Quoting without seeing it
The quote you give blind is the one you regret on site, and it is almost always for the same reason: you priced the service and they described the outcome.
Six questions explain most of the variance:
- Size. Vehicle class, or bedrooms and bathrooms. Not "a normal car."
- Condition, in their words. "When did it last have a proper clean" gets a more honest answer than "how dirty is it."
- Pets. Hair changes interior time more than almost anything else.
- Smoke. Changes what the job is, not how long it takes.
- How long since a professional did it. The single best predictor of time.
- Access and parking. Water, power, a driveway or a street.
Then the question that outperforms all six: "Is there anything in particular you're worried about?" People will volunteer the spilled coffee, the dog incident, the mould, the thing that made them call. They will not volunteer it in answer to "how dirty is it."
Give two numbers, not one. "For a car in the condition you've described, $179. If it's significantly worse than that, I'll tell you before I start and it'll be $229." That is a firm price and a stated condition, and it converts the awkward driveway conversation into one you already had.
Ask for photos, and mean it
Two or three photos removes most of the risk: a wide shot, the worst area, and whatever they mentioned.
Most people send them immediately. Someone who refuses to photograph the thing they want priced is telling you something, and the something is usually that the description was generous.
For property work, a short video walkthrough is better than photos and takes them ninety seconds.
Structure the price so surprises are already handled
Published base prices by size. Most calls are standard jobs, and a price list on the booking page removes the call entirely.
Named condition tiers, priced. "Standard", "not been done in a while", "heavy". Each with a price and a plain description of what puts a job in it.
Priced add-ons for the usual surprises. Pet hair, smoke, heavy interior contamination, mould, tar and iron work, engine bay. An add-on with a number is a sale; an add-on without one is an argument in a driveway.
A minimum call-out, so a small job at distance is not a loss. Service area and travel fees.
Once those exist, most quotes stop being judgement calls. Quoting fast without underpricing. · Stop underquoting large vehicles.
When it is worse than described
Say it before you start. At the door, in one sentence, with a number.
"This is quite a bit heavier than what we talked about. On the phone I quoted $179 for standard condition. For this it's $229. Happy to do it either way, just wanted to say before I get going."
Almost everyone says yes. They can see it too. What they will not accept is finding out afterwards, and what you will not accept, honestly, is doing four hours for a two-hour price and then feeling bad about the job.
The only version that does not work is starting and hoping. Once you are three hours in, the conversation is impossible and you will absorb it.
When not to quote
Anything you have not done before, until you have seen it.
Anything involving damage, mould or a possible insurance claim, until you know what you are agreeing to.
Anyone who will not answer the questions. "Just give me a ballpark" repeated after two attempts is a preview of the whole job.
Anything where the customer is describing an outcome rather than a service. "Make it look new" is not a job, it is a hope, and the gap between the two is where every unhappy customer comes from.
The unbillable-time problem
Quoting is unbillable, and it is one of the largest uncosted items in a solo business after driving. A twenty-minute call for a $120 job that you win half the time is expensive work.
Published prices, size tiers and priced add-ons remove most of the calls, which is worth more than getting better at the calls.
Is your diary full but your month bad? · How to raise your prices. · The pricing calculator.
What Rigsheet does
Packages with size modifiers and priced add-ons, so a quote is a few taps and lands with the same numbers every time. Good, better and best side by side, because a single price gets a yes or a no and three options get a choice. Sent by text or email, with the customer, vehicle or property, and the accepted quote turning straight into a scheduled job with a deposit request attached.
Quotes and deposits are on every plan, including the $4 Starter tier, because quoting is the thing that decides whether the month works. What each plan includes.
More in this section
About Rigsheet
Rigsheet is a job app from Baker Ventures LLC for one-to-three-person mobile service businesses: mobile auto detailers and residential cleaners first. Scheduling with drive-time gaps, quotes with vehicle and home-size pricing, deposits, "on my way" texts, before and after photos, invoices, and automated review requests. Plans start at $4 a month, with unlimited jobs, customers, quotes and invoices on every tier and no per-user fees.
It exists because the alternatives charge a solo operator team prices. A one-van business is not a small version of a ten-truck business, and pricing built around seats and add-ons makes that mistake expensive. The pricing calculators and operator guides on this site are free and need no account.
Questions and answers
How do you quote a detailing or cleaning job over the phone?
Ask the questions that actually move the price, then give a range with a stated condition rather than a single number. Vehicle or property size, current condition, pets, smoke, and how long since the last professional clean explain most of the variance.
Should you give a firm price without seeing the job?
Give a firm price for a well-defined service on a described condition, and be explicit that a materially different condition changes it. A single number given blind on an unknown condition is how operators end up working four hours for a two-hour price.
What questions should you ask before quoting?
Size, condition, pets, smoking, how long since the last professional clean, access and parking, and whether there is anything they are particularly worried about. The last one is the highest-yield question in the list.
How do you handle a customer who will not send photos?
Quote a range with a condition attached, or decline politely. Refusing to send a photo of something they want priced is itself information about how the job will go.
What if you arrive and it is much worse than described?
Say so before starting, restate the price, and let them decide. That conversation is short at the door and impossible once you are three hours in.
Is it worth quoting at all for very cheap jobs?
Quoting is unbillable time, so a long quoting process on a small job costs more than it earns. A published price list for standard work removes most of these calls entirely.
Rigsheet. “Quoting without seeing it.” Baker Ventures LLC, September 7, 2026. https://rigsheet.bakerventuresstudio.com/guides/quoting-over-the-phone-without-seeing-it/