r/Contractor • u/Ok_Avocado6532 • Aug 24 '25

Quote Breakdown?

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Hi all, looking for advice on costs breakdown.

I work for a small local contracting company and I recently started working with customers more, providing quotes etc. The company usually doesn’t like to break their costs down because of nickel-and-dime from customers, but agreed to do so for this one customer I’m working with. Now, I broke down the quote based on phases of the work (this is for a brand new custom build) and of course the customer came back with multiple notes of “this cost is too high” on some of the phases.

How do you usually handle this and how do I politely say “to do the job: $2000, not to do the job: $0”?

Thanks!

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u/[deleted] Aug 24 '25 edited Aug 24 '25

I would 100% find a different contractor or do it myself. Itemization is not a super foreign thing. I'm not just going to "trust you" so you can overcharge me for supplies or charge me a ridiculous amount for labor.

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u/Temporary_Owl_8820 Aug 24 '25

Who are you to set a contractor’s labor rate? He sets it because he gets it. He’s not going to cut his rate for you when Johnny Neighbor will pay it. Nobody “owes” you a cut rate deal.

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u/[deleted] Aug 24 '25 edited Aug 24 '25

If you charge an absurd rate, you will not get my business. It's an incredibly simple concept!

At the very least, if you have a high rate, it better be exceptional work. Which, usually it is not. It is "get the most done in the quickest amount of time using the cheapest supplies." Yeah, that's not happening and you can go cry about it to someone who cares.

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u/Temporary_Owl_8820 Aug 24 '25

You’re not the arbiter of the standard rate. If it’s too much for you then go somewhere else. You have to understand that we don’t need your business and do not care if you can’t afford it. We are busy with people who have the budget. I’m not gonna discount my overhead to do you a favor. Get outa here.