I agree that $39 or $49 does not even come close to covering your expeses for doing a estimate. That is why I wouldn't call it an estimate fee. It's a Service/Trip charge. The estimate is free. You have to figure your expenses for the estimates into your overhead if you don't charge for them. This overhead will get factored into your prices. So your prices will cover the estimating expenses. Your customers pay your prices so in the end they are the ones paying for the estimating exspenses.
I've heard the reasoning behind charging the service/trip charge is to weed out the people that are just price shopping or only care about the lowest price. It can be hard to quote a price over the phone unless it is for an existing customer and you are familiar with their residence.
It seems that the business we are in are one of the few businesses that will drive to someones home, spend 2 hours talking with them, drive back to the office and complete an estimate without charging them for it.
I don't know the best way to handle this but I figure if I do what the most successful companies are doing I have a much better chance for success. After all they didn't become so successful by accident.
If the most successful companies are doing it that way shoudn't I?
If they're using flat rate shouldn't I?
I don't want my business to rely on me answering the phone so I can qoute prices over the phone. I would like it so that anyone can answer the phone and follow a script to try to sell jobs. I wouldn't expect my call taker/office person to be able to give estimates over the phone.
I don't think very many customers would be willing to pay what I would need to charge to cover all my expenses for an estimate.
When they call what would I tell them that it will be $200 for me to come out and give them an estimate for the work?
I think they would just hang up.
[This message has been edited by A-Line (edited 12-14-2004).]
