guy asks me to price a deck for him, had I think one price already. then makes a big deal about how no one else got back to him with a price.
he wanted the deck priced so that is was broken up with an option for him to lay the deck boards. guy drove me nuts with all his questions about the options and the differneces ect…went back and forth via email…..finally quoted him for the breakdown of what he wanted…..then…don’t hear a word from him….lol
now I know that this is quite normal, I just expected him to say yay or nay seeing as how he griped about guys not getting back to him with a price…lol oh well
I guess it’s just as well not to hear from him….seeing as how he drove me nuts doing a price, he’d probably drive me nuts doign the job.
Edited 11/25/2006 11:17 pm ET by alrightythen
Edited 11/25/2006 11:19 pm ET by alrightythen
Replies
People have you on speed dial until they get your proposal and go into sticker shock. Then they can't remember who you are. If you want follow up you need to call them.
if I wasn't busy I probably would. but as it is the job is an hour away, and I have plenty on my plate.
People like that want one thing.......what they want.
If they can get answers and their hand held on your money, they will take it. Soon as they dont need you anymore........any 'consideration' they had vanishes.
Dont get suckered into it next time. Charge for doing a quote, if they wont pay that..... pretty much tells you whats going on.
Charge a non refundable deposit too......if they wont pay that then the job was never going to go well.
His sort usually bail at the 'charge for quote' stage, thereby saving you a heap of time.
For those that want to do some of the work themselves, I have a clause in the contract that allows me to charge for delays if they havent done their part on time. That often makes them rethink and get me to do the whole lot.
Not an exponent of the DILLIGAF system.
I started a thread on quotes before, and I know there has been lots on it. But i'm always glad to hear new takes on it...how do you go about charging for quotes?
Charging for quotes? Yeah, I've wondered about this myself. I think the situation is that hardly anyone here is actually able to charge for a quote as such. Usually they mean that thay have already given the HO a ballpark figure, and are then able to charge for detailed scope of work etc
JohnIf my baby don't love me no more, I know her sister will.
A customer calls on my cell or leaves a message at home.
I either return the call right away, or tell them I will call that night to make a time to look at the job.
Once there I ask what they want, do a sketch, measure etc. While I am doing this I give them a sample quote to look over so they can 'see how we do things'
Then I tell them that the quote contains a lot of important product info, warranty info etc that they get to keep for future ref.
A properly put together quote takes time, so for all that there is a charge of 'X' dollars.
They either nod and say fine.......or no.
If its no.....leave.
The first time I was going to do this I nearly didnt do it. I dont know of anyone here who does, its common practice for people to advertise with 'free quotes' as the drawcard.
The general public has come to think that a free quote is some sort of right......then I come along and tell them its going to cost.
So far only one has refused. I was never going to get that job anyway.
There have been others where I didnt mention any charge......didnt get any of those jobs. ( a pattern is emerging here )
The last one where I stuck to what I already knew and charged.....they didnt blink and paid up, plus the non refundable deposit too. That non refundable deposit will get their attention. nobody wants to lose that. Plus once they have signed the contract......one way or another you will be paid for your time.
Best thing to do is, show them what they are going to get for the money, dont back down, change you mind or anything else. The ones who are serious WILL pay. The others are pulling your chain at your expense.
Not an exponent of the DILLIGAF system.
Excellent, AJ !
Stephen
Thanks AJ
appreciate that. the nonrefundable deposit is once you have the job? they have already paid you for giving them a quote? alos what kind price are you giving them for qoutes...do you simply base it on time spent?
the nonrefundable deposit is once you have the job?
yes. It gets them booked in and me started on arranging subs etc.
If they back out that deposit covers the time spent organising.
they have already paid you for giving them a quote?
Yes. The last ones accepted the quote, signed the contract and paid the deposit all in one go.
The contract is now compulsory. Once I have that, they have already agreed to pay the deposit. ( its in the contract )
what kind price are you giving them for quotes...do you simply base it on time spent?
With so many here offering a free quote in order to get inquiries coming in, I decided not to charge too high......ie: what it is really worth.
I charge a token amount.....like 50 bucks. It is enough to weed out the tirekickers, but just enough to let people know that I am not playing games with them or prepared to have them do the same to me.
However.......there is nothing to prevent you from adding your time spent quoting their job into your price.....is there?
I did a job earlier in the year that had a list of extra work we had done. This list could have gone forever, but as I had squeezed this one in, a line had to be drawn.
I left a jersey there one day and when I called in a day or so later to pick it up it was gone. Nobody could find it.
When the tally up of extra work was done, the cost of a jersey was added.
You can pretty much do as you please. I dont mean rip people off......but if they dont know how you price your work, how can they complain?
Not an exponent of the DILLIGAF system.
Thanks AJ for all the feedback
"guess it's just as well not to hear from him....seeing as how he drove me nuts doing a price, he'd probably drive me nuts doign the job."
Ah yes.
Tom
what AJ said...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"no one else got back to him with a price"
now you know why---- he drove THEM crazy also.
I actually like to hear that----- because when I do hear it I know I have an opportunity.
no one else will call the guy backAND he wants a lot of hand holding with the project price broken down 18 different ways?---------- go see the guy, make an appointment---be there exactly on time------ look at the project and give hime ONE price to do it the way YOU want to do it.- Period.
He can now do the project YOUR way at YOUR price--or he can do it himself.-stick to your guns--he doesn't have a lot of choices since no one is calling him back.
If you Don't get the job---- that's OK you aren't out much time and you didn't have to suffer through a lot of hand holding---- If You DO get the job--Great----it's at YOUR price doing it YOUR way!
just remember to stand firm---anytime he wants more handholding or more price breakdown simply tell him" I am sorry, but that's not how our business operates"
Regular customers you can give a little extra handholding to---pre-emptively---at YOUR convenience. I have some custom door customers right now getting that service. I call them up periodically" just wanted to touch base with you and let you know that I haven't forgotten about you. I checked with the lumber yard this morning and the doors still aren't in, but be assured when they arrive I will be over to install them absolutely ASAP"-------- that will handle things for about 10 days or so
Best wishes, Stephen
Thanks Stephan,
you gave me a lot to think about. I figured it as an opurtunity, by giving him what "he wanted" thinking that because I was so accomadating he would be happy. I did factor in all my time spent with him for the pricing.
in the end, I don't really care that I didn't get the job. and noramally I if they don't call back, who cares. just was surprised that after number of previsit phonecalls and 1/2 dozen postvisit emails, he misplaced his "send button."
Another thing to consider-
if he does some of the work, will you still be responsible if it fails inspection for the part he did?
I'll break down a job if the customer wants to do it in stages, but if it requires a permit, and my liscense is involved, no one else is going to do the work.
My son, when he encounters potential clients like that, either says that he'll be back to them when he's closer to caught up with his other jobs or deliberately bids so high that he'll be the highest bidder; although once or twice, he's still "won" the job, if that's the right verb.
"or deliberately bids so high that he'll be the highest bidder; although once or twice, he's still "won" the job, if that's the right verb."
I tied to explain this concept to a lady I know who was complaing about large price differences in quotes. I told her if a guy is so busy then it has to really be worth his while. she thinks we're crooks for quoting high prices. she thinks a price is a price, and shouldn't change.
"I told her if a guy is so busy then it has to really be worth his while. she thinks we're crooks for quoting high prices. she thinks a price is a price, and shouldn't change."
If that were the case I could just set a fixed hourly rate and fill my schedule based on when the signed contract came back in the mail - no cost limit, it is what the hours are. But, some jobs/customers are a bigger PITA than others, some customers want their job done ASAP which means putting others on hold and, of course, everyone wants a top end to the cost.
-Norm
Red flags start flying as soon as the HO starts in with "we were planning to do this part so could you price it both ways?"
All of a sudden the job becomes much more a pain (with some exceptions). I'd much rather just get in and get the job done. Before you know it he part they're gonna do becomes a full intervies for you on how exactly they should do the job and you end up being stuck it their parts of the job anyway.
I would say that you run into these type in the course of business, a deck is one thing, but try quoting a custom home with site particulars.
yeah I bet...something like that, do you charge for a quote?
No charge for a ballpark estimate, including a generic "Features Sheet".
Tire kickers usually get back off by the estimate. When clients are serious I require specs and full plans for a bid. Typically the HOs need plans drawn or at least modified, and specs written. I charge for these services, but discount the services with a Contract to Build. It works well.