07/29/2026
Very proud of my team today! I was in Wisconsin for Donatello Electric North when the storms came through yesterday. Our office manager Brooke was at the office in Lombard when everything went pitch black outside. Shortly after that we lost power at the office so she had to leave early for the day once it was safe to go home. I got back around 5 to grab the phone filled with voicemails and texts of trees on power lines, generators that weren't running, and Electric meters and service risers ripped off of our customers homes.
Our prescheduled workload for the day Tuesday involved removing and replacing light fixtures or switches and other non-urgent matters, so I quickly began to reach out to all of those customers around 5:00 pm. Everyone was very understanding and accommodating with rescheduling any non urgent work and I am very grateful for that. At that time, I was also able to walk a client through clearing an error code on her generator over the phone and her sump pump began to empty the water which was starting to flood her basement.
On Tuesday, the power was restored at our shop around 7:00 am just before everyone got in, like it was meant to be. Quickly delegating, I sent out the service change specialist MP to replace a meter socket and service riser with Sal. We also added ground rods as per code at the new meter socket. Matt was then sent to get his first of 2 generators running for the day. This one was yet another error code and the second one was a car battery which he replaced. Dan was sent to replace a Point of Attachment (where ComEd's lines attach to your home), then to a senior citizen's home in the area to help her run cords from her generator for her sump and fridge at no charge of course.
Along with all of that, we verified safety of an electrical panel at the doctor's office where they thought water was coming in through the panel. We were able to help guide a customer to make sure to stay away from downed wires and just wait until ComEd was able to clear the tree and then restore power. We got someone's house powered up on a portable generator running the lights, the fridge and other essential circuits. 2 customers are scheduled for replacement of meter sockets and service risers tomorrow, and yes we even did a couple of light switches and outlets as well in our spare time at the end of the day.
I worked the phone, Brooke set up work orders and loaded the calendar, while the boys knocked it out of the park, one right after another, like it was the home run derby! WHAT A DAY!! I am truly greatful for my team and what we accomplished today as well as every day serving our community, and helping our clients. Some days just stand out more than others and today was definitely one of them.
Don Bonfiglio,
Donatello Electric