Charging for estimates is not working!

[Rewire]

wow 101 posts on this topic and still going

 

[JohnJ0906]

they show shots of a guy laying down a door mat and putting on booties with the anouncer saying "before the big boys even ring your doorbell you have been over charged" then they show a shot of one of their guys walking to the door and simply taking off his shoes at the end of the add they say "and estimates are always free".

We use uniforms, doormats and booties. You know, like a professional. It sells jobs, because it says "I respect you and your home"
I know it sells jobs, because the customers tell me that.
Sorry, taking your shoes off is just cheesy, and, believe me, some houses I wear the booties to protect my shoes, not the floors. :wink: I'm not taking my shoes off!

The greatest bar to knowledge is contempt prior to investigation.

Herbert Spencer. Great quote!

 

[powerslave]

then they show a shot of one of their guys walking to the door and simply taking off his shoes at the end of the add they say "and estimates are always free".

Would you allow one of your guys to remove his boots to perform electrical work? We wear boot covers so you don't have to take off your shoes for safety reasons alone. Maybe you'll laugh, but what if your guy dropped a tool or anything else on his foot? Have you ever tried climbing a ladder in only socks? Maybe they should show the guy with his hands over his eyes and say, "We don't believe in overcharging you for the use of safety glasses."

"Estimates are always free. The law suit if our guy hurts his foot isn't."

 

[Rewire]

Would you allow one of your guys to remove his boots to perform electrical work? We wear boot covers so you don't have to take off your shoes for safety reasons alone. Maybe you'll laugh, but what if your guy dropped a tool or anything else on his foot? Have you ever tried climbing a ladder in only socks? Maybe they should show the guy with his hands over his eyes and say, "We don't believe in overcharging you for the use of safety glasses."

"Estimates are always free. The law suit if our guy hurts his foot isn't."

I carry workmans comp so their is no law suit.And yes I have had guys work in a home without their sneakers on ,not everyone likes boots, because the homeowner requested it.All our vans have booties in them but I have never used it as a selling point and the choice is up to the men either booties or take off the shoes.

 

[powerslave]

To each there own.:smile:

I personally wouldn't let them take their shoes off. Just because we carry workman's comp. doesn't mean we want to use it in place of safety procedures. My boots have saved my feet more than once.

I guess my point is we always put on shoe covers over boots. The plumber commercial you have described seems to imply that they never wear shoe covers and instead always take off their shoes. I can see certain tasks that could be performed without wearing shoes but not the majority of them let alone all of them. Again, my personal viewpoint.

I would have to ask my insurance agent what they would think of the practice also.

 

[aline]

A local plumber has flipped the script on BFP they have a TV add with a cash register ringing up in the background they show shots of a guy laying down a door mat and putting on booties with the anouncer saying "before the big boys even ring your doorbell you have been over charged" then they show a shot of one of their guys walking to the door and simply taking off his shoes at the end of the add they say "and estimates are always free". One of the most sucsessful businesses in the US is Wal Mart but say your going to follow the Wal Mart business plan and watch the feathers fly. I tried charging for estimates last summer and it was a failure,at least in my area. I was contacted by Mr Electric about becoming a franchise and i turned them down I want the freedom to dump things that just don't make sense in my market.I never dismiss anything before I give it a good look. The gretest bar to knowledge is contempt prior to investigation.

Laying down a door mat and putting on booties costs very little.
Why would you need to overcharge the customer just because you do this?

If I had a retail outlet business I might just follow Wal-Mart's business plan, but I don't. I have an electrical service & repair business so it makes more sense to me to follow the plan of the most successful electrical service & repair businesses instead.

I'm not saying you have to become a franchise of theirs to follow their business plan.
You can follow their business model and still remain independent and have the freedom to dump whatever you like. I have the freedom to charge a dispatch fee or not charge a dispatch fee or change the dispatch fee whenever I feel like it.

It's really no different then when I bid jobs. If the markets up and I've got plenty of work I'm going bid my jobs at a higher price. If the markets down and I don't have any work I'll bid my jobs at a lower price.

 

[powerslave]

Laying down a door mat and putting on booties costs very little.

I wonder how much a television commercial telling people you don't lay down a door mat or put on booties costs?:grin:

 

[aline]

It can be more time consuming taking your boots off and putting them back on again every time you make a trip out to the van. The booties slip on and off quickly. Also if I'm climbing into an attic or crawl space I'll slip the booties off while in the attic or crawl space and slip them back on when I get back out. Putting my boots on and taking them off would be a pain in my opinion.

Other times I'll wear the waterproof booties when working outside in the mud. This keeps my boots clean and when I'm done I just pop the muddy booties off and throw them away.

Maybe I should just get rid of all my drop clothes, door mats and booties so I don't have to overcharge the customer for the use of these items.

You know, it also seems to me, that for every free estimate I give and don't get the job I have to charge the customer that I do get a job with for these free estimates. Someone has to pay for them. Who do you think pays for the free estimates?

Wouldn't I be able to charge the customers that do buy from me less since I don't have to cover as much of the costs of giving free estimates when I charge for them?

 

[aline]

Maybe I should start my own commercial explaining how free estimates aren't really free.

Giving free estimates is an expense. For a business to stay in business and make a profit the customer has to pay for all expenses and then some.

Free estimates are only free if you never buy anything.
As soon as you buy you pay for all the free estimates the contractor gave but did not get the job.

Instead of "Free Estimates" the ad should say "We only charge the people who buy from us for estimates." "We're going to overcharge you for all the free estimates we gave to the people who didn't buy from us, which is a lot because we not very good at selling."

 

[Rewire]

Laying down a door mat and putting on booties costs very little.
Why would you need to overcharge the customer just because you do this?

I don't know if they overcharge or not but this a very powerful visual message.Here is a radio add I worked up, " When you invite someone to your home doyou get charged? When you invite SASE to your home for an estimate we wont charge you either."

If I had a retail outlet business I might just follow Wal-Mart's business plan, but I don't. I have an electrical service & repair business so it makes more sense to me to follow the plan of the most successful electrical service & repair businesses instead.

I learned about shrinkage from a grocery store manager and now apply it in my business.Business is Business and much can be gleened from every sector.

 

[powerslave]

To be fair, that plumbing company is targeting a specific group of customers with that ad. The ones who consider price the number one factor in deciding which contractor to use. And those are most likely the customers they will get.

But again, to each their own.

 

[aline]

Rewire,

Who pays for all the expenses of running your business?
Do you consider your vans & fuel a business expense?
Who pays for your vans & fuel expenses you or your customers?
Do you consider free estimates a business expense?
Who pays for the free estimates you or your customers?

When you collect money from your customers you do so to cover all your business expenses and make a profit. I'd say the only ones that pay for estimates are your customers. The ones you gave free estimates to and didn't buy from you are not your customers they are someone elses. Your charging your customers for someone elses free estimate.

 

[powerslave]

Rewire,

Who pays for all the expenses of running your business?
Do you consider your vans & fuel a business expense?
Who pays for your vans & fuel expenses you or your customers?
Do you consider free estimates a business expense?
Who pays for the free estimates you or your customers?

When you collect money from your customers you do so to cover all your business expenses and make a profit. I'd say the only ones that pay for estimates are your customers. The ones you gave free estimates to and didn't buy from you are not your customers they are someone elses. Your charging your customers for someone elses free estimate.

Aline, I agree. One of the first and most important rules in ANY business is: The customer pays for everything.

 

[Rewire]

To be fair, that plumbing company is targeting a specific group of customers with that ad. The ones who consider price the number one factor in deciding which contractor to use. And those are most likely the customers they will get.

But again, to each their own.

People are becoming more cost aware, what the plumbing company is promoting is a lower overhead means savings passed on to the customer.They are not targeting any group but using positioning.

 

[aline]

Anytime you can reduce business expenses you can also offer your customers a lower price.
Charging for estimates is a way to lower your business expenses therefore you can offer lower prices to your customers.

 

[Rewire]

Rewire,

Your charging your customers for someone elses free estimate.

Everything you have ever bought you paid for the person that did not buy but just looked.I don't see the problem in that. In retail people walk into a store and look at the price tag free estimates is simply bringing the price tag to the customer if they like the price they buy if not the look at another "store".

 

[powerslave]

People are becoming more cost aware, what the plumbing company is promoting is a lower overhead means savings passed on to the customer.They are not targeting any group but using positioning.

I do agree with you here. However, many of the ones who consider price the deciding factor are the ones who are more prone to go with a sidejobber or have their neighbors cousin do the work when times are tough. They are not going to call a company that has a TV ad because that right there tells them it's gonna cost them if they truly are cost aware. And I was joking earlier but truthfully, how much are they gonna save because the contractor doesn't wear booties? The contractor still has the vast majority of his overhead plus a TV commercial to pay for. The booties and shoe covers are the icing on the cake so to speak. And quite frankly, the contractor probably knows this and is giving the impression that he will be cheaper minus the mat and booties. And if they know anything about marketting, they most certainly are targetting a specific audience.

 

[jrannis]

Somebody Please Close This Thread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[boboelectric]

Usually, my free estimates are on my way to the next job. Missing my coffee break.

 

[peter d]

Everything you have ever bought you paid for the person that did not buy but just looked.I don't see the problem in that. In retail people walk into a store and look at the price tag free estimates is simply bringing the price tag to the customer if they like the price they buy if not the look at another "store".

And once again, does WalMart throw everything in the store into a tractor trailer and bring it to your house so you can look at it and see if you want to buy it? No, you have to spend you money to pay for your vehicle with the gas you paid for to drive to their store. Same applies to a contracting business.

I would probably charge a nominal fee for estimates just to weed out the serious customers from the price shoppers.