Letter: Questions about pricing tactics for rain gutter work
To the editor,
– Over a year ago I (75 years old with light grey hair) saw an advertisement for a product that would keep leaves and debris out of the rain gutters on my home (a smallish two bedroom, with a carport, built circa 1965); the advertisement offered a free inspection and quote. I made an appointment and two persons came to my home, inspected and measured the rain gutters. It took about 15 minutes.
We then sat down and talked about their product for about 10-15 minutes. I was then handed a paper with their quote for the work, which was to clean and “tune up” my rain gutters and install a shield on top to prevent leaves, debris, etc., from getting into them. The quote was $6,072.
I had no previous quotes for the same work and had no idea what a reasonable cost would be for the installation of a product to keep leaves, etc., out of my rain gutters, but $6,072, seemed like a lot, so I told them it was too much. After a bit more discussion, they offered to do the same work for $4,200.
That still seemed high, but again, I had no idea what a reasonable price would be for the work. I again told them I would not pay that much.
One of the persons then said that he would give me his “family discount” and the total price would be $1,700.
What do you think? I would like your thoughts. Do you have experiences like these? If so, when, what happened, what did you do, etc. What do you think of the sales strategy that was used that day? Any idea of what a fair price would have been? The gutters on my home work fine and are securely fastened to the home.
Some people might have accepted the first offer.
If you are in the trade and know what a reasonable per-foot charge is to add a product to preclude leaves, etc., from clogging a gutter, please let me know.
Thank you.
Richard Rossi
Rossi Law
Paso Robles & San Luis Obispo
Editor’s note: Opinion pieces and letters to the editor are the personal opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Paso Robles Daily News or its staff. We welcome letters from local residents regarding relevant local topics. To submit one, click here.
