Duped Customer

[John Adrian Sopher]

Hey guys, I wanted to know your opinions on something.  I just did an inspection for a guy in the military who is stationed in Turkey.  He paid me last night, and am still waiting for the contract to be signed and sent back to me so I have not released the inspection yet.

Long story short, he told me the house had been sold to someone else within the last 24hours.

I know I'm not obligated to do so but I was thinking of offering him a substantial discount if he found a new house.

Whats your opinions on this?

[Dominic Maricic]

Yikes, that does stink. Most the guys give 10% military discounts, maybe give him 25% for the second. Your time is still valuable and you need to be paid for it!

Dominic

[Robert Jones]

I agree.  I have always offered a minimum of 10% discount for "repeat" customers.  If the home is super clean, I will increase the discount. This would be especially pertinent for my fellow Airmen stationed at Stinker(Tinker) AFB;) 

Rob

[Jay Markanich]

I give about 10% discount for a follow-up inspection.  I don't give a lesser inspection, and therefore I don't give a substantially lesser price.  If they weren't happy with your first inspection, they wouldn't call back for a second.  So, give them a great second inspection, worth its salt!

[John Adrian Sopher]

Okay Mr. Rob Jones, I got you figured out now... Its too late!!!  Your busted now.  Your my competition!!!    Anywho, I offered him a 30% discount.  That's the most I offer anyone and I'm doing away with 10% of that now that I take c/c's.  I explained to him that the area he is looking at is a red hot area for home sales.  I also suggested that he get a buyers agent that is on his side.  And I told him that I wanted him to be 100% satisfied with my service.  I think that made him very happy.

[Robert Jones]

Hey John,
Being a new inspector and just starting out your business, try not to get a rep for giving these huge discounts.  Trust me the realtors and your clients friends and family members will come to expect it every time.  Set up a policy, like 10% off for military for example and stick to it. What I have found is that the new inspectors tend to undercut or offer lower prices and big discounts because they are new and trying to "break in".  They end up with a reputation of being that inspector to send "my" clients to when they don't have a lot of money.  And once you start with your pricing, you will be held to it.  Figure out what "your" time is worth, what it takes for you to make a living/provide a quality service for your clients.  Remember who you are representing(hint; it's not the realtor;)) Set your price accordingly. 

Best of luck,
Rob

PS: I am in the Puget Sound region of Washington State so your safe;)  I was stationed at Tinker when I was active duty AF.

[John Adrian Sopher]

lol okay, I saw the Tinker thing...

Anyways, I offer a 10% discount for military, teachers, and emergency personnel.  I give another 10% off if they have a coupon which I only handed out so many of those.  And the other 10% that I just did away with, was if they paid at the time of inspection.  Now that I take c/c's I can't really offer that anymore because everyone would get that discount.  So in the end, I will only be giving the one 10%er the majority of the time.

As for my prices, I charge $200 for homes 2500SQFT or less, $250 for 2501-3500SQFT and $50 more for every 500SQFT from then on.  That's middle of the line around here.  I thought that would be a good starting point.

Now if I could just get more than 2 inspections a month.  lol