Do you ask for references? Can you trust references?

[dennis thompson]

I am getting a whole house generator, it's a fairly substantial expenditure. I have 2 bids, they are both for the same Kohler generator and accessories. They are both from the Kohler website of electricians listed as qualified, and both are local electricians.
As I said in the Title:
-do you ask for references?
-do you think you can trust references, i.e. are they just from a friend, his brother in law,etc.?
Thanks

[George Bokros]

My fear with references from the person / contractor is that they will only give you references from people that will give them great references. Angies list is a better source of reviews / references. Just my opinion.

[Mark Carlson]

I always google contractors in the hope of finding google reviews, yelp reviews, angies list reports, etc. Local electricians should have online reviews. No reviews anywhere is also not a great sign. You should also be able to check their license and maybe something with the BBB.

[eugene thomas]

Or if possible see the work they did. I was in a bank other day on erran and my contractor did the remodel. Think am hiring wright guy.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Been in business for over 40 years. Never printed an ad, or business card. All work was referred to me by satisfied customers. Have yet to get up and say "I have nothing to do today." Usually it's "whose job won't get done today."

[Brian Elfert]

I figure a contractor is only going to include the best references so I don't contact references. Contractors certainly aren't going to include the customer who kicked them off the job and sued them due to problems with the job.

[Harry Hagan]

Most homeowners don’t know enough about the building trades to make an informed recommendation. Around here homeowners are just happy if the contractor will show up and complete the job. I’d trust a recommendation from someone in the building trades that has worked around other trades long enough to “get the scoop” on contractors. When I helped manage a retail/wholesale building materials business for 14+ years in another town, I could recommend only 4-5 contractors out of hundreds.:mad:

[Lee Schierer]

I recommend not only contacting references, but also making arrangements to go see the quality of the work. My rationale being that if these are his happy customers and the work isn't good, then I don't want them working on my stuff. Checking other sources, such as the BBB, for complaints is also good to do.

[Larry Frank]

I always ask for references and go look at the work. For a generator, I would at the install and how well things are done.

[Chuck Wintle]

I am getting a whole house generator, it's a fairly substantial expenditure. I have 2 bids, they are both for the same Kohler generator and accessories. They are both from the Kohler website of electricians listed as qualified, and both are local electricians.
As I said in the Title:
-do you ask for references?
-do you think you can trust references, i.e. are they just from a friend, his brother in law,etc.?
Thanks
Just wondering if you have some dwgs or sketches to work with?