On Tue, 28 Jun 2011 09:09:27 +0100, The Medway Handyman wrote:


People are told on a regular basis to 'get three estimates' and they
apply that to jobs of all sizes.

The way I cope at the moment - over the phone - is to say "the labour
will be between £65 to £85 and the materials between £10 & £20 - I will
only charge for the time taken & the parts used - so a maximum of £105,
but more likely less".

That seems to work - what do the panel think?

It's your business Dave, if it works for you ... that's what being your
own boss is about - you get to choose your own business model.

FWIW I do something similar if pressed - give a guesstimate with a lot of
ifs ands and buts.


If it sounds like a weird job I will go around to have a look & quote a
fixed price.

About the only times I quote fixed price are either with a letting agent
who needs to quote a price to their client (no doubt with a hefty markup
for themselves[1]) - there I'll quote a practically worst case if-it-can-
go-wrong-it-will price; or someone pretty hard up, where I'm doing it as
a semi pro-bono job.


Problem is worse with 'remote landlords' - people who live outside the
area but rent out properties locally. Arranging with
agents/landlord/tenant, collecting & returning keys etc.

So, I'm thinking of saying to them "I'll go around & look, if the job is
less that £XX I will do it there and then, if its going to be over £XX I
will call you with a quote".

What I'm asking is; how much should £XX be? I'm thinking £75 - does
that sound reasonable?

Again it's your business, but if £75 covers your time collecting &
returning keys and allows you a reasonable chance to get a bit of work
done then fair enough. I suppose it's the nature of my work that if they
have, say, a heating breakdown they want it fixed asap and don't faff
around with playing one engineer off against another, so they usually
just ask me to go in and fix it whatever. There's been about one time I
can think of where I've had to say something like what you're saying.

I have something similar with private customers: I sometimes have to
explain that if I go in to look at a problem and either can't fix it then
and there or can't do so at all then I won't charge, but if I can fix it
or even just make a useful contribution e.g. doing some non-trivial work
to pinpoint the problem, then I charge.


[1] I was once in a letting agent's office while they were on the phone
to the client: the agent put his hand over the receiver and asked me how
much the job would be. "About £60" I said. "Ninety pounds plus VAT" he
said to the client.

--
John Stumbles

There's nowt as queer as folk.
Especially other folk.

On 28/06/2011 18:34, John Stumbles wrote:

[1] I was once in a letting agent's office while they were on the phone
to the client: the agent put his hand over the receiver and asked me how
much the job would be. "About £60" I said. "Ninety pounds plus VAT" he
said to the client.

Someone remind me why, as a landlord, I manage my ownm properties...?

David