), and for nearly the next two months began a regular habit of calling or emailing them to get weekly status updates (pretty sure they never once gave me an update on their own). During this time, they let me know that CPS had conditionally-denied the application or delayed acceptance because of errors made by the company on at least two instances.
Now nearly four months after the original proposals, we finally received approval from CPS one morning. I emailed the company that I see this has occurred and to figure out when we can schedule installation to begin. But then I get a phone call that the company had reviewed the plan, the plan they had from day 1 effectively ***remember pictures, dimensions, and drawings***, and “immediately” (their word) realized that the layout of the panels would not meet fire codes and as such would not be acceptable to CPS. The “good news” (if it can be called that), is they could still just do the 16-panel replacement and it would be grandfathered in, but then came the rub. Instead of offering to do the 16-panel job at the cost of the original proposed amount (that is Proposal A received nearly 4 months ago), they increased cost almost $1000.
Now, I can understand cost of everything has gone up since that time, but what they essentially did here was give me a proposal (Proposal B) that they cannot actually do. A proposal that should never have even been given in the first place as it was, and using their word here, “immediately” apparent that the upgraded panels installed in the current configuration would not meet the new fire code (and pretty sure we’re talking 2015 new, not as in one month ago new). Given this kind of information 4 months ago would have made the choice very clear, and I would have opted for Proposal A.
Despite this obvious mistake on their part, they refused to honor the original proposal. Now I will say I am glad they didn’t try to fight the “deposit is non-refundable”, and they did refund the original deposit. However, I am still out a considerable amount at this point because at their suggestion, I had ordered the replacement panels directly from the manufacturer myself. But in my opinion, being stuck with this loss is probably better than having them replace the system since now that I know their true character, I have no idea what other type of dishonest actions they might have been willing to undertake; maybe not the guys doing the field work, but definitely the owner and office personnel.
So again, I would highly recommend finding another company to do business with as this company has clearly demonstrated a lack of administrative capability and that they have no problem in sticking their customer with extra costs associated with mistakes they make.