Do you charge for Quotes ?

[Dustydazzler]

I have done around 16 or 17 quotes in the last few weeks , some small jobs where the quote was literally hourly rate + materials so took 20 mins to type up and email.

But the other day I did a massive detailed quote after spending over 2 hours with the customer at the site. Full re-wire of existing house and massive extension. to type up the quote took over an hour and yesterday we did some alterations to the quote over the phone. So all in I have spent around 5 hours of my time. They even agreed verbally that the job was mine to start tomorrow.

Last night at 11.30pm I got an email saying they have gone with a cheaper quote. Goodbye

Sorry for the rant but that is 5 hours I have wasted and not seen a penny.

Should we be charging for time spent doing estimates and quotes ??

 

[LukeD]

I know many that do and I have also .It when its a huge quote that needs many hours or days just to scratch together before even typing out etc. You also get a feel for a client if its not going to be worth it ! And for a job that size to be able to start next day might have been a red card for them ???

 

[Dustydazzler]

I know many that do and I have also .It when its a huge quote that needs many hours or days just to scratch together before even typing out etc. You also get a feel for a client if its not going to be worth it ! And for a job that size to be able to start next day might have been a red card for them ???

It is a huge old house about 200 metres from my parents house, they started the massive extension during Covid and only now does it have the roof on and partially tiled.
I was going to start the re-wire of the existing house ( 5 bedrooms ) then move onto the extension in around 2 weeks time.
The job is massive for me as I am on my own but priced it properly and covered all the bases offering the client lots of options on things.
They assured me the job was mine only yesterday lunchtime (verbally ) so I was going to start tomorrow and print up the contract for them to sign when I started. I have even brought loads of cable.

Gutted

 

[LukeD]

They not worried how come you are available at such short notice ? And they found someone else also "available " at such short notice ???? IN someways you might have struck gold. People like that are always going to be trouble .So to get out now is cheaper than later !

 

[Dustydazzler]

They not worried how come you are available at such short notice ? And they found someone else also "available " at such short notice ???? IN someways you might have struck gold. People like that are always going to be trouble .So to get out now is cheaper than later !

We had been discussing this job on a off for months, so I had it factored in for a while.
But only really got down to doing the full quote with all the detail in recent weeks.
Apparently, they have found a local guy who can start tomorrow who is a friend of the builders

 

[snowhead]

Dusty-D, don't write the job off yet.

When the builder's friend finds out how much they've got to do for the price they've quoted they may well bail out, or when the customer realises they aren't up to the job then they may get thrown out.
Then in steps Dusty-D with slightly revised, start immediately quote

 

[richy3333]

I think its about sussing out the customer - genuine or tyre kicker. I had one last week that wanted a quote on a new supply to agricultural land. Needed it ASAP to try for a crofting grant. I said I wanted paying for my time as it would take several hours. Pointed out I could be doing paid work instead. They refused to pay, so I just moved on.

I just dont think a lot of the general public appreciate how long it takes for us to price work and its even harder now with prices changing so rapidly.

 

[LukeD]

"Then in steps Dusty-D with slightly revised, start immediately quote"


With a deposit and stage payments agreed and signed

 

[Dustydazzler]

Dusty-D, don't write the job off yet.

When the builder's friend finds out how much they've got to do for the price they've quoted they may well bail out, or when the customer realises they aren't up to the job then they may get thrown out.
Then in steps Dusty-D with slightly revised, start immediately quote

If they do contact me mid-job then it will be hourly rate + materials + mark-up and they won't get a completion cert they will pay and get an Eicr

As soon as they emailed me saying the builder and his mate is doing the wiring it was game over

 

[HappyHippyDad]

I don't know anyone that charges for quotes. I never have and I can't see myself doing so. I accept that i will loose a few and that's just business.

As @richy3333 said, I would try to gauge the customer a little and if they were the type that is just trying to get everything as cheaply as possible I would insist on charging for the quote.

I realise that the customer seemed ok in your case, so it's just one to take on the chin I think.

I wouldn't start charging for quotes as it would put too many people off as it's not the norm.

 

[Markyd]

I charge for visit and quote and if its accepted take the cost off the invoice

 

[LukeD]

I charge for visit and quote and if its accepted take the cost off the invoice

I can see this becoming normal .Too many think we have to make time to fit in with their schedule !!

 

[Dustydazzler]

I can see this becoming normal .Too many think we have to make time to fit in with their schedule !!

£50 for site visit and written quote

£50 comes off the final bill once the job is complete and paid for in full

 

[7029 dave]

What about broken appointments, they should be charged too.

 

[littlespark]

Can you say they broke a contract? Even a verbally agreed contract?


Realistically it’s part of the unproductive time that should be covered by the overheads you factor into the prices of all your jobs…. Like running to the wholesalers, typing up bills and sitting in macdonalds drive thru.

 

[JBW175]

I feel your pain, I’ve had a couple of rewires recently where they’ve gone with a cheaper quote, and I thought I’d been quite competitive on pricing too.

I had one job I went to look at last month where the bloke wanted to do the work (rewire) himself and me to sign it off; he even had the cheek to ask me for any tips I could give him on cable sizes and routing etc… needless to say he got nowt from me.

 

[LukeD]

What about broken appointments, they should be charged too.

Depends on what notice . But its all down to terms and condition ."Pimlico robbers" terms are unreal and they really do make a customer pay . Its all down to getting customers to treat you as a business rather than "good old Dave" etc and thinking they can walk over you .But at the same time , a trade has to also make sure they are on time etc for meetings and starting works etc!

 

[pc1966]

To some extent you have to just accept that making quotes and winning only a proportion is part of the cost of doing business. For a lot of jobs it is fairly simple and you don't spend too much time doing it.

If it is a big or complicated job then the approach suggested above of charging a nominal fee for your time, even say £25-50, that is deducted from the price if you win is one way to stop too much time-wasting. There is a big risk of them going elsewhere where they don't get charged to price it, so maybe worth considering how many invites to quote you really want/need, even though you probably stand a much higher chance of getting them if you do get a fee to quote.

Of course if all they want is a ball-park figure to budget you often can give a typical range with little input, but you have to be VERY clear it is not a firm offer and you would need to visit the site, etc, at a fee to give an accurate figure and check none of your assumptions about the property, type of supply, condition of installation, etc, were wrong.

 

[LukeD]

What about if the customer wants a detailed list of works with drawings etc ? What happens if they just wants all the info and then to find someone to follow your plan of works etc > ? !

 

[Dustydazzler]

What about if the customer wants a detailed list of works with drawings etc ? What happens if they just wants all the info and then to find someone to follow your plan of works etc > ? !

This is a bit like Free samples, if too many people take the p!ss then the free samples stop and become chargeable samples ?