Chat with a home owner yesterday made me rethink how I quote jobs

I was out at a house in Oak Park fixing a dishwasher that was 12 years old. The guy asked why I charge $85 just to show up. I told him it covers my gas, time, and basic diagnosis, but he kept pushing back saying other places do it for free. I mean, idk, maybe it's just me but that conversation got me thinking. We spend so much time on the road and in the truck that maybe we should be charging more upfront for the estimate part. Anyone else been second guessing their pricing after talking to customers?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamesm384d ago

I read a blog post last week from a contractor in Ohio who said he raised his trip fee to $95 after realizing how much time he lost on free estimates. He tracked his miles for a month and found he was spending almost two hours per quote just driving around. Sounded like his customers actually respected the higher price more because they felt his time had value from the start.

jesse_williams624d ago

Disagree a little bit here lol. Charging a trip fee makes sense if you're driving all over creation, but for most guys in a decent sized city, two hours per quote sounds like an exaggeration or really bad routing. I can knock out three or four estimates in a morning without leaving a 10 mile radius. Also, that whole "respect the price more" thing feels like a cop out. Some customers just want the cheapest guy and a $95 fee upfront is gonna scare them off before you even get a chance to show value on the job. You gotta read the room. If you're in a high end area where people have money to burn, sure, charge a trip fee. But for the average homeowner just trying to get a leaky faucet fixed, a $95 fee feels like a gamble that might not pay off.