I work in the in-home services industry and sell heating and air conditioning services. After arriving to the customer’s home, I learned that Mrs. Balle only wanted to change her home’s air conditioning condensing unit. She greeted me with written instructions from her husband, which she read very clearly for me, “We’re probably selling the house next year, so my husband only wants to change the outdoor a/c unit for the second floor.” I found out later that Mrs. Balle had presented the same scenario to three other contractors who promptly gave her the estimate for exactly what she asked.
About an hour into my visit, Mrs. Balle let me know that the three other contractors she previously met all took about 20-30 minutes to give her an estimate on price. My first reaction was to wonder, “Why?” Then I thought, “What a shame.”