Apples and Oranges

I often get calls from people who are price shopping. That's fine. If "lowest price" is their primary concern, we're probably not the inspection company for them. Wednesday I had a call from someone who wanted us to give him an additional discount. When I explained that the bundled price was already deeply discounted, he said he wanted to speak with Mark about how the zip-level worked. (What he really wanted was to see if Mark would offer him an additional discount.) With no additional discounts forthcoming he said he wanted to shop around. He found out what I already knew - no one else was offering him the option of the fiber-optic sewer line inspection or the foundation level measurement. He called back to get on the schedule.

Then yesterday evening I had a call from a gentleman who wanted to schedule an inspection on a property that he was buying. He wanted to include the fiber-optic sewer line inspection and the digital foundation level measurement. I had already contacted centralized showing and the listing agent and was waiting for a confirmation when he called back.

"I have made a few calls, and you are priced almost $300 more than other inspectors."
"Yes, but the other inspectors are not including the fiber-optic camera in the sewer line and they are not measuring the foundation. Those two items add $350 to the cost of your inspection."
"No, they are doing all of that, too."

Well, I'm pretty sure they're not. I am confident that no other inspector in this area has invested in a sewer-cam - at least not yet. (I know that one is telling clients that you have to have a special license to use one. - Nonsense! And I know of another inspector who is considering it. - He's called Mark to ask advice on different models and pricing.) There are also very few in the area who have the necessary equipment to measure foundations. So the likelihood that there is an inspector who is going to put a sewer-cam down the line AND measure the foundation, and do it for $300 less than we charge is pretty slim.

The client supposes that all inspectors are the same and that they all have the same equipment. You can't convince someone who's already made up his mind. I also sensed that this was my big opportunity to offer to lower my price to match the other guy. But I know the difference between apples and oranges. So instead of offering to lower the price, I responded with "Well, alrighty then. I assume you want to cancel."

I hope that works out for him.