What is a good response to a client that rejects your estimate? Her reason for rejecting the estimate was “she decided to go with a more local company” ( which we live in the same town, so didn’t understand that.) I really didn’t want to push on it so I want to give a good courtesy response.
Any help would appreciated. Thanks in advance
Thanks for the opportunity. Have a great day.
That’s all that needs to be said.
I appreciate the consideration. Please reach out to me if I can be of any help in the future. Have a good day.
Yep stay 100% positive. I’ve landed jobs like this when the other guy doesn’t show or doesn’t accomplish the mission. You just have to separate out what you WANT to say from what you SHOULD say. 
What you should say:
Good morning prospect,
Great to hear from you again. Thank you for letting me know - I’m glad you got this scheduled. If you ever have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out. Have a great weekend!
Best,
Yo Name
What you want to say:
Good morning prospect,
Ok - interesting choice. Thank you for letting me know that you’ve chosen a sub-standard company to save a few bucks. I use the term company loosely because I doubt the guy has an occupational license let alone insurance. Good luck dealing with your personal insurance company when you become familiar with what a red tip is. When you’re ready for me to come to fix that guy’s mistakes just know I’m going to charge you double.
Best,
Yo Name
Thanks for that response, gold. By the way, I also liked the connoisseur of concrete line you used in another thread. @Infinity any chance of making this his moniker? 
i always tell them
I understand, good luck and you have my number if you are not happy with the results.
That was my same sentiments
No need to reply
Ditto what Innocent said. I had one rejected yesterday over the phone. All I said was “sounds good. Have a nice day.” and hung up. Your response doesn’t matter beyond being in the range of common decency. Why would it matter anyway? You’re not going to change their mind with a few words.
I am with William. I have a minimum, and do not budge from it.
Giving back a snobby response, shows frustration…
Let it go, No need to respond…
As a segue, I had a previous WC customer call and ask about her new condo. She thought I was…a certain price per window, but I told her my price and she said, “another company quoted me (x dollars) and I’ll just go with them”.
Thing is, my price is $2 more per window and she only has 8 windows.
I am blanking on who this quote is from, but I have really wanted to say it to a couple of customers that really got under my skin. “If price is your only consideration, then I am likely not the right contractor for you.”
A rejected estimate doesn’t need to be a conversation, onto the next one.
Probably someone profitable lol.
Hopefully you have a minimum for traveling which would be more than the price of cleaning 8 windows!
For 8 windows ( i count glass panes, not windows, so let’s say 16 glass panes) i would be at 16x5$ Cad which is 80$ Cad. BUT my minimum is 145$ for window cleaning. This extra 65$ helps with traveling, time to quote, time to invoice etc etc.
I highly recommend you do the same!! 
If you are new asking why you didn’t get the business can give you:
1 Insight into your own business
2 Insight into your competition
3 Insight into your customer
4 More vague answers from your prospect
Rarely do you get an opportunity to truly know why you didn’t get the business, “going another way” is pretty much a smoke screen. Whenever I lose business I always thank them for the opportunity (sometimes through gritted teeth) but always ask a follow up question like “Do you mind if I ask…”
who did you go with?..were we close in price?..etc. Rarely will this save the sale but you can get valuable information to grow your business or better know your competitor. Occasionally I find I didn’t do a good enough job of explaining something, that really hurts. Sticking your chin in for one more swing is scary but what the heck, let them fuss and tell you “none of your business” you’ll never see them again and you might learn something.
By the way, when you’re established you have enough business you don’t care as much when you lose one. Get established and your referral centers will make the sale for you " Johnny did such a great job you need to have him clean your house…"
I talked to my brother about estimates because I was curious. It is getting to be that people have to pay a small fee for estimates in some areas now. He won’t even give an estimate for a job he thinks is less than $600, tells them to take the work to someone else. He says a lot of guys are saying that the fee for the estimate will be deducted from the final bill if they get the job. I don’t know, but living in the sticks and driving to homes to give estimates for deck reno is getting old real quick, especially when you don’t get the gig. About an hour plus of time, plus anywhere from 10-20 in gas. Most places are at least 30 min drive one way.
Charging for estimates is pretty common in other industries. Many times, they will apply the fee toward the final bill if the estimate is accepted.
If you’re spending an hour on an estimate, then a modest fee seems reasonable.
Most all of my quotes are done via pics, google earth, etc. Occasionally I’ll go in-person if I’m already in the area.
