"People actually fall for that shit?" Called a contractor for a quote to clean our carpets and tile

[Floyd R. Turbo]

flooring. Asked when someone could come out to bid on the work. He told me “Thats not the way it works. We give you an estimate over the phone and schedule the work. The technician will adjust the price accordingly when he reviews the scope of work. If you decide that you don’t want the work done you’ll have to pay a trip charge of $95.00 and a restocking fee of 15% for the materials.”

My response was the thread title. He hung up on me!

[RKP5637]

1. A total WTF!!! n/t

[Floyd R. Turbo]

4. He's the third contractor that refused to come out and give me quote. They all wanted to provide an

estimate over the phone.🤬

[True Dough]

2. Dirt floors require much less upkeep

FYI!

[underpants]

3. Do you put down fresh straw when company is coming over?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

8. He's a stable genius! NT

[Floyd R. Turbo]

6. I actually have a friend in New Mexico that has dirt floors!

[underpants]

5. They must.

I’ve got a guy coming over tonight to estimate painting our house inside and out. We’re moving so I don’t really care. I’m hoping he won’t be there long.

[Hoyt]

7. To be fair, it's expensive to send someone out for a low priced job, when the client is

likely to select the last bid because they’ll probably undercut the earlier bidders a few dollars.

I’d probably have asked for the phone bid, just for the heck of it.

Understand your response too.

[marylandblue]

9. I like to send people like that to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Believe it or not, one actually almost did it, because he was from India.

[Tipperary]

13. People from India would not use google?

[marylandblue]

14. I'm sure they did after we talked because they never called back.

[emmaverybo]

10. My husband is an electrical contractor. He will not quote on the phone, but offers free

consultations, sometimes spending an hour looking things over. Then he figures the bid. I called a housecleaning service. Free consultation and going over everything. Those who charg3 to step into the house to see my project and discuss it, I won’t have.
You told ‘em.
You can always complain to the state licensing board about a practice.

[lettucebe]

11. Imagine the cost of doing the bid is included in the bid

If the contractor feels he must be compensated for trying to get more work. I'd tell them uh, no, THAT'S not how it works

[DeminPennswoods]

12. Carpet cleaners

that I've used usually charge by the sq ft or by the room. They have a pretty good idea of the cost once you tell them how many rooms you want cleaned. But I would never have a project like new carpets, roof, cement work, etc, done without the contractor coming out to look at the job and give me an estimate.

[LisaL]

16. Installing new carpets is much more expensive than just cleaning them. So in that case they don't

mind showing up to give you an estimate.

[LisaL]

15. They don't usually need to come out to give you a bid if you tell them what kind of floors you have

and the square footage.
I had my carpets cleaned, they just gave estimate over the phone, then showed up and did it. I mean, it's not rocket science to give an estimate knowing the square footage and the kind of floor is in need of cleaning.

[panader0]

17. As a contractor, I have bid hundreds, if not thousands of jobs.

Never over the phone. I have to see what's going on.
Many times I put in hours and hours working up a bid, and didn't
get the job.