(Updated: Mar 13)
What is an evaluation fee, and why you won’t find them at Harper’s Plumbing?
As Reece is a plumber, I never have tried to call other plumbing companies in Calgary for plumbing services. After all, I have an in house plumber. However, I recently opened Google up, typed “Calgary Plumber” and did some market research. I wanted to call a few of our competitors just to ask, “how much do you charge to replace a toilet?” What I found shocked me.
The Baseline: Harper’s Plumbing
First, let’s just review what happens when you call Harper’s Plumbing. When you call us we get a clear understanding of your problem. We may ask for additional pictures or book an on-site visit. Once all the required information is gathered, Reece, one of our qualified, licensed Calgary based plumbers, will provide you a range for an estimate. I figured this is what all Calgary plumbing companies do….right? Boy was I wrong!
The Market Research Call Results – Estimates, for an Evaluation Fee
I expected the calls to local Calgary plumbing companies to go something like this:
Q:”Hi, how much would you charge to replace a toilet?”
A: “Well that would generally take ___ -_____ hours and we charge $______/hour“
Seems simple and easy enough. You would think that is how it would go. Nope. When I called while the receptionists who answered the calls were friendly, they could only book a time for a technician to come to my home to provide me with an onsite quote. For a fee. On average an $85 fee which they call an “Evaluation Fee.” Some of the companies I called said they would take this amount off the invoice if you proceed with them, and some just use it as the base fee for the call. So you are paying for an estimate and receiving zero services.
So How Much Will That Be Again?
Plumbing companies should be able to tell you if replacing a toilet will cost approximately $200 or $2,000 before even setting foot on your property. After all, there are only so many ways to replace a toilet!
“Call it an Evaluation Fee, but it is just charging for an estimate in disguise.” – Reece Harper
Evaluation Fee Math
Just doing some simple math, if you were to call 4 of these types of plumbing companies in Calgary to quote replacing your toilet you would be paying a total of $340 in just evaluation fees! So at the end of the day for $340, you have the same toilet and 4 estimates to replace it.
Paying for Actual Services
Put your hard earned money towards an invoice, not an evaluation fee. We believe at Harper’s Plumbing in treating our customers like family. We wouldn’t want our family to pay for an estimate and we don’t believe you should either. Contact us today. No evaluation fees. Ever. Period.
