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That is frustrating ... Which reminds me of a peeve ... Intersections that do not have the street names on them ... The only way for you to know what street is coming up is to see the sign in the middle of the block prior to reaching the intersection ... Like how many folks would be looking for those signs?
Okay....you got me here Chatteress!! Oh this one really gets my goat!! HELLOOOOO? LOL
The use of symbols and apostrophes in a public forum, as if that makes everything acceptable. If you can't spell it out completely, maybe you ought to think of a more appropriate wording.
People who won't give you a ballpark figure on the phone for a repair job in your house.
My water heater went kaput the other day. Called this plumber, asked for a quote. Refused to give me quote of any kind, insisted someone come out and give me an estimate. A Red Flag I stupidly ignored. To replace a 38Gal. water heater:
$1500! I all but chased him out of the house with a broom!
Then called Lowe's. They gave me a straight-up quote on the phone, I had to run to Lowe's to sign the contract in the a.m., it was installed the same day perfectly. $660! And I added $50 for a 5-year all-inclusive warranty.
Went thru the same thing buying replacement windows for my house. Had the measurements, begged for a quote. Pella insisted on sending someone out. No thanks, I know where this is going!!! Called Lowe's, straight-up, no BS quotes. They're all installed now, and I'm happy with them.
Don't give me a ballpark figure on the phone, I'll look elsewhere!
Last edited by tijlover; 02-05-2011 at 10:34 PM..
Reason: edit
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I don't think you're alone in your experience. Lowe's and HOme Depot have helped a lot of homeowners take care of business without being cheated. Some contractors are criminals hiding behind a company name. Srsly.
Location: I never said I was perfect so no refunds here sorry!
6,489 posts, read 7,178,879 times
Reputation: 29855
OK...OK here it is I have to wait until 6:30 this evening to watch the super bowl....so now there is no excuse for not doing laundry, cleaning the rooms and all those household chores I could otherwise pick from if that game was on at 1 or 2!
People who won't give you a ballpark figure on the phone for a repair job in your house.
My water heater went kaput the other day. Called this plumber, asked for a quote. Refused to give me quote of any kind, insisted someone come out and give me an estimate. A Red Flag I stupidly ignored. To replace a 38Gal. water heater:
$1500! I all but chased him out of the house with a broom!
Then called Lowe's. They gave me a straight-up quote on the phone, I had to run to Lowe's to sign the contract in the a.m., it was installed the same day perfectly. $660! And I added $50 for a 5-year all-inclusive warranty.
Went thru the same thing buying replacement windows for my house. Had the measurements, begged for a quote. Pella insisted on sending someone out. No thanks, I know where this is going!!! Called Lowe's, straight-up, no BS quotes. They're all installed now, and I'm happy with them.
Don't give me a ballpark figure on the phone, I'll look elsewhere!
I have a different take on it, being in the kitchen design business. I don't know how many times we have had people come in for a kitchen remodel design and want to know how much the installation is going to cost. Sorry, without actually seeing the job, I have no idea if the walls are square, the floor is level, if there is electrical work that needs to be rerouted, if the plumbing will work as it is or if it is crumbling and needs replaced. I don't even know for sure if the measurements you brought in are accurate. It doesn't matter if you say you are just looking for a ballpark figure. I have no idea if the ballpark you are talking about is the local Little League field or Yankee Stadium. There have been instances where someone wanted a total and when we went out and checked the job, we found out that there was a load-bearing wall that needed to be removed that was conveniently not mentioned. Even if they say they won't hold you to it, any number you throw out in that first conversation can come back to haunt you.
In my opinion, anyone who will give you a price over the phone, without looking at the job, is "averaging" his prices, knowing that he could lose something on some jobs, but he will definitely make it up on others. And he may be making sure that there are very few that he will lose anything on. It is OK for you if you happen to be one of the ones that is underquoted, but I sure don't want to be one of the ones he uses to make up his overhead.
No two jobs are alike and I would be more suspicious of someone who quotes without looking at it than someone who insists on looking at the job first. You can be pretty sure that the phone quote is going to attempt to cover all possible scenarios and most of them will charge the quoted price whether they actually do everything they figured or not.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,012,380 times
Reputation: 36027
Quote:
Originally Posted by bjh
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Thanks for giving us the other side of the story, rrtechno.
In peeving news today: drivers who stop on the crosswalk or too far into an intersection when they have a red light.
That so irks me as a pedestrian! The crosswalk was design for pedestrians to cross not as a waiting point for the light! I recall once I was crossing a street with a cart load of groceries and this idiot extraordinaire comes up and blocks part of the crosswalk forcing me to walk dangerously close to a busy major street! I just wanted to whack him one!
^
Thanks for giving us the other side of the story, rrtechno.
When someone gives me a ballpark figure on the phone, I automatically add $100-200 to the quote, assuming they're going to run into problems, and there'll be incidental costs.
When Lowe's gave me that ironclad $660 quote on the phone, I added $200 automatically, figuring they'd come out here, run into problems, and there'd be furthur expenditures.
I'm still shocked to this day, that they never deviated one dollar from that quote as I had an extra $200 in my pocket, waiting for the unexpected.
If I had a more major remodeling project, I'd probably add $500 to the quote. $500 more? Fine and dandy with me!
Last edited by tijlover; 02-07-2011 at 10:34 PM..
Reason: edit
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