He probably just insisted on a written quote as alluded to in his previous post. Perfectly legitimate for a good business relationship, but tends to scare off the cowboys.
rpvr,
Feb 5, 10:06pm
When you say you don't quote, I assume you mean you don't give a written quote, but you still look at the job before giving your rough estimate of hours etc! If so I think that's quite a good way to do it, any customer should be capable of checking approximate prices of materials if they want to. There was a guy I had do small jobs a few years back and his approach was to estimate a "worst case scenario". Customers were happy when the final bill came in a little below that estimate.
quiz3,
Feb 5, 10:25pm
Do you belong to Grey power, of course this depends on your age, 55 plus I think to be a member. Anyway down here we have a list of retired builders, plumbers, gardeners, joiners, mechanics etc etc and they can be called on anytime. Just a thought.!
stevo2,
Feb 5, 11:34pm
I look at the job and will say thats 10 to 15 hrs at $xx per hr. Materials at my cost. Most will jump at the chance.
stevo2,
Feb 5, 11:42pm
I had one enquirer who wanted a quote to replace 3 weatherbds, fix a broken window, fix a couple of holes in gib and ease a few interior doors. Probably 10 hrs work and they were getting several quotes. It would have taken anybody who quoted it up to 2 hrs to look and quote. That is 20% of my time would have gone into quoting if I got the job. The unsucessful tenderers would have lost 2 hrs ($100) each. The only way is to load up the price on all quoted work so that the jobs you win will make up for the jobs you lose. This is the sort of thing I dont want to quote on
russ18,
Feb 5, 11:49pm
Have had people ring with no hot water and wanting me to go there and give them a quote first, estimate or maximum price over the phone wont do - must be a fixed quote.no thanks.
tigra,
Feb 6, 12:19am
LOL. Thats a thought. I consider myself a friendly up-front person and, carefully assessing the time I spent with the tradesmen who have come to look at this job, I honestly dont think I have done or said anything to scare them off. Maybe its my BO or bad breath. The job is tricky but I have made no comments about price expectations etc. Just want quotes.LOL!
tigra,
Feb 6, 12:26am
Thanks rpvr but even an estimate would have been better than what I got which was silence.Job is a bit tricky but not beyond the ability of a good tradesman. Just wanted a roof over a patio, attached to the existing house the catch is the house is Rockote over Hardie panels and that seems to have put everybody off.
russ18,
Feb 6, 12:29am
Well I found nothing scary or off-putting when I did that job for you. unless there's something wrong with both of us!
t_naki,
Feb 6, 1:26am
The problem is that often small jobs are worthnot worth pricing as the quote time is about the same as doing the job and you cannot build that into it like you can on a larger job. The best bet would be to get them to do a quick estimate and if it sounds reasonablejust get them to do the job. Or even better find someone who is recommended and just get them to do the job.
tezw1,
Feb 6, 2:11am
Finally we find out that is not just a 'little' job. Do you have a drawn plan of the work you want done! With details of all the junctions, beam sizes, rafter sizes, roof cladding, etc. If you aren't supplying that information you are asking for more than a quote, you are asking for the Tradesman to come up with a design first and then price it. This takes longer than you think and why bother if there is chance you won't be paid for it. DBH is always going on about how tradesmen aren't designers and shouldn't be assuming that role. How are you going to compare quotes if they are not all pricing off the same design! Are the rotten steps included in your Scope of Works or are you just expecting a tradesman to randomly price maintenance works required on your house!
bluecat1529,
Feb 6, 2:15am
+1. We get asked all the time to quote small jobs and it really isnt worth it. By the time I spend an hour fielding the phone call, going to look at the job and coming back, sourcing material prices, and writing up the quote and emailing it it costs $70 in time and running costs to quote a couple of hundred dollars work for someone. And you cant add $70 onto a $200 quote to cover your time because customers wont pay it. And thats an hour that I could have spent earning on another job or at home with my family.
venna2,
Feb 6, 2:20am
I recommend Builderscrack - there is a website, just google the name. I have found excellent tradesmen several times this way. You get guys who actually want the job, and you can read their feedback.
tigra,
Feb 6, 4:55am
Thanks russ18 andI have recommended you to several otrers. It was good having you do my job.
tigra,
Feb 6, 4:56am
Why did you quote my post - I never mentioned"little job or rotten steps" !
peacebird15,
Feb 6, 7:53am
Quoting small jobs is a form of economic suicide for tradesmen. UNLESS
you charge for the quote you work small jobs at a higher hourly rate than normal ones, including travel (as travel and clear up between jobs is a big killer of time)
tezw1,
Feb 6, 9:31am
My applogies,upon re-reading I realise I have managed to get you confused with the OP However the middle part of my post is relavent,are you going to allow a tradesman to design a junction detail that has the potential to affect the weathertightness of your house. After all they are to blame for the leaky house crisis ;) lol
kernal1,
Feb 9, 8:45am
Have had a few jobs done, sucessfully and delightful trades people on Builderscrack BUT please check all references, previous work done etc etc!'This site is just a contact and after one complete disaster from a recommended 'trade person' (nightmare results and fix it bills) do your homework and check, check, check!
dee238,
Feb 9, 5:36pm
Builderscrack - for those of you who used this site for jobs like electrical, plumbing, roofing, etc, did you only consider tradespersons with Accreditation, or did you go by the previous work done/owner's review on them.
Kernal1 - how can you check their references.I've only seen reviews on jobs completed.
kernal1,
Feb 12, 4:27am
Maybe 'reference' not exactly correct!Ask to view/talk to people who have used the services.word of mouth is the best avenue for both you and the Trademan and a genuine worker will not mind giving you this info! On the other side of the coin a happy customer will have no problem recommending.
haydennaomi,
Feb 12, 6:10am
so when you called these tradesmen for a quote i hope it was after hours or did they send you a small bill so they could credit the client they were working for when you called
annrob,
Feb 12, 8:24am
I had this issue- had to get three quotes for work and had to settle for two- after trying to arrange quotes with over 15 different people. They don't turn up, turn up late (sometimes over a week randomly) and don't send quotes, or sent a quote in one case over 5 weeks later. I was told it was because this is the builders' busy time. There is no urgency for the job I need doing, and I was happy to wait for a couple of months but needed to get approval.Those 15 tradesmen will never get business from me. And the jobs are costing over $8000.
kam04,
Feb 13, 7:57pm
I've found in the past that some people think because it may be a small job they want done they shouldn't have to pay much either.They don't take into account the cost of getting there, the time spent there + parts, then want to pay cash but they don't have it on them at that time and tell you to come back later to pick the money up. Not worth it for a job worth say $60 - $80
rarogirl1,
Feb 13, 8:42pm
eg 1. Customer will ring up and say i've just dropped something in my bath and now there is a crack, how much to fix. Quote $190 plus gst. Customer says what! for $50 more I could buy a new bath. We say yes you can but then you have to pay the plumber, the builder, perhaps a tiler and the delivery of the bath. eg 2. Customer will ringand they have a shower to install how much! We ask what sort of shower! Customer says oh just a standard3-sided plus door. Quote $170 + gst. Get there and its a chinese shower bought of trademe with a million pieces to put together and instructions all in chinese so it takes 3 times longer than usual with parts missing. eg 3. Customer rings have a little crack in shower tray how much to repair! quote $190 + gst get there and shower tray is so old the customer has put their foot through it and has been like for some time as it is all soft spongy underneath so therefore unrepairable. Just a fraction of scenerios we deal with.
rarogirl1,
Feb 13, 8:49pm
So very true. My partner is constantly interrupted by cellphone calls for jobs he just tells them to ring the landline and leave details and he will get back to them, so after working all day comes home and then answers all the phone calls, we have always considered this as part of the job but it can take a couple of hours and then the invoicing needs to be done, Time for a price rise me thinks.
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