Paying for an electrical estimate?

Question is...did you pay the 50 bucks

Yes. You need to ask if places to free estimates before you book them in (although I agree they should disclose costs upfront), you are just as silly for not asking. I always assume there will be a charge anytime some provides a service (including an estimate), unless explicitly stated its free.

If the company tells you about the estimate fee after the fact, how do you think they are going to handle telling you about the rest of the fees?

Yes it is common to charge for estimates.
Not everyone will do them for free, especially smaller companies and, unless they clearly state free estimates in their advertisements or such, you must believe you will be paying. Time and gas gas to be paid for.

Thanks for the replies so far.

No, I didn't pay the $50. Is that a typical amount for an estimate?

I get that giving an estimate does cost time and gas but wouldn't most places be upfront about that? He took a risk driving all the way to my house, spending the time to walk through it and then ask for the $50. In this case he wasted his time.

My understanding is that some companies give free estimates and some charge, so isn't that something any company would want to be up front about because the pricing structure is not standard practice?

I learnt such lesson once. Since then I ask if they provide free estimates.

It appears to be fairly common and no, I would never use a company that charges me to find out how much they'll charge to do a job. Companies should always be specific about what they're going to charge before doing any work and this includes providing quotes.

dirtmover wrote: ↑It appears to be fairly common and no, I would never use a company that charges me to find out how much they'll charge to do a job. Companies should always be specific about what they're going to charge before doing any work and this includes providing quotes.

Why not?
There are lots of companies out there that are only one, two or maybe three employees. They cannot afford to stop their jobs to come out and have a chat with you without any assurances of getting the job. They would have to stop what they are doing, drive out to you and then spend who knows how much time with you answering questions only to be told that they got someone that was $25 cheaper (if you even had the courtesy to call them back), and then drive back to the paying job they were working on.
That is the unfortunate life of a small businessman. Too bad you won't do business with them.

The company I work for charges $49 to come out and quote (described as truck and travel charges),
our customers are told up-front there is a charge and are told that the charge is waived if work is commenced
but trust me, they are not making anything off of this charge as it rarely even covers my wage for the time typically invested in doing a quote
The charge is there to deter tire kickers
And to those who say they won't call a company who charges for a quote, or pay someone for a quote then you are sadly mistaken, as the time invested in doing free quotes is almost always made up within the price Of the job somehow

hitman_24 wrote: ↑The company I work for charges $49 to come out and quote (described as truck and travel charges),
our customers are told up-front there is a charge and are told that the charge is waived if work is commenced
but trust me, they are not making anything off of this charge as it rarely even covers my wage for the time typically invested in doing a quote
The charge is there to deter tire kickers
And to those who say they won't call a company who charges for a quote, or pay someone for a quote then you are sadly mistaken, as the time invested in doing free quotes is almost always made up within the price Of the job somehow

I don't mind if it is up front...if it is done after the fact like OP, then it is a rip off.

stt55pot wrote: ↑I don't mind if it is up front...if it is done after the fact like OP, then it is a rip off.

100% agree with you!

While I understand that companies lose money when giving estimates, it is tough on the customer. If they want to get 3 quotes on a job (a reasonable number IMO), at $50 each estimate you would be out $150 before any work is done (with the understanding that $50 will credited to the job if you go with one of those companies). Depending on the size of the job, that can be a significant enough amount to be a deterrent to paying for quotes.

It's always been my understanding that the cost of those estimates is built into all jobs.

hitman_24 wrote: ↑The charge is there to deter tire kickers

I used to get screwed on this whenever I went out to someones house.. I looked at it, figured out how to do it, and told them how it would work.. Then they end up hiring some idiot off of Craigslist to do the job and tell him how a professional would have done it.

BuildingHomes wrote: ↑I used to get screwed on this whenever I went out to someones house.. I looked at it, figured out how to do it, and told them how it would work.. Then they end up hiring some idiot off of Craigslist to do the job and tell him how a professional would have done it.

I see your point...I forgot rfd is mostly in toronto....lol...cheap...I wouldnt tell anyone how to do it ...except on rfd....

BuildingHomes wrote: ↑I used to get screwed on this whenever I went out to someones house.. I looked at it, figured out how to do it, and told them how it would work.. Then they end up hiring some idiot off of Craigslist to do the job and tell him how a professional would have done it.

QFT, I can't tell you how many times I have had people make me go step by step explaining to them how I'd do a job, for the sole purpose and intention that they will be doing the job themselves

TheHux wrote: ↑ It's always been my understanding that the cost of those estimates is built into all jobs.

If you look at the other side of the coin, why should customer A who hires you, pay for customer B's free quote?

Like I said, the fee is just to deter tire kickers who may not be serious about actually having you do work

stt55pot wrote: ↑I see your point...I forgot rfd is mostly in toronto....lol...cheap...I wouldnt tell anyone how to do it ...except on rfd....

It sounds like you are in a whole other industry
When a homeowner is requesting information about how you are going to do a job in THEIR home, you can't not tell them

Based on a lot of your previous posts you sound like a paranoid homeowner who asks a lot of questions because of past Bad experiences, how would you feel if a a trades person refused to answer your questions? You definitely wouldn't be hiring them

TheHux wrote: ↑While I understand that companies lose money when giving estimates, it is tough on the customer. If they want to get 3 quotes on a job (a reasonable number IMO), at $50 each estimate you would be out $150 before any work is done (with the understanding that $50 will credited to the job if you go with one of those companies). It's always been my understanding that the cost of those estimates is built into all jobs.

If you want to save money or interview people since you want a better price or better feel for the person that may potential do the job, it should be at the customers cost, not the company giving customers a bid.

I think we customers should be charged for estimates in hopes that the ol free estimate costs will no longer be factored into every job.

Last time I got a quote on windows, furnace, a/c, humidifier etc, I did about 40 hours of research, then called up companies for estimates and got about 3 over the phone. When it was time to make the actual purchase I brought all the information including window sizes, furnace btu's etc and got an amazing price. I was not charged for estimates since it took them 10 minutes of there time from there office. The actual companies were amazed at all the research and gave me a great price since they told me I made there job easy and were willing to lower the price based on a 15 minute sell on there part. When it came time to manufacture the windows, they double checked my dimensions just to be sure and all went amazingly well. Same for furnace, a/c etc.

I understand that time is money and I don't want to waste anyone time unless I'm paying for it.

stt55pot wrote: ↑I see your point...I forgot rfd is mostly in toronto....lol...cheap...I wouldnt tell anyone how to do it ...except on rfd....

If I were going to give a company the job and they were not going to tell me how it was going to be done if I asked, that would be a red flag for me.

hitman_24 wrote: ↑It sounds like you are in a whole other industry
When a homeowner is requesting information about how you are going to do a job in THEIR home, you can't not tell them

Based on a lot of your previous posts you sound like a paranoid homeowner who asks a lot of questions because of past Bad experiences, how would you feel if a a trades person refused to answer your questions? You definitely wouldn't be hiring them

nope...you are wrong...it is called troubleshooting and calculations......if it is electrical estimate, run a wire inside the wall, run a few more wires, connect to panel...rofl...why would anyone want to know how to connect wires ....what so hard about the explanation. In electrical, it is all about calculations and know what to connect...seems like you are in the wrong industry...hell...if any joe blow want to connect a few wires randomly...go ahead...insurance might not pay if there is a fire.

stt55pot wrote: ↑nope...you are wrong...it is called troubleshooting and calculations......if it is electrical estimate, run a wire inside the wall, run a few more wires, connect to panel...rofl...why would anyone want to know how to connect wires ....what so hard about the explanation. In electrical, it is all about calculations and know what to connect...seems like you are in the wrong industry...hell...if any joe blow want to connect a few wires randomly...go ahead...insurance might not pay if there is a fire.

Let me quess that you do not quote jobs to homeowners often, because if you talked to a homeowner like that nobody in their right mind would hire you

You aRe missing the point here and you aren't making any sense. How could you tell someone how to do something on RFd, but not explain the same sort of thing to a person whom you are hoping hires you to work in their home?
They may be asking questions just for their own knowledge and to feel like they are a part of the job, or they may be asking in order to take advantage of your knowledge with the intention to do it themselves.
Either way you will never know for sure unless the outright tell you.
The bottom line is if you don't answer questions that are asked, you will not get hired. Period.