I have always given a free roof quote service. And this is stated quite clearly on various places on this website. But I still get people calling me and asking is the quote is free.
Sometimes, I take the time to explain to them that the roof inspection and the subsequent quotation is a free service that they receive when they make an enquiry and request my services. But this service is expensive to supply and it is provided because it is almost an industry standard.
And because I refuse to go out to some suburbs because it is too far away (and therefore very expensive for me to do a ‘free’ quote), I get the occasional request to do a PAID quote. Clients actually offer to pay me to come out to look at their roof and work out a quote to repair or replace the roof. I must admit that I get tempted to take up their offer when this happens – but I am unsure how much to charge them for it – so if I am enticed to go and do the quote, I do it for free.
How much does it cost me to provide a free roofing quote to repair a leak or to replace a roof?
I usually do all quoting of roofs myself. Sometimes I ask one of my guys to do some when I am not available (like when I fall off my bicycle…) or if it is more convenient for them to do do.
I value my time at $300 per hour.
It takes me an hour (or two hours nowadays due to the bad traffic) to travel out to do a roof quote and an hour inspecting the roof for leaks and damage when I get there. Then it is half an hour to an hour to put all the numbers together on my computer to generate the quotation and send it out.
3 hours per quote equates to $900.00. And that does not include any vehicle costs!
There is a saying that “There are no free lunches in business”.
…and this is largely true.
So, somewhere in my cost structure, I have to incorporate the cost of doing free roofing quotes to my business. Whilst it is free to the person enquiring, It will not be free if they decide to go ahead with my quote. Reality is that the cost of the free quote has to be built into the price of the roof work that we do. Otherwise, my business (and any other business) will go backwards without knowing it.
Is this fair?
A client complained to me that it was not fair that genuine ‘buyers’ had to pay for the cost of providing quotes to the ‘tyre kickers’ out there who just want as many quotes as possible from roofing companies just so that they can get the cheapest job.
But that is just the quirky nature of life. It does not seem fair. And we can go into countless hours of argument about fairness…
So, to wrap up….
If you decide to ask me to do an inspection on your roof in Sydney for a repair or replacement (preferably within a 20km radius of Strathfield), it will be a FREE QUOTE to you.
… But for the sake of transparency, we do have an ulterior motive in providing free roof repair inspections and quotes. We are in the roof repair business for the long haul and every bit of data we can gather about why roofs leak and how we can do proper roof repairs, will pay off for us in the future. We are harvesting data that we hope will ultimately benefit us and the homeowner.
