Reasons For Not Giving Free Estimates

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for the record....that plumbing contractor has a billable rate in excess of $325/ hr and a $70 trip charge...average invoice is about $750....
 
What contractors that advertise "Free Estimates" should really say in their advertising:

We give "free estimates" to all the people who don't hire us for the job.
If you do hire us for the job, you will be charged for all the free estimates we gave to the people that didn't hire us for their jobs, as well as the free estimate we gave you.


What contractors that charge for estimates could say in their advertising:

We charge everyone for estimates. This means we don't have to charge the people who do hire us for all the estimates we gave to people who didn't hire us. This means we can offer lower prices to the customers that do hire us.



To all you guys out there that say you would never pay for an estimate:
Believe me you pay for estimates one way or another.
The contractor that truely does give free estimates doesn't stay in business long.

Anything one customer gets for free has to be paid for by another customer.
 
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weressl said:
I'll remember to charge my prospective employer next time when I go for a job interview.:smile:
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If they want you bad enough they may even pay for it. It's been done before. They may not pay in cash but what about the free airline tickets, hotel rooms, food and even rental cars that some get for job interviews.

Some professionals actually get quite a few perks for a job interview.:smile:

It really depends if you are looking for a job or they are looking for you. If they are looking for you then they are willing to pay.

When I worked for a large computer company they wined and dinned several people that they were trying to lure away from other companies. I don't know if this is ethical but it is done.
 
tmbrk said:
VERY well put.

Again a worker mentality vs. the realities of running a business.

But what do we know. We're not professionals. We're just lowly tradespeople.:grin:
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Professionals??

You mean like doctors???

Doctors who have been doctors for 10 ten years that are still "practicing" medicine???

Maybe if we "practice" wiring we can charge as much money as they do.
 
Another reason to charge for estimates.

Last Minute Cancellations.

Yesterday I had an appointment to give an esimate for a customer that was a referral. I don't charge for estimates when it's a referral. I call the customer that morning to let them know I'm on my way and will be there in a half hour. I get his voice mail and leave a message. He calls back as I'm pulling up to his home and tells me he will have to cancel the appointment because he got called into work.

Had the same thing happen today with another customer except he claimed he had called and cancelled the appointment which he did not.

I always call before going out but sometimes will get their voice mail. I will leave a message letting them know I'm on my way and if they have questions to call me. Usually they will call back and let me know they'll be there or they will say they have to cancel.

By charging for estimates they will be less likely to cancel if they are going to be charged the estimate fee for last minute cancellations. Even if they do at least you get something for them screwing up your schedule for the day.
 
aline said:
Another reason to charge for estimates.

Last Minute Cancellations.

Yesterday I had an appointment to give an esimate for a customer that was a referral. I don't charge for estimates when it's a referral. I call the customer that morning to let them know I'm on my way and will be there in a half hour. I get his voice mail and leave a message. He calls back as I'm pulling up to his home and tells me he will have to cancel the appointment because he got called into work.

Had the same thing happen today with another customer except he claimed he had called and cancelled the appointment which he did not.

I always call before going out but sometimes will get their voice mail. I will leave a message letting them know I'm on my way and if they have questions to call me. Usually they will call back and let me know they'll be there or they will say they have to cancel.

By charging for estimates they will be less likely to cancel if they are going to be charged the estimate fee for last minute cancellations. Even if they do at least you get something for them screwing up your schedule for the day.
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That is the reason all the major service companies, but the call on a credit card, they want to be assured payment in advance, now phantom run, and once the customer has a stake invested they are sure to keep the appointment, most of your electricians are afraid to ask for advance payment, the customer will not like me, if he thinkks i want to get paid!
when are they going to learn?
 
Here is what I did, I opened the phone book and started calling other electrical contractors who had display adds asking what they charged for estimates and only one charged.I just got the new book and the guy who charged is no longer in it.
 
A retail customer can comparison shop, and pretty much knows what a gallon of bleach or a set of patio furniture is going to cost.

Because a customer who is purchasing contracted labor & materials has no idea what to expect when mulling a purchase, they need to feel the waters before taking the plunge. It's not like they're familiar enough with professional contractor's rates to just jump into a deal blindly. (Although some do, they can't be bothered getting and comparing different quotes.)

I've had roofing, leaders & gutters, and tree removal work done and I have to say the price ranges quoted by a minimum of 3 different prospectives for each job were absolutely incredible.

Face it, there is nothing close to a standard price when dealing with independant mom & pops. At least when I was looking at flat screen TV's, everyone was pretty much priced the same within a few % points no matter where I looked. My leaders gutters could have cost $1300.00, ended up costing $450.00.

Ever bid on a multi-million dollar project? Not only is THAT a "free estimate," but sometimes you also have to pay for the plans and invest a lot of time and labor in working up an estimate, and walk-through if applicable.
 
LawnGuyLandSparky said:
Ever bid on a multi-million dollar project? Not only is THAT a "free estimate," but sometimes you also have to pay for the plans and invest a lot of time and labor in working up an estimate, and walk-through if applicable.
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Only about the top 1% of contractors ever bid the multi-million dollar jobs, it's a very exclusive club. They do try to keep the Rif Raf out by making the entrace fee to the game high.

I doubt if you will ever see anyone bidding those jobs that's not already paying very high fees to be members of other clubs ( the vey best Country Clubs ).

Has nothing at all to do with charging for estimates for small residential work. Some people may not like it but it's already an established business proceedure.
 
LawnGuyLandSparky said:
Ever bid on a multi-million dollar project? Not only is THAT a "free estimate," but sometimes you also have to pay for the plans and invest a lot of time and labor in working up an estimate, and walk-through if applicable.
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In the end who do you think pays for this?
The contractor?

Like I've said before. Any expense that is not charged to a customer has to be made up by charging it to another customer.

To stay in business all expenses have to be paid for.
Who pays for all the expenses? The customer.
Nothing is free. The only question is which customer pays for it.

If the customer isn't paying for all of your expenses who is?
 
LawnGuyLandSparky said:
Face it, there is nothing close to a standard price when dealing with independant mom & pops. At least when I was looking at flat screen TV's, everyone was pretty much priced the same within a few % points no matter where I looked. My leaders gutters could have cost $1300.00, ended up costing $450.00.
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Maybe it would have only ended up costing $250.00 if all contractors charged for estimates and he didn't have to factor in his expenses for all the free estimates he gave and didn't get the job.
 
aline said:
In the end who do you think pays for this?
The contractor?

Like I've said before. Any expense that is not charged to a customer has to be made up by charging it to another customer.

To stay in business all expenses have to be paid for.
Who pays for all the expenses? The customer.
Nothing is free. The only question is which customer pays for it.

If the customer isn't paying for all of your expenses who is?
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People love thinking they are getting something for nothing, just look at the cell phone business, a service that should cost $10 or $12 dollars a month they can ask $50 to $100 and get it, because they offer plans with free minutes, now who really thinks these minutes are free, or the free delivery when you order from ABZ company, could it be the they can offer free delevery because they sell products that can be marked up 100 to 1000% or the super store that offers no payment due for 120 days, then you pay the the low intrest rate of only 29% The new super stores control the market in many places, so years ago they had to sell at a small 1 or 2% mark up , now with all the compention driven out can increase their marging, and don't think they don't do it, do you really now the price a super store pays for an item?
 
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