Right or wrong?

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zappy

zappy

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Location
CA.
I think i'm giving to much info on estimates.I leave there feeling like i just told them exactly how to do it?When you go to do a estimate do you avoid answering any probing questions and also avoid explaining how your going to do something.Thank you for your help and thank you mike holt for this form!
 
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I have made that mistake a couple of times. A while back I was looking at job with a customer, and was basically thinking outloud describing where I would cut through a short section of asphalt and trench and where to come up and run conduit on the back of the building and go into the panel. this was to re-feed a pole light that had nothing feeding it from many years ago, and the customer thought we had to feed it overhead. Two days later I noticed as I drove by, a handyman was cutting the pavement and doing the work exactly where I described. ( and yes it looked like total crap when it was done, 90 sweep sticking out the side of the pole, conduit laying on top of the ground, not secured on the back of the building etc...) If I had to do it over, I would just say there may or may not be pavement cutting, and leave it at that.
 
My approach is pretty much get the idea of what is to be done from the customer then it is up to me to figure out how it will be done and give them a price accordingly, not an installation guide.
 
ultramegabob said:
I have made that mistake a couple of times. A while back I was looking at job with a customer, and was basically thinking outloud describing where I would cut through a short section of asphalt and trench and where to come up and run conduit on the back of the building and go into the panel. this was to re-feed a pole light that had nothing feeding it from many years ago, and the customer thought we had to feed it overhead. Two days later I noticed as I drove by, a handyman was cutting the pavement and doing the work exactly where I described. ( and yes it looked like total crap when it was done, 90 sweep sticking out the side of the pole, conduit laying on top of the ground, not secured on the back of the building etc...) If I had to do it over, I would just say there may or may not be pavement cutting, and leave it at that.
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Iv'e had that experience several times. I think it is better to take your notes make your estimate and keep your ideas to yourself. In your case you were kind of stuck because you figured cutting the pavement and you couldn't do that without telling the customer. Legimate contracting can be very challanging.
 
Unless someone needs to specifically know how I'm going to do the job, my contracts are pretty simple.... "Install such & such, according to National and local codes."
 
Unfortunately there's a fine line between giving enough information to show you're a pro & giving out too much for information-pumpers.

One more reason to have a service charge. Nobody will call 3 or 4 ECs & pump them for information if they have to pay for it. I usually tell people I'm not going to be liable for giving electrical instructions, but this has rarely happened since I started charging service charges.

Dave
 
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