Getting a reduced quote?

iamcornholio

How easy is it to get an increase on a quote that has been given?

I've quoted £745 for 2 windows, one 1100 wide by 1650 high with one opening at the top, and one 1500 wide by 1750 high with 2 upper lights, one of which opens.

Is it common to try and get quotes like this increased or do most people take the price quoted?

:whistle:

A quote is a quote.

If a customer wants to start haggling on a fixed quotation even before the work starts, alarm bells would be ringing on what they would be like actually paying up when the work is done

alleycat`

iamcornholio wrote: »

How easy is it to get an increase on a quote that has been given?

I've quoted £745 for 2 windows, one 1100 wide by 1650 high with one opening at the top, and one 1500 wide by 1750 high with 2 upper lights, one of which opens.

Is it common to try and get quotes like this increased or do most people take the price quoted?

:whistle:

A quote is a quote.

If a customer wants to start haggling on a fixed quotation even before the work starts, alarm bells would be ringing on what they would be like actually paying up when the work is done

A potential customer is quite entitled to ask for money off, just as much as the company is quite entitled to say the price is the price.

If the question is asked politely what is the harm?
The company are, I'm sure, big boys and girls and quite capable of saying No.

The potential customer then can continue with the service or chose not to take up the quote.

OP: if you don't have a competing quote that is lower for the same quality and service then your position is somewhat compromised but it hurts nothing to ask.

iamcornholio

alleycat` wrote: »

A potential customer is quite entitled to ask for money off, just as much as the company is quite entitled to say the price is the price.

Of course they are.

But the whole concept of a quotation is to provide a fixed price for the work

If the company can reduce a quotation, then it was too high in the first place, so can they be trusted?

Likewise, if the potential customer wants a quote reduced, as opposed to just going with another company's quote, then can they be trusted to pay?

This type of negotiating or procuring work is a Dutch auction and not an acceptable way of getting quotes unless you tell the companies in the first place that you want to negotiate on price

alleycat`

Fair enough.

I'm taking my thinking from the part where we've already discussed the fact certain trades / companies will over quote for jobs they don't want.

If companies / trades people are going to over quote on purpose it is going to lead to this customer behaviour (I'd have thought).

For all we know all three of these quotes are over the top as the job is going to be a PITA

iamcornholio

If, as the OP has done, three quotes are obtained and they are all within a tight range, then it can be assumed that they are all competitive and the market rate. IN which case it is wrong to negotiate further - unwise I'd say, as the one chosen to negotiate with may not be the one who discounts the most.

This is completely different to over-quoting, if the price range is so close

If one quote is way different to others, but other criteria are the same, then it would be worth asking the firm to confirm if their quote is accurate, and if they want to amend it

There are the likes of the window companies who start at £20k, and then make further reductions ending up at £3.5k. But that is a different scenario and tends to be done just by the rep as part of normal slaes patter. If you ask them for their best quote, that is what you should get and rely on, as the basis for any dealings, and reflection of the company