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Questions to Ask A Home Repair Contractor (Besides "How Much Do You Charge?")
Everyone in the service
industry cringes a little when people call
and ask, "How much do you charge?" No,
it's not because we charge too much. It's
because, deep down, we know we cannot
completely answer the question.
Some service firms will quote an hourly
rate over the phone, but does that really
tell you anything? What any homeowner
really wants to know is, "How much will it
cost me to fix my problem?"
To answer that question, the service
company needs to know 1.) the exact nature
of the problem, which cannot be described
with certainty over the phone, and 2.) how
long it will take to fix it.
Quoting an hourly rate might seem to
provide a rough estimate. Yet how often
have you seen home repair jobs drag on for
hour after hour with ‘the meter running’?
Too many variables come into play,
including the exact nature of the problem
and the skill of the service technician
dispatched to your home. Some are more
experienced and work faster than others.
With this in mind, I would like to suggest
some other questions that you - as a home
owner - might wish to ask of the people
you call for home repairs and service who
quote you hourly charges over the phone.
“Can you guarantee a maximum price to
do the job?”
Expect to hear a lot of stuttering and
stammering with this one. Some contractors
will laugh out loud. However, there are a
few progressive contractors, like us, who
do quote exact prices, guaranteed, once
they perform a diagnosis. Usually they
charge a modest upfront fee for the
diagnosis. Nonetheless, it does remove the
guesswork.
“Do you charge for time driving to and
from a supply house?”
Some jobs might require only 15 minutes of
labor to perform, but you'll see the
service technician disappear for an hour
or more to go pick up parts not stocked in
the truck. Supply houses are some of the
favorite hangouts of many service techs.
Many serve free coffee and snacks to their
customers, and it's a great place to catch
up on the latest industry gossip.
“Who will be doing the work?”
Sometimes it will be a master mechanic
with many years of experience. At other
times, though, it could be a youngster
with less than a year under his belt -
maybe even an apprentice filling in during
an absence. Who does the work has a lot to
do with how much you end up paying when
rates are quoted on an hourly basis.
“If the problem persists or reappears
after your mechanic leaves, will you come
back to fix it at no extra charge -
immediately?”
Most companies will answer yes to these
questions, but watch out. Most labor
guarantees extend only a month, which is
not very long when you think about it.
Also, call-backs tend to be the lowest
priority when service firms get busy.
“Can you show me proof of a license and
insurance, both general liability and
worker compensation?”
This is a big one. Most people don't
realize that if an uninsured worker gets
injured while working in a home, the
homeowner can be held financially
responsible.
On the flip side, in some states where
licensing is required, a homeowner is not
obligated to pay for any work done by an
unlicensed contractor.
“What time will you show up? ”
Most service companies can't pinpoint
their time of arrival closer than "morning
or afternoon." This can get expensive if
the homeowner has to take off a full or
half-day of work. Progressive service
companies can , many times , pinpoint
within an hour or two when their service
technician will be at the door. If he or
she does get delayed, these companies will
call with an updated time of arrival.
Another useful gauge of a service firm's
value is if there is even anybody
available to answer these questions. Many
contractors try to do business using
answering machines, promising to return
calls at some undetermined time. This
isn't much help to someone who needs an
emergency repair right now.
Also, how many of you have had this
experience - you call one contractor and
leave a message on an answering machine.
Then you call someone else to do the work
who is available at the moment.
A day or two later, the contractor with an
answering machine calls you back. You
inform him that you had someone else do
the job. Then he asks, "How much did he
charge?" You tell him, and then the guy
says, "You got ripped off. I would have
done the job for half that price!"
Reminds me of the old story about the
customer who goes into a store to buy a
toaster. The owner rings up a $25 sale.
"That's outrageous!" the customer
complains. "A store down the street sells
the same toaster for $15."
"Well, why didn't you buy it there?" asked
the owner.
"Because they're out of toasters."
"Heck," replied the owner, "when we run
out of toasters, we only charge $10."
Let the buyer beware.
Proprietary Information,
Kevin Shaw Plumbing, Inc & Nexstar
Network, © 2005
If you are looking for a
plumbing contractor in the San Gabriel Valley, please call us
today at 626-359-1864 or complete our
online service request form.
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