A Tale of Two Estimates
April 17, 2008 by Deborah Ng
Filed under Consumer Information, Doing it Yourself
If you’re a regular visitor of Simply Thrifty, you’re probably following the sad saga of our DIY fence project. Thins are moving along…slowly.
One of the hold ups involves a few trees growing around the fence we’re to replace. Before we install a new fence we have to remove the trees and grind down the stumps. We also have a very old and sick Maple tree falling apart on our front lawn. We decided to have that one removed too, just for kicks.
We called more than half a dozen tree companies and handymen to come over and give us estimates. So far, only two actually came by. The first was an independent handyman and the second was a reputable tree and landscape service, rumored to be very expensive.
Here’s how they measured out:
Estimate 1: The Handyman
- Returned my call three days later.
- Didn’t show up until three days after we set the meeting. At first he said he couldn’t find our house. Then he said he rang the doorbell but no one answered even though our cars where there. Then he said he came and no one was home and he couldn’t see the ribbons around the trees and didn’t want to come in the yard because of the puppy. We don’t believe him.
- Made it clear from the second he got out of his truck I was a woman and therefore had no clue. My husband should have made it a point to be home.
- Told me it was our fault the trees grew around the fences and now I have to pay the price.
- When explaining some of the issues we were facing said “yeah, right, beautiful” to cut me off and started talking again. I told him I was still talking and then proceeded to make the tale of our fence rebuilding into the sad saga of a busy couple too busy to maintain their back property. I added a new paragraph for every time he looked at his watch.
- He told me the fence would have to be torn down and shed removed before he would come out and remove the trees and grind down the stumps.
- Estimate: $1500 for removing trees and grinding all stumps except those behind the shed which he didn’t want to touch because there was a groundhog hole. I know. We would have to move the shed and take down the fence before he would come out to do the job.
Estimate 2: The Expensive but Reputable Tree and Landscape Service
- Returned my call in two hours.
- Showed up exactly when he said he would.
- Very respectful from the second he rang the doorbell.
- Listened attentively and didn’t make me feel like I was a woman who didn’t know what I was talking about.
- Offered an estimate to remove all trees and grind down all stumps – including taking apart and putting the fence back together and moving the shed out of the way and returning it back to its original spot.
- Estimate: $1500.
Guess who we’re choosing?
I made a mistake in thinking an independent contractor would be cheaper than someone with an established business. That’s not always the case. Plus, the representative from the landscaping company was neat, respectful and offered suggestions without being rude or condescending.
Sometimes it doesn’t pay to look for cheap, sometimes we should just look for the best and see who gives us the most bang for our buck. I know I’m pleasantly surprised.
That’s why you go with multiple estimates.
My parents have had several pieces of work done to their house in the last 5 years or so, including:
new room, new furnace, new water heater, fireplace, stump removal, new garage built, landscaping, and maintnance to landscaping.
The only contractors that were capable of completing the job to the contract and show up when they said they would was the tree and landscaping service. The other ones would regularly miss appointments and not meet the contract in many ways.
@SJS – I would have had even more estimates if people would return calls.
Chris D – Interesting, isn’t it? We hear how the mom and pop businesses are losing out to the big corporations – the one thing they should have in their favor is reliability. That’s not always the case.
I don’t think it’s fair to cast this as “independent handyman is ignorant country bumpkin.” Let me share my two estimates for a deck:
Handyman: Showed up on time, was polite and respectful. Provided me with printed list of local references. Obviously knew his business as we talked about the deck, construction, possible setbacks, etc. Drew out the deck on graph paper, noting features such as concrete footings, moving sprinklers, where to fasten to the house.
Estimate: $6,500.
Home Improvement Company: Salesman shows up with laptop, has slicky book with lots of photos of prior work. Lays out deck in software so it looks amazing. Pressures me about financing & scheduling a date. Estimate: $17,000.
Now I still haven’t built the deck (bathroom flooding redirected our home improvement funds), so I cannot comment on the work performed. However, I have no reason to doubt they both would have produced a deck my family would be happy with.
I just wanted to contrast my story with “handyman is lazy idiot, home improvement company consummate professional, and they both gave the same estimates.”
There’s no way of telling other than getting multiple estimates and calling references.
Philo – I agree. Your mileage may vary. This is my tale of two handymen and unfortunately the handyman lost.
I know there are good reliable people out there. I wish some of them would have returned my call.
You’re absolutely right about the importance of getting references and estimates.
I think it comes down to the same old lesson – some people just are good people, good employees, good workers. Others are not. I had my own experience w/the “Little lady, you don’t know anything about garage doors.” -type guy. Well, I do. And he didn’t get our business. Sigh. Hopefully we can all remember this lesson as our kids grow up and get jobs. I plan to teach my son basic courtesy and manners…I can only do so much to help the situation now, but I can definitely invest in the future workforce =)
We got quite a few estimates on our furnace and installation, many years ago. One guy low balled it and we couldn’t figure out why it was so low, so we didn’t go with him. We were afraid he was trouble waiting to happen because it was so very low. A couple more came in at a middle price, and one sent out by a home improvement store came in very high. I had the feeling that they had enough work, and didn’t want to tell us no, so they just raised their price super high. We went with one of the middle ones, who showed up on time and wrote everything out on a contract so that we knew that was the price. I’ve learned that you need all your estimates in writing, or it may be higher after the work is done. We were happy with the work that was done as it was estimated.
I’m so happy that you got two estimates and didn’t just assume as so many people do. And even if the handyman had been ‘cheaper’, going with a reputable expert is usually the better bargain in the long run. I’ve seen soooooo many people get burned trying to save a buck. Meanwhile, the people who know what they are doing sometimes have to go out of business because they can’t always match the prices of those who are just out there to make a quick buck.
I wonder how handyman #1 stays in business. Very smart of you to get more than one estimate.