They're damned if they do, damned if they don't. The best you're going to get is a trip/diagnosis charge and then a quote based on what they find.
The problem they run into is people self diagnose what needs to be done (Google/YouTube/ChatGPT/etc), then call them up for the "cost" of that service. The company comes out to the customer's place and realizes the customer was wrong about what was needed and has to give them a price based on what they think actually needs to happen. The customer then gets irritated, calls them dishonest, and posts negative reviews everywhere they can find the company listed.
You might be completely reasonable and understand hourly rates, estimates, etc. Many people aren't, and those people are very vocal.
FWIW, I've worked in healthcare for 30 years and we have the same problem - people call and say "how much is it to get X done" and there's no good way to answer that. Depends on whether you actually need X, whether other things are necessary in the course of providing X, what your insurance is, etc, etc.
The problem they run into is people self diagnose what needs to be done (Google/YouTube/ChatGPT/etc), then call them up for the "cost" of that service. The company comes out to the customer's place and realizes the customer was wrong about what was needed and has to give them a price based on what they think actually needs to happen. The customer then gets irritated, calls them dishonest, and posts negative reviews everywhere they can find the company listed.
You might be completely reasonable and understand hourly rates, estimates, etc. Many people aren't, and those people are very vocal.
FWIW, I've worked in healthcare for 30 years and we have the same problem - people call and say "how much is it to get X done" and there's no good way to answer that. Depends on whether you actually need X, whether other things are necessary in the course of providing X, what your insurance is, etc, etc.
Statistics: Posted by bwalling — Thu Feb 19, 2026 4:40 pm — Replies 7 — Views 175