To think tradesmen should come back with a quote quickly?

[audreyroberts]

I am thinking of having my bathroom done. Had 4 tradesmen round to quote. But only 1 given a quote
How long do you think you .should wait for a quote. I was thinking 2 days unless they have advised you it will be longer. I am i expecting too much?

i am currently waiting for separate quotes for kitchen and garden work. People came round last Monday to measure up and i stressed i would like the garden done asap as i wanted to make the most of the rest of the summer. The Gardeners all assured me they would get back to me by Thursday (as did the kitchen guy).

Still nothing! I texted the gardeners today saying if i didn't hear i would go somewhere else. They both called back with excuses saying i would have it on weds (i'm not holding my breath!)

I think the problem is they are busy and know i want the work done asap, so rather than telling me they don't have capacity to do it they hang out the quote to waste time.

Very frustrating.

DeWe - that's lovely that the builder explained it to you, though.
that shows real commitment, I think.

Speaking from experience, it is getting prices back from a supplier or contractor that slows down your turnaround time on quotes. I would be dubious of any quote containing items other than direct labour that was returned in under a week . Their prices might not be current. Also bear in mind seasonality when requesting work. Everybody and their dog rings up a week before Christmas or summer hols stressing that the work they have in mind MUST be done before said event. Means trades are often very busy and often a bit hassled at these times.

Fireblade is right - if your boiler isn't working perhaps now's the time to try and fix it.

Also, people saying they want a quote asap would probably moan if the price goes over because it hadn't been quoted correctly.

no i am a plumber/gas engineer and you should have a quote back within 2 days . it is not the correct way to treat potential customers

A week would be fine. A lot of tradesmen are not hugely computer literate and I have had some painstakingly badly typed quotes posted to me after a few days of obvious late night struggle again the evil forces of technology!

Beyond a week, forget them.

Also depends on the size of the job. Dh is an electrician, so if there are numerous products to price up, for example all kinds of different cable, networking, telephones, solar panels, different switches and fittings, then a quote will take far longer than if you just want a new light over your bathroom sink or whatever.

So allow longer if your bathroom is a big job, to allow them to take the time to get it right. Having said that, dh would aim for a quote within a week if he wanted to do the job, maybe a bit longer if he wasn't bothered, and he would follow up with a phone call after a couple of days.

I suppose a week is reasonable to wait, doesn't stop me being impatient after we had a builder in for a quote on Monday!

I suspect in our case they don't/won't want the work as it's not a very big job. There's no pricing up to do because it's all labour costs, no materials etc.