18/02/2026
Facts…..
A customer phoned a contractor 8am monday morning , asked a contractor how much it would cost to do this project. Its urgent, I've been let down 3 times now.
So that very same evening after a hard days graft , the contractor went home, had a shower, ate his dinner as fast as he could, kissed his kids goodnight as he was going to price a job.
By the time he got home they would be fast asleep in bed
So the contractor looked out his diary , tape measure and some brochures , jumped in his car ,had to go fuel up ,and then drive 45 mins to the location given, the contractor spent over 2 hours free of charge, measuring up and giving free advice regarding various option on the best way to achieve a high standard finish with minimal disruption to the clients home , whilst listening to the customer waffle on , talking nonsense about the best way to do the job , because they had watched 3 episodes of " homes under the hammer "
Drove a further 45 mins home
Finally the contractor got home , got out his laptop , his diary with all the measurements previously written down that very same evening , scrolled the internet trying to find the best deals on materials he could to keep the cost down, work out how many day labour he would need to complete works and how he could fit it in to his schedule.
Finally near midnight he send his reply email to the client before clamouring to bed trying not to wake his wife , , setting his alarm for 5.30 am to start all over again
The contractor gave a quote: £4500.00
The customer responded: " That’s seems really high, can you do it cheaper for cash "
The contractor " when you go to Tesco, the Cimema or the Garage , do you get a discount for paying cash ? " so no Im afraid its same price for me if you pay cash , bank transfer, cheque or whatever your chosen payment preference is
The contractor asked: What do you think is a reasonable price for this job?
The customer answered: "£2500 maximum'
The contractor responded: "Ok, then I invite you to do it yourself."
The customer answered: "I don't know how to."
The contractor replied " that's because you haven't spent 4 years at college and 25 years on the tools perfecting your craft and gaining valuable knowledge "
The contractor said: Alright, then how about for £2500 I'll teach you how to. So besides saving you £2000, you'll learn valuable skills that will benefit you in the future.
The customer answered: Sounds good! Let’s do it!
The contractor responded: Great! To get started, you are going to need some tools. You will need a chop saw, table saw, cordless drill, bit set, router, skill saw, jig saw, tool belt, hammer, etc..
The customer answered: But I don't have any of those tools and I can't justify buying all of these for one job.
The contractor responded: Ok. Well then for an additional £300 I can rent my tools to you to use for this project.
The customer answered: Okay. That’s fair.
The contractor responded: "Great! We will start the project on next monday and make sure you have your public liability insurance in place , just incase something goes wrong "
The customer answered: I work Monday through Friday. I’m only available on the weekends.
The contractor responded: "If you want to learn from me then you will need to work when I work. This project will take 5 days so you will need to take 5 days off work."
The customer answered: "That means I’m going to have to sacrifice my pay for 5 days or use 5 days from my holiday allowance .
The contractor smirked , "well lucky you , me being self employed get absolutely no holiday pay , in fact I don't even get sick pay, no pay if a job is cancelled or I simply have to work booked in , and I don't get a pension either "
An akward silence before
The contractor added " Remember, when you do a job yourself you need to account for unproductive factors.
The customer answered: What do you mean by that?
The contractor responded: Doing a job completely from start to finish includes time spent to plan the project, pick up materials, travel time, fuel set up time, clean up, and waste disposal amongst other things.
That’s all in addition to the actual project itself. And speaking of materials, that’s where we will start on Monday so I need you to meet me at the merchants 6:45 am. ,we want to be first in when the doors open at 7 am
The customer answered: "At 6.45 am !! My work day doesn’t usually start until 9 am! "
The contractor responded: "Well then you’re in luck! My plan is to start on the deck build by 8am. But to do so we have to start at 6.45 to get materials picked up, loaded and delivered to your job site, have you got a van big enough to pick up materials or will you be wanting to hire my van for the week ?"
The customer answered: "You know, I’m realising that a lot more goes in to a job than what a customer sees in the finished project. Your quote of £4500 is very reasonable. I would like you to handle the project."
CONCLUSION:
When you pay for a job, especially a custom job, (whether it’s a physical project or digital project) you pay not only for the material and the work to be completed. You also pay for:
✔️ Knowledge
✔️ Experience
✔️ Custom Skills
✔️ Tools
✔️ Time to plan
✔️ Time to prepare
✔️ Professionalism
✔️ Work Ethic
✔️ Excellence
✔️ Discipline
✔️ Commitment
✔️ Integrity
✔️ Taxes
✔️ Licenses
✔️ Sacrifices
✔️ Liabilities
✔️ Insurance
If you request a quote for custom work to be done, please don’t disrespect a service provider by trying to get them to lower their prices.
If their quote exceeds your budget, there’s nothing wrong with getting other quotes.
Just remember.. you get what you pay for.
👉🏼 SERVICE PROVIDERS: Know your worth and be confident in it.
👉🏼 CONSUMERS: Recognise their worth and be respectful of it.
Sharing this to support all my friends, family and clients who are Entrepreneurs, Business Owners and Tradesmen!
