Why I do not give quotes

I sometimes get asked to give quotes even though I state on the charges page that I don’t give them, here are my reasons.

Handyman Outlook

As a handyman, people often require me to help them with small jobs and because the jobs are small they understandably want costs kept to a minimum. The types of work I am engaged to do are infinitely varied and as I do not do any particular job on a daily basis I generally have no accurate idea as to the cost of materials or time taken to complete a task, meaning that either you or I will be unhappy with the amount charged, which is neither fair nor conducive to a good business relationship also, with some jobs you simply cannot tell what's involved until you actually do the work.

Additionally, If I were to attempt to size up a job, then drive round trade outlets to get actual prices for materials for a quote, this all takes time, whereas I could have completed another job for someone else in the meantime, as with the exception of decorating, much of my work that people ask me to do is completed in under an hour and therefore I often do many jobs for different people in a day.  In order to maintain this low cost charging structure, I must keep myself earning in order to make the business viable and protect my future service for my clients.

Sole-Tradesperson Outlook

Many sole-trade people prefer to be on site for a day or more and build in additional costs to their quote in order to cover themselves for the time and travelling costs in making the quote, they also factor in for all the times they quote but don’t get the work (usually due to these additional costs) and additionally a safety amount to cover any unexpected eventualities on the job itself so as they always make a profit i.e. there is no such thing as a free quote as the cost for doing a quote must be factored in somewhere and unforeseen potential loses covered or else the tradesperson would go bust.

The fact that sole-trade people do not wish to do smaller jobs is borne out by all the complaints I hear from new clients on how they have contacted a sole-trade person, booked an appointment for them to come and have a look and have then spent endless hours waiting in for them and who never turn up (because the smaller jobs are not important to them if they have larger jobs to do, which suit their way of working better).  Sometimes my clients have found that they have received a competitive quote only to find that the trades person doesn't turn up to do the actual task itself.

The Choice Is Yours

My existing client’s find that the way that I conduct business is fair to everybody, by hiring me they are saving themselves the hassle and costs.  They understand that they would be hard pressed to get someone in for the price that they pay me and also as I am “multi-trade” I can do many different things on a visit and remember that my services are VAT Free, saving them another 20%.  In all instances I promise to keep you informed at all times, offer honest advice and if appropriate suggest alternative solutions.

For further reassurance, please read what client’s have said about my service by going to the Testimonials page where I have copied people’s comments from on-line sites such as Trading Standards, Freeindex or Yell.

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