PlumbingBossPro Blog — Quotes & Estimates

Good, Better, Best Plumbing Quotes: Offering Options as Separate Lines or Separate Estimates

A lot of plumbing owners have learned the same lesson the hard way: give a customer one price and the only question they ask is “yes or no.” Give them two or three sensible choices and the question becomes “which one.” That is the idea behind good, better, best quoting. Done well, it helps the customer choose. Done badly, it looks like a sales trick.

Why Options Help Plumbing Customers

Options usually come up right after the diagnosis, which is the moment covered in Quoting Plumbing Repairs on Site: From the Tech's Diagnosis to a Written Estimate. The tech has found the problem and there is more than one reasonable way to fix it.

Plumbing really does have honest options. A leaking faucet can get a cartridge or a new faucet. A failing water heater can be repaired once more or replaced. A main line with roots can be cleared, cleared and jetted, or dug up and repaired. Customers have different budgets and different plans for the house. Showing them the choices is just telling the truth about the job.

What a Sensible Set of Options Looks Like

The common pattern is three levels, though two is often enough:

• Good: fix the immediate problem. Replace the faucet cartridge. Clear the main line from the cleanout.
• Better: fix it and address the likely next problem. Replace the faucet with new supply lines and shut-offs. Clear and jet the main line so the buildup is gone, not just pushed through.
• Best: the long-term fix. Replace the faucet, shut-offs and supply lines and rebuild the drain assembly. Clear, jet and run a camera so the customer knows the condition of the line.

Each option should be a real recommendation you would be comfortable doing. If the “good” option is something you would never recommend to your own family, leave it off.

Separate Lines or Separate Estimates

PlumbingBossPro estimates are built from your service list, so there are two practical ways to present options. Both are common among plumbing operators, and each fits different situations.

• Separate lines on one estimate. Works when the options build on each other. The base repair is one line, and the add-ons are lines below it with clear descriptions: “Optional: replace both shut-off valves while the cabinet is open.” The customer sees everything in one place.
• Separate estimates. Works when the options are different jobs entirely. A water heater repair and a water heater replacement are not add-ons to each other. Sending them as two estimates lets the customer approve one and ignore the other, and the approved one becomes the scheduled job on its own.

When in doubt, ask which version a customer could read in thirty seconds on their phone. That is usually the right one.

Writing Options So They Are Easy to Compare

Options only help if the customer can tell them apart. A few habits make the difference:

• Name each option by what it does. “Repair the leak” and “Replace the faucet and valves” are clearer than “Option A” and “Option B.”
• Say what each one leaves undone. “Does not address the original shut-off valves” is honest and helps the customer understand why the next option costs more.
• Keep the count low. Three is plenty. Five options look like a menu and slow the decision down.
• Use the same wording every time. Estimate templates help here. Once you have a well-written set of options for a common job, save it and start from it next time. See Plumbing Estimate Templates: Quoting the Jobs You Write Every Week in Less Time.

Avoiding the Upsell Feeling

Customers have heard of companies that push the most expensive option every time, and they are on the lookout for it. Good, better, best works when the tech explains rather than pushes. Say which option you would choose for this house and why, and then let the customer decide. If they pick the basic repair, do it well and note the other recommendations on the job for next time.

That note matters. When the customer calls back a year later, the office can see what was recommended and offer it again without starting from scratch.

When Options Get Approved

Whichever way you present them, the customer approves online. If the options were lines on one estimate, the approved estimate becomes the scheduled job with the chosen lines. If they were separate estimates, the one they approve becomes the job, and the others stay on record. Estimate follow-up emails can still go out on the options they have not answered, which is useful when a customer approves the repair now but might want the replacement later.

Options are one of the most useful habits in plumbing quoting, and they work best on top of a clean service list and clear wording. For how they fit with the rest of the quoting process, see the plumbing estimate software overview.