Why the quote stage wins or loses the job
A homeowner with a leaking pipe or a tired kitchen wants to feel looked after. They often ask three or four firms for a quote. The one that replies first, and sounds sure of itself, usually gets the visit.
You are probably on a roof, under a sink or in a van when the phone rings. Calls go to voicemail. Messages pile up in the evening. That is normal, and it is also where work is lost.
Your customer has no easy way to judge your skill. They cannot see inside the wall you will open. So they use clues: a tidy message, an arrival time that is kept, a quote that is easy to read.
Good habits are small. A quick text saying you have seen the message. A clear time for the visit. A written quote that arrives when you said it would.
We show you which of these habits your business already has, and which ones are missing.
From first message to quotation in hand
We pick a job that suits your trade. It might be a bathroom refit, a rewire of two rooms, a garden tidy or a weekly clean. The shopper plays a homeowner with a real need.
They begin by looking for you online, as a neighbour might. They read the website, check how to get in touch and choose a route: phone, email, contact form or a message on social media.
We note how long the first reply takes and what it says. If a call is missed, we see whether anyone rings back.
Where the brief allows, the shopper then arranges a visit or sends photos. They ask when the quote will arrive and in what form.
After that, they wait. Does the quote come when promised? Does anyone check whether it arrived?
We agree with you in advance how far the shopper goes. If a visit is part of the brief, the shopper declines the job politely afterwards.
What we score for a trade
Every business is scored on ten checks. Here is what each one looks like for a tradesperson.
Website experience: can a visitor see what you do, where you work and how to ask for a quote? Ease of making contact: is there more than one route, and does each one work? Response time: how long until a person replies? Telephone manner: is the call answered clearly, and is a missed call returned?
Customer welcome and understanding the need: do you ask what the job involves before you suggest solutions? Explanation of the service: are the work and the process described in plain words?
Trust and professionalism: insurance, guarantees, tidy presentation and a clear arrival time. Attempt to secure the work: is there a clear next step? Follow-up: does anyone check back?
For trades we add a few extras. How is the quote set out? What does it include and leave out? How long is it valid? How would a change to the job be handled?
Snags worth checking for
Think of these as a checklist for your own business, not a list of faults.
Do missed calls get a text or a call back the same day? Does the voicemail say who you are and what to do next?
Is the quote a single line with a total, or does it list the work? Can a homeowner tell what is not included?
Is the time for the visit given as a window, and kept? Is there a message if you are running late?
Does the website show the areas you cover and the jobs you do, or does the visitor have to guess? Are the photos recent?
Does the quote arrive on the day you said? Once it has gone out, does anyone ask whether the homeowner has questions?
Is the advice on the phone the same as the advice from whoever visits? Small differences can unsettle a customer.
These are process questions. They point to systems and training, not blame.
What lands in your inbox
You receive a scored report for your trade. Each score sits beside a plain note of what happened.
Strengths come first, because most tradespeople are already doing several things well. Weaknesses follow, with the evidence.
An action plan then lists what to fix, in the order that will help most. Some fixes take ten minutes, such as a better voicemail. Others take longer, such as a new quote template.
A person at Click to Customer reads every report before it is released. We remove opinions that have nothing to back them up.
We never name or rank your staff or subcontractors, and we make no covert recordings. The findings are about how the business works. They describe one customer journey on one occasion, so please use them as a prompt, not a verdict.
Once you have made changes, a retest shows whether they worked. You can share the report with your team in a short meeting, or keep it to yourself. It is your report.
Who this suits and how to start
This suits sole traders as well as firms with several vans. It is useful if you win new customers by quote, whether you are a kitchen fitter, a cleaner or a gardener.
It is especially helpful if you have recently hired someone to answer the phone. It also helps if you have started taking bookings online. Or you may simply want to know how you come across.
Email us to ask for the details and a quotation. We can also send a free first-impression report, which covers what a stranger sees of your business online.
If you would rather test your own concerns, try the Custom Questions option. You write 10, 20 or 30 questions. You also choose how many shoppers to use.
We ask you to confirm that your team, including any subcontractors, know in general terms that mystery shopping may take place.