Refusing small jobsaccep

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Getting a bit annoyed now with the small jobs and people not wanting to pay, should I just say/set a minimum and tell them on phone, save wasting my time and fuel.

got in at 9 tonight after wasting 5 hours driving about town.

chimney breast board and skim £160.00 - got the job/now cancelled

room skim over old bonding on 2 walls, also patch bottom of stairs £155.00 - not got, didn't even give email to send proper quote.

Kitchen ceiling after leak, repair, patch and then re-skim full ceiling 4x5 £180.00 not got, too expensive, told me there and then

full bathroom d&d 2 walls full skim to 3x1.5m bathroom £350.00 accepted there and then.

what are people's thoughts on guesstimating on the phone, i have a job to price tomorrow, other side of town, hallway & landing ceiling in a 3 bed semi, I feel like just saying £150.00 on phone (won't be far wrong) if he takes it ok, if not iv not wasted my time and fuel

I pay all proper tax and run things correctly.

cheers, MAC
 
I never do over phone once you say a price u got to stick to it and you can turn up to all sorts of problems :RpS_unsure:
 
you cant price without seeing the job.. you cant get the job without going out to price it.. no one gets every job they look at, one of those things I suppose,
 
you can not guess at a quote. i know from the address if i am wasting my time.
if it is a recommendation, if it is local, i know that its a goer.
if the caller sound asian i do not bother.
i ask the caller what needs to be done? fill in a hole i do not bother. city boy, does not get home to 8 pm i prick my ears up!
 
Pain in the arse doing the running about giving quotes but if you dont then you dont get the work.
Some give you the work there and then some dont, some ring back , some dont.
Most of my work is referals thank christ. Lost count of all the timewasters and wasted journeys.
Booked until new year so no giving prices until 2015.
 
mac_plastering said:
Getting a bit annoyed now with the small jobs and people not wanting to pay, should I just say/set a minimum and tell them on phone, save wasting my time and fuel.

got in at 9 tonight after wasting 5 hours driving about town.

chimney breast board and skim £160.00 - got the job/now cancelled

room skim over old bonding on 2 walls, also patch bottom of stairs £155.00 - not got, didn't even give email to send proper quote.

Kitchen ceiling after leak, repair, patch and then re-skim full ceiling 4x5 £180.00 not got, too expensive, told me there and then

full bathroom d&d 2 walls full skim to 3x1.5m bathroom £350.00 accepted there and then.

what are people's thoughts on guesstimating on the phone, i have a job to price tomorrow, other side of town, hallway & landing ceiling in a 3 bed semi, I feel like just saying £150.00 on phone (won't be far wrong) if he takes it ok, if not iv not wasted my time and fuel

I pay all proper tax and run things correctly.

cheers, MAC
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I pay all proper tax and run things correctly?
its ok mac tax man won't be on here matey :RpS_crying:
Or is he big brother is watching lol :RpS_biggrin:
 
You can give a minimum price on phone based on description then that will leave an expectancy that it will/could rise when u see it.
Least you know if the base price is too high not to go.

I hate time wasters.
 
Cassie, I just fed up of wasting fuel and time buddy.

i think I'm just going to start telling people I charge a minimum of £xxx no matter how small the job is.

just seem to be pricing loads and not getting them, last night £700 to rip out, re board and skim a bathroom, she thought it would be about £400, i explained after materials, waste disposal and tax I'd come out with £160 for 3 days work, she didn't give a fook, just ushered me out, this in a decent area too.

I dont work for Asians.
 
I have the same little script I go through with job enquiries : Location, brief description of work and how did they source my number. I used to get 4 out of 5 little jobs I viewed (on average) probably more like 2 out 5 nowadays :rolleyes) but its part of the game
 
If it's a small job you can give them a guide over the phone based on experience if you ask enough questions.. Then you call tell straight away if they want a £50 a day man. Saves the journey.
 
Im working for asians at the minuite, they own a local hotel that is being renovated,I was expecting them to barter on pay day but no, I have been there a month now and they have, to my surprise,been great with payment,they chase me on fridays"come to my office, I pay" got lucky by the sounds of it.
 
kgreigh said:
Im working for asians at the minuite, they own a local hotel that is being renovated,I was expecting them to barter on pay day but no, I have been there a month now and they have, to my surprise,been great with payment,they chase me on fridays"come to my office, I pay" got lucky by the sounds of it.
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I read the last bit in a Chinese accent is that the right part of Asia
 
Ask plenty about the job let them know what you charge for the day and take it from there. Recently I have priced a few jobs over facetime and skype that way i dont waste time or fuel going to the job, the customer gets an instant quote and ive seen the job. Obviously not all customers are able to do that but its an option for most.
 
I think its part and parcel with the job... I would not want to quote on something i have not seen.... Who knows what can crop up....

Looked at render jobs in the past using google street view though :D
 
mac_plastering said:
Cassie, I just fed up of wasting fuel and time buddy.

i think I'm just going to start telling people I charge a minimum of £xxx no matter how small the job is.

just seem to be pricing loads and not getting them, last night £700 to rip out, re board and skim a bathroom, she thought it would be about £400, i explained after materials, waste disposal and tax I'd come out with £160 for 3 days work, she didn't give a fook, just ushered me out, this in a decent area too.

I dont work for Asians.
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Why don't you just do quotes once or twice a week, say Tuesday/Thursday? That what I started doing as I was running about every night pricing work and it was doing my nut in. If they can't wait a few days for you to quote they've prob got others lined up already.
 
Same as you @stuart23 .... I don't quote every night either ... sat mornings and maybe midweek depending who/what it is ..
I also never estimate any job on the phone ... what's the point when you haven't seen it ?? Plus like others have said its easy to see the customers that want it for nothing /next day / fishing for rates ... I always take an email address as its in writing and has my t&c's etc... none of this o well you said roughly this much etc lol
 
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Olican said:
I have the same little script I go through with job enquiries : Location, brief description of work and how did they source my number. I used to get 4 out of 5 little jobs I viewed (on average) probably more like 2 out 5 nowadays :rolleyes) but its part of the game
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Try and lookat ten jobs then you wil be back up to 4, :RpS_thumbup:
 
I do go out and price 4/5 jobs usually twice a week, I covered 65 miles tonight in pricing work alone after finishing work at 4, I also take email address via text and send a pdf file quote with price, terms and conditions on, iv been doing this 10 years.

i also give the customer a leaflets and business card, wear smart workwear with the website plastered all over it, I don't come across as cheap.

if it's a small job 1 or 2 rooms say, I will usually give a rough estimate upon seeing it, but tell the to look at the quote, customers are only interested in price, if it's 1 or 2 walls or a just a ceiling I'm going to start saying the price will be FROM £xxx

this is for small plastering jobs, not rendering jobs or anything more than a ceiling or a wall or 2.
 
adamd said:
Same as you @stuart23 .... I don't quote every night either ... sat mornings and maybe midweek depending who/what it is ..
I also never estimate any job on the phone ... what's the point when you haven't seen it ?? Plus like others have said its easy to see the customers that want it for nothing /next day / fishing for rates ... I always take an email address as its in writing and has my t&c's etc... none of this o well you said roughly this much etc lol
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Whats the point in Driving 10 miles across town, when you know it's 1/2 small walls, spend 1.5 hours in traffic only to be told they were expecting to pay £60 including mats and tax.
 
There's a minimum (not a day rate) I will work for, I don't think letting customers know on the small jobs will do much harm, I think it will save money in fuel in the long run.I don't do any rendering on day rate, it's always a fixed quoted price, even to larger contractors
 
mac_plastering said:
Whats the point in Driving 10 miles across town, when you know it's 1/2 small walls, spend 1.5 hours in traffic only to be told they were expecting to pay £60 including mats and tax.
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Well for patching / small jobs just say its half day minimum ... I have the odd elderly customer who asks because its a few holes etc - I only ever do things like that on a sat morning tbh....must be some traffic you hit though lol .... that would do my head in as well
 
beddy said:
Mac why would you leave yourself £160 for 3 days work?
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sorry buddy, it would work out at £240 after tax and mats, still not enough for the amount of work being done.

Had a phone call today which was 1 wall and straight away told the guy it's a minimum charge of £130.00 + materials for smaller jobs, he seemed happy enough and still wants a proper quote, I think this is the way I'm going to try and tackle the smaller works
 
plasterjfe said:
You can give a minimum price on phone based on description then that will leave an expectancy that it will/could rise when u see it.
Least you know if the base price is too high not to go.

I hate time wasters.
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Exactly I give them either an hourly or day rate plus materials then if they are happy with that I will go and look.
 
Must be rotherham @mac_plastering I went to look at a job last tues in your area. They wanted wall doing but then said what about ceiling so went back again priced it and got it again wanted it doing Asaph as usual. So I spent an hour last Thursday moving the blokes round to other jobs so I could go help them out this sat. Phoned him fri to tell him be sat he was happy and thanked me. Got a voice mail today saying jobs cancelled because someone can do it Friday. So after me going twice moving men and jobs round I still got screwed but I'm not bitter:RpS_bored:
 
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i was talking to a plasterer from ipswich who told me that he does not go out quoting work, he tells the customer that he will turn up and do their work on an agreed date and he gives them the quote when he arrives if they do not like it then he just goes home.
when i first started doing private work, in a boom time, i was out every night doing quotes, i would do each of the 5 local towns on a certain evening to keep the travelling down.
 
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