Quote free or not anymore

[Pieter00]

Hi guys, do you still provide free quotes to your clients or do you charge a callout fee for a quote?
If you charge to go and do a quote, what’s the going rate currently?

Some say the quote is free but add the time driving to the client etc into the quote and some charge for doing a quote and give a discount on the invoice to the amount of the callout of the quote.

What’s your take on this?

[Isetech]

I don't offer free quotes, period. the last free quote I did took 5 days to prepare, value R650 000.00. The customer decided the project could wait a year or 2, I sent him the bill for preparing it, they didn't pay, it was the last time I did work for them.

The only time I would even consider doing a free quote, if the customer sends me 3 quotes with the scope of work and bill of quantities, I would consider offering a counter quote at no charge.

I sometime will do an "estimate", thumb sucker figure, but don't put it on an official letter head.

[Leecatt]

A quote consists of your petrol, wear and tear on your vehicle, your time, your experience, money that you have paid to get where you are today, and it also keeps you away from earning a salary with another job. How can you possibly give that away for free?
In fact a quote is part 1 of the job. Part 2 is the rest of the job should you get it.
If you go to a doctor and tell him that you are sick then he will do an examination and tell you that you need to take a pill. That is exactly the same thing. Does he do that for free?

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[Isetech]

Unfortunately we are to blame for our own problems within the industry . The industry created a norm, which has just never evolved with technology or the times.

I have been operating for an 30 year the only thing that has changed since 30 years ago, we now have computers and cellphones and internet banking, but the way the industry operates is still the same. Now instead of the cheques in the post, the excuse is now, the person who does the eft is out the office for a few days.

You would think with all this smart tech, there would be no such thing as bad debts.

The process could not be easier :

Fill out a service sheet on a tablet or phone.

The devices automatically creates an invoice.

You click send, via old methods like email or SMS or direct link to the customers device, WhatsApp, or any of the other apps available.

Then customer uses their credit card to pay using your mobile device or they log into internet banking and click eft done.

The problem is not customer nor the technology, it is the outdated methods still used by the companies in the industry.

It's like collecting material, who still allows their electricians to go sit around at wholesalers for an hour to collect material, wasting 2-3 even 4 hours by the time you add the travelling, loading, etc, then expect the customer to pay for all that time wasted. 60 minute (R35) deliveries are real thing in 2022. If your wholesaler doesn't have a 60 minute delivery service, you should consider a better more organised wholesaler.

As for the industry pricing structure, having to phone a wholesaler to get a price for a single socket outlet, really, is this 2022 or 1980.

The same with quotes, your customer can create the scope of work and send you pictures of what they need done. Time has become an extremely expensive and valuable assets. Quotes are also so 80's technology. If you are driving to a site, chatting to the customer, then going back to the office to create a quote, you will become like video rental store.

It time to up your game and learn to move forward with the times. Let this this be a warning to wholesalers and electrical contractors, this is what separates the 70 % fail rate in the first 5 years from the 5 % still operating after 10 years.

[Derlyn]

As time goes by, it gets easier and easier. What I mean is that the number of times you need to quote decreases. As you build your relationships with clients, you quote less and less until it gets to the stage that you deliver the service without even having to quote. They get to know you and know what to expect, a decent job, making yourself a fair profit, without the need for them to question the invoiced amount.

I do free quotes.

That said, the only time I still quote not knowing if I'm gonna be successful is when I am contacted by a prospective client for whom I have never worked for previously.

So, for some, quoting for free is a no no.
For me, quoting free has worked and I fall into the over 30 years and still going strong group.

There is no hard, fast rule.