Nathan, there are several ways of doing this. I know both because my brother who works hvac educated me and we are slowly moving that way ourselves.
For crappy repairs it sometimes isn't worth my time as the sales man to go investigate the problem type up a proposal mail it and persue call backs. DUH! on me if the job is valued at $150 it's just not worth my time.
We are slowly beginning to tell customers on the phone when they have crappy repairs "THis is not something we give estimates for. If you'd like I can send over a very capable roofer to diagnose and fix your problem. His charge is $X per hour plus the cost of materials."
If they choose no then I don't care because for me to come out and give an estimate on most repairs is a waste of time. If they say yes then everybody is happy and the repair gets done fast.
I've found most people charge a premium for the first hour, like $60 to ring your door bell then $40 each additional hour. I've also found most people mark up their materials, while we charge the time it takes to actually buy the material.
For crappy repairs it sometimes isn't worth my time as the sales man to go investigate the problem type up a proposal mail it and persue call backs. DUH! on me if the job is valued at $150 it's just not worth my time.
We are slowly beginning to tell customers on the phone when they have crappy repairs "THis is not something we give estimates for. If you'd like I can send over a very capable roofer to diagnose and fix your problem. His charge is $X per hour plus the cost of materials."
If they choose no then I don't care because for me to come out and give an estimate on most repairs is a waste of time. If they say yes then everybody is happy and the repair gets done fast.
I've found most people charge a premium for the first hour, like $60 to ring your door bell then $40 each additional hour. I've also found most people mark up their materials, while we charge the time it takes to actually buy the material.