Overheard my own advice at a diner and it changed how I run my quotes
Was eating breakfast alone at a small counter place in Dayton last Tuesday. Two contractors behind me were talking about bids. One guy said he always adds 20% extra to any job where the homeowner uses the word "just" a lot. Like "it's just a small crack" or "you just need to patch this corner." I laughed because I've done solo flooring for 6 years and I always underquote the easy-sounding jobs. That same week I lost money on a bathroom tile job because the customer said the subfloor was "fine" and it turned out to be rotted plywood in two spots. Took me an extra day and a half. After hearing that diner line I rewrote my estimate form. Now I put a line at the bottom that says "if the existing surface has hidden damage, labor goes up by the hour." Has anyone else had a moment where some random stranger phrased your own problem better than you ever did? What did you steal from that conversation?