Assuming you quote a fixed price for a job and it turns out to be an unforeseeable nightmare, is it reasonable to charge extra or do you just put it down to experience?
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- Thread starter secret squirrel
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I don't quote fixed prices only estimates. Did one quote a couple of years ago and inflated the cost quite a bit, did the job and charged less than quote.
But if you had done a fixed price quote and something unforeseeable came up and bit you in the rse then I would stop at that point and discuss the options with the customer. I think as long as you keep the communication going then the customer (99.9%) would see things as a reasonable extra to the original price. In my opinion anyway.
S
secret squirrel
I try not to quote a fixed price for this reason, if I'm pushed then I tell them what I'm doing for the money but something else may come up. For example:
if you have quoted £200 to change a bath straight swap, when you take the bath out the waste is in copper not plastic, has been leaking an age and the floor is rotten, something you couldn't have seen because the side of the bath was tiled and had no access, So, totally beyond your control. The customer can see this for themselves and make a choice but you can't be out of pocket.
In the case of the toilet I could see it was going to be a pig and explained the situation before hand. If pushed over the phone for a rough price you'd say 'Oh about £60 including parts' the trouble is then you get there and see it!
I try and look at the job before giving a price but your not going to travel 20 mile round trip to quote on a ball valve! So, when you get there have a look thats the problem.....
For new customers and bigger jobs we tend to give fixed priced quotes, else it feels like we're working against the clock!
With problems and troubleshooting, by its very nature is somewhat open ended and is therefore charged by time, with a rough estimate at the start.
For existing customers and smaller jobs, then charging by time seems to work well and is generally fairer for them and us!
With problems and troubleshooting, by its very nature is somewhat open ended and is therefore charged by time, with a rough estimate at the start.
For existing customers and smaller jobs, then charging by time seems to work well and is generally fairer for them and us!
It has to be pretty extreme to charge more, but like I said above once I can see there is a big problem vs what I have estimated then I stop and get the customer involved in what needs to be done and the likely additional charges, if any.
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