Here’s the scenario. It’s 2 PM on a Tuesday at Kaser Blasting & Coatings, and the phone rings.
I pick up.
The conversation goes like this:
Customer: “Hi, yes, I have a rusty patio chair that I want powder coated. Could I get a quote?”
Me, thinking to myself: OK, the piece is rusty, which means we should probably blast it. And it’s going outside, which means we need two coats of powder. And it’s decorative, which means we should pick durable powder that’ll stay colorful and glossy for 5 years.
I quote the customer a price, and I hear the inevitable silence.
Customer: …
Me: “Is that in the range of what you were expecting? Did you get a less expensive quote from elsewhere?”
Customer: “Well, yeah, Imaginary Coating Shop X is quoting half the price you just gave me.”
Me: “Does that price include blasting?”
Customer: “No…”
Me: “I quoted a price that includes blasting because that’s what we recommend for rusty pieces. If you’d rather skip that step, my quote is $xyz.”
Customer: “That’s what the other shop quoted too.”
This type of conversation is all too common at Kaser, and here’s why: my default quoting setting is dialed up to Cadillac. If you’re asking me to powder coat something, I want to do it right – blasting, pretreatment, two coats if necessary, with maximum durability in mind. That’s automatically going to be more expensive than a no-blast, single-coat treatment somewhere else.
That being said, if a no-blast, single-coat treatment is what you’re looking for, we can do it! You just have to tell me what you want. I may offer advice, or suggest additional services that I see as beneficial to you, but we’ll talk it through and you’ll ultimately get what you want.
In short, anytime you’re calling us for a quote, just remember that the more information you give me about what you want, the more accurately I can quote what it’ll cost.
