OCEANSIDE ELECTRIC - Key Persons

John Frey's grandfather started Frey Electric in 1921 in Cincinnati. Back in those days, electrical work was fairly straightforward business. You had a power line, a breaker box, and an outlet. Pretty straightforward. Even by the time John entered the business, the electrical industry hadn't changed in any truly revolutionary way. "I actually started in high school and worked all through high school for the family business," he said. "When I started, it was literally just switches and plugs in houses. Now, we get into houses, and everything is Wi-Fi controlled. They want USB plugs by their nightstands. They want drop stations for smart watches and iPads in their closets… It's vastly different than when I was 19 years old doing electrical work." What hasn't changed is a commitment to service that Frey inherited from his father and grandfather. It's an old-school approach that has set Oceanside Electric, the company he started on Hilton Head Island, apart from a very crowded pack. "We return phone calls. We show up as promised. We actually send clients a calendar invitation, and we stay in touch with them," Frey said.