Charge for quoting?

First of all, thanks to all who replied to my introduction in the Newbies section, here is my first question for the more knowledgeable out there :cheers

I wondered, do any of you guys charge for estimating the cost?

Because of the increasing price of fuel, I am struggling with the idea of starting to charge for a site visit followed by a written quotation rather than offering it as a free service as I do now. I’m reluctant to give customers any idea of cost over the phone as it can be dangerous to give a price based on measurements that they have made themselves without actually seeing the job.

If I start charging for estimates I am worried that I may risk losing business, and either way it wouldn’t guarantee me actually getting the job. However, it would be nice to meets prospects knowing I have been paid for the opportunity to present my services.

Here are a few benefits I can think of if deciding to charge:

(1) Some people may think that by charging they immediately become 'the contractor to beat' regardless of any lower-priced bids because they have provided a valuable customised service while other contractors have given just a ‘ball park’ figure over the phone.

(2) An established business relationship has immediately begun when charging for the visit because the customer has now paid for a service and is more likely to continue the relationship more so than a contractor who has merely given them a 'free estimate.'

(3) I don’t think all customers are just looking for the cheapest price or a freebee when shopping around but I think they are looking for the best value for money. If you charge for the initial visit you are establishing this value right from the start.

(4) Rather than compete on price, you would be setting the expectation for what it takes to arrive at the final cost accurately.

It would be nice to know if any of you on this forum have been brave enough to try this out, and if so what the results were.

Many Thanks,
Bob
www.floorfixer.co.uk

 

I don't think I would do it. It use to work for b&q but they were a big company. Customers would pay for their flooring in advance plus the £20 measure charge which they would be refunded if they went with the fitting quote.

 

Myself I don't charge either and cant see me ever doing so. I always try to tie in my quotes when im in their area. Not always possible though.

 

I never would charge for a quote, If someone wanted to charge me for giving a quote on work I wanted doing I would go somewhere else, my initial thought would be that they must be overpricing.

 

One of those things unfortunately in regards to diesel cost and people not going for your quote/estimate, I always try to give them a ballpark figure when talking to them just so they know what to expect, no point going to quote somebodys 30m2 lounge in amtico if they think it can be done for under a grand, woods the worst for that ive found why is it people work out how much it is gonna cost them to do there lounge etc at just the cost of the wood? do they think you buy the wood from homebase and they give you bars underlay and scotia for free?

 

For my business I got my measuring guy doing about 30-50 measures a week and I know if I charge money for it most people wont even bother getting it measured, petrol and diesel does cost money but unfortunately thats part of the job

 

I don't charge for quotes I don't think it's a good idea, but I don't give written quotes any more either, got fed up with customers hawking them to other shops who then do it for a tenner less.

 

I swop a few emails to give them a idea of cost before I go out. That way you can tell if they are serious.

 

Nor me, rarely give sq mtr prices either, just the all in price for the job.

 

Don't waste your time on quote finders....get an idea on what they wanna spend, my old conversion rate was over 90% for 6 yrs running. Never give out sizes. If they want sampling, charge cos they're only get prices elsewhere or say your bring them with you when you quote. It helps iron out the wasters !!

 

I now know who to hunt for when I'm looking for a sales person for my new business

 

If you did a floor assessment like a damp test, a drawing, measure nett an with waste. What stages to do the floor, what screed primer dpm etc that needs to be used. I would charge for that.

 

Thanx to all for your views on the subject.

The general consensus of opinion is that charging for a survey is not a good thing, so I have decided against it.

Bob

 

It's an excellent idea if we could all implement it together at the same time!
Unfortunately that will never happen - my conversion rate on measures is pretty low, 30-40% probably. I know that a lot of customers will hawk prices around with other companies but not sure how to get around it, some good ideas on here though.
Best one i had was a couple of years ago, 60 mile round trip to price a new kitchen in a pub, £3k.
Customer rang me one evening to say i'd got the job, then rang back the next morning to say they'd given it to someone drinking in the pub!

 

My conversion rate is around 95% of quotes I do, but generally the majority of my orders are under 1k, and of the few I dont get they're more often the ones I dont want anyway.

 

You must do alot of quotes Steve the amount of red carpet points you got

 

2790 at the minute

 

Bloody hell!