A customer needs a new light fitting installed. Before they explain anything, they ask: "How much do you charge?" If the answer is "it depends, we'll need to see it", they often ask the next electrician instead. If the answer includes a callout charge, an hourly rate and a typical price for fitting a light, they usually carry on.
Pricing questions come first for most home service customers.
Why customers ask first
Customers do not want to spend time explaining a job, arranging a visit and waiting for a quote, only to find the price is far beyond what they expected. They want a sense of cost before committing time.
What customers ask
- What is your callout charge?
- What is your hourly rate?
- Roughly how much does this kind of job cost?
- Are quotes free?
- Do you charge more for evenings or weekends?
- Do you charge for materials separately?
Example conversations
These scripts use information a business might publish. Your answers should come from your own pages.
Customer: What's your callout charge? Assistant: The prices page lists the callout charge, which includes the first half hour of work. After that, the hourly rate applies. Materials are charged separately.
Customer: How much to replace a tap? Assistant: The prices page gives a typical price for replacing a standard tap, including labour. The final price depends on the tap and the fittings. If you share a photo and your postcode, the team can confirm.
Customer: Are quotes free? Assistant: Yes, quotes for larger jobs are free, as explained on the prices page. For small jobs, the team usually gives a price over the phone or by message once they have the details.
Customer: Do you charge more at weekends? Assistant: Weekend and evening work has a different rate, shown on the prices page. Emergency callouts are listed separately.
Emergency pricing
Customers in an emergency still want to know what it will cost. Publishing emergency rates clearly, as covered in emergency callout enquiries on your website, avoids disputes later.
Where a price depends on the job
Some jobs cannot be priced without more information. Explaining why, and capturing the details, is better than avoiding the question. Builders face the same challenge, as covered in budget questions homeowners ask builders first.
Answering at any hour
SpideyChat for home service businesses answers price questions from your own pages at any hour, sharing only the rates you publish, and captures job details for a quote. More on answering price questions this way is in AI receptionist pricing questions.
Why transparency wins
Customers who get a straight answer about price trust the business more. They are also less likely to dispute the bill. And customers who find the price too high leave early, which saves time for both sides. The cost of losing customers who do fit, because they could not get an answer, is shown in what a missed job enquiry costs a home service business.
Keeping prices current
Material costs and wages change, and published prices go out of date. Review your price page every few months and whenever your rates change. An outdated price that a customer quotes back at you creates an awkward conversation and can damage trust before the job starts. Adding a line such as "prices reviewed in spring" signals that the information is maintained, and gives customers confidence that what they read is what they will pay.
Getting started
Publish your callout charge, hourly rates and typical prices for common jobs. Then let customers get honest price answers whenever they ask. See the options on the features page, or try SpideyChat on your own site.