Am I the only one who charges to inspect jobs here in Wisconsin? I get lots of calls, but when they hear that I charge 50 bucks to inspect the home they tell me that they got someone to do it for free. At least half of my appointments get cansled because of this.I dont think 50 is too much to charge, and I put it twards the work if I get the job.

Are you insured? Do you explain how the 50 is worth it?

50 bucks that's very cheap , if they don't charge a service call , how do they charge then , just per animal , every body here charges , from 70 bucks to 250 for the service call and inspection

How can I compete with that? Gass aint free, and yea Im insured for a million bucks.

You can always tell them you'll put it towards the price if you get the job. Works for me, but at $125. Keeps the tire kickers away.

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profox hunter linked my post on this issue above. Since then, I have found that i have better luck and pick up a few more jobs by doing free estimates. I seem to be a better salesman on site than over the phone, and I can also give a more accurate price. most contractors around here in other fields also do free estimates. so it is hard to compete charging for an inspection when others aren't charging. now if i have to drive 45 min or more one way, i will charge $75, and if i am doing more than one inspection in that area, i will usually split it between them. Most folks are pretty understanding, but some just don't want to pay anything. I think they are just using you to get a comparison to the estimate they already have, or trying to find out how you are going to do the job, and then try to do it themselves.

Ron, are you talking about the trapping or exclusion/repair work?

Frankly, no one has ever called me to come and do an inspection to see if there are any animals in their house. They call because they are having a problem with wild animals. There is no inspection needed. Why would they call unless they already knew they had a problem?

It's easy to give a price for trapping over the phone.

Once the animal(s) are gone they need the services of a building contractor/handyman to repair or improve the structure to prevent repeated problems. That's where an estimate comes in.

In my area all contractors will give a free, written estimate detailing the work to be done, the materials that will be used, a time frame to do the job and the price.

It's always been like that here and very few people would ever pay for an estimate. It's all just part of the cost of doing business.

I wouldn't pay for an estimate. I wouldn't expect a potential customer to either.

I charge an inspection-setup fee. I guess it all depends on what you do in your inspections, I try to get as much info as possible, so the ladders come out and I take around an hour to do a full inspection. To do that for free would put me in the soup line quick. I will roll my inspection fee into the job most cases. If you are just going out to the house as a salesman then sure do it for free, but a complete inspection should never be free. In the end if you do a full inspection for free and do not get the job your next costumer will inevitably have to make up for it and that just is not fair in my book.

I charge a 25$ service call and a 50$ inspection fee that (dos not come off the trapping fees or the repair work) so I'm getting 75$ from every customer whether I get the job or not.I'm not going to go to someone house and tell them how to fix it and not get something for it. Even at these prices I still get I'll call you back. Up here in Norther Michigan there or too many that will do it for nothing. I have told people that if they have some one other then me do the work and call me back to fix it . It's going to cost them double.

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ahh...this whole thing sounds all to familiar...i am in the construction business, and have found that a "free inspection, or free estimate" really means a free consultation...they often times want you to come out and talk to them for 2 hours while they pick your brain...they want you to talk to them in detail about everything that needs done to fix a problem...if you are knowledgeable, you tend to inadvertently offer up alot of information....they then take that information and either do it themselves, or with a relative or drinking buddy, because everyone that had to pay for overhead and make a living was "way too much"....when something goes wrong they then call you for more free consultation...people should have no problem with inspection fees...i mean...if they have a job, they probably won't show up to work for 2 hours for nothing, even if they are sitting in their office not doing anything, they expect to be paid for it....and if 50 is out of line, you don't want that customer....ask them if they would drive to work, spend 2 hours there, buy their own supplies, burn their own gas, and tell their boss he didn't owe them anything for it.....nate is also EXACTLY right...the guys looking for the low bidder are always the ones that keep trying to get you to do more and more for free...they want to pay for one hour and sucker you in to 10...obviously if things get really tight you have to sacrifice, but if you have work...these guys are easy to recognize, and best to avoid....besides...if they won't spring for a $50 inspection fee...i bet you have trouble collecting a larger bill when you've cured their problem.

I have service call zones which depend on the location of the client. I give the client my service call price plus a per trap set-up price. Here, we have to make daily trap checks that are also charged at my service call rate, this is also explained to the client. I explain to them that this is a removal price only and that if repairs/ exclusions need to be performed I will give them a price when I see it. With that in mind, I usually will do a small repair/exclusion for free. If they don't like the price for removal....guess what.... I don't roll the truck. I don't need customers who don't want to pay for it. I don't need to do a FREE inspection, because when I get there, I've already got the job. Just my .02 and the way I do business.

I had another job call and told me never mind today because of this guy. I realy apreciate all the help guys, but I just can't compete with it.

Since it is quite common to deduct the expense of the service call provided you get the job, I guess it really depends on what percentage of the jobs you land.

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Thanks for the clarification Nate.

Pricing is really hard to get pinned down for a new guy like me. I try to keep my pricing very close to the other guys in my area as it helps no one to price down all the work in the area. That being said, some of the guys in my area have way more overhead than I do so I can and do negotiate a little on some things. I just can't seem to charge a single mother or seemingly poor retiree $125 for my inspection/setup fee. Will usually drop it to $75 or $100 depending on drive. There is one guy in my area doing a $75 fee across the board for setups and per activity pickups and my phone still rings.