LOL
OK, so the thumbnails a bit tongue in cheek and many people are familiar with the phrase, “you get what you pay for,” but does that mean that there’s a sliding scale between poor jobs at the lower end of the cost spectrum and better jobs at the higher end?
I would suggest that the general trend would be yes, and of course this makes intuitive sense.
A top of the line Mercedes AMG is a better vehicle than an entry level Vauxhall hatchback when quantitative analysis is applied – comfort, speed, features etc.
(and luckily car manufacturers are quite good at highlighting features and benefits that show you that you are not actually buying the same ‘thing’ at all)
Unfortunately most bathroom installers do not have similar brochures to allow effective comparison.
Anyway, let’s draw a graph showing some imaginary bathroom installation quotes (blue dots) on a graph:
You can see that in general (although there is a large range of prices) as the price goes up the quality goes up too.
No big surprises there so far…
So you would think that it’s just a matter of picking your own level of quality vs cost that you’re comfortable with, right?
Kinda….
You see, the problem is that it can be very confusing because no-one gives you a graph like this to help you make your decision!
You only get the ‘cost’ part of the equasion and you have to guess the quality or experience you will have.
In other words…
The issue is an unequal distribution of information.
What I mean by this, is that if you KNEW where your quotes were located on a graph like this, then you could make an informed choice as to whether you were willing to pay a bit more for a better quality job.
The problem is that you don’t know.
For example if it was this obvious:
I would not be writing this article.
The problem lies in 4 areas:
1. As a homeowner, you don’t know WHAT a better job IS (beyond surface aesthetics)
In the car analogy from before you don’t know what good brakes are or what a Euro NCAP safety rating is…
2. You also don’t know WHY you should care
…..but when someone going through some traffic lights slams on their brakes &
you can’t stop in time, you suddenly become acutely aware of why you may have wanted to pay more attention to the safety features of the more ‘expensive’ car.
But now it’s a bit late…
Now, the difference in upfront ‘cost’ has taken on a whole new perspective, as you factor in the possibility of broken bones (and a large repair bill.)
The original cost of the Mercedes has not changed, but the relative value has now shot up as your true priorities (eg breathing!) are brought sharply into focus.
3. You can’t be sure it will BE a better job before the work begins, as everyone promises good results (but not everyone delivers them.)
4. You are a human being, and as such you (like me) have a tendency to believe comforting lies (hey, a bargain quote!) rather than uncomfortable truths (higher quotes generally lead to better quality jobs).
And even worse, when things go wrong, you (like me) are much more likely to blame a ‘rogue tradesman’ rather than take responsibility for your own role in hiring them or your own lack of due diligence towards the company.
But don’t shoot the messenger!
We’re all the same, and that’s just human nature, and if anyone’s interested there’s a great book on that here.
Anyway, we know that’s not you because you’re reading this right now in order to make a better purchasing decision!
So let’s break it down into a simple 2 step formula that you can use to ensure you get the best value for money bathroom installation.
So if you want this:
Rather than this:
Then let’s crack on.
Step 1: KNOW what a ‘better’ job is to you
(+ why it matters)
I can talk to you all day about quality materials and fitting processes and what I consider to be the building blocks of a ‘better’ job, but if all you care about is that your new bathroom:
a) costs under £5K
and
b) is done within a week
Then speed & cost are actually more important to you than quality
That’s 100% fine of course if a little short sighted in my experience (buy cheap and buy twice!) but that is not the focus of this article.
So back to quality….
Quality can be basically split into two main areas:
1. What you see (quality of finish)
2. What you don’t see (materials used, fitting processes followed etc)
Quality of finish can be fairly easily assessed by looking at installers past work either in the flesh or online, and partly by reading their online reviews on Google or Houzz (which effectively communicate other peoples interpretation of this area of interest.)
Number 2 is more difficult to assess in 90% of cases
as not many companies share their working practises.
More on that in a sec…
Step 2: Do your due diligence on the company
(to see if they can deliver what they promise)
There are 8 key factors that I believe will tell you whether the company you are thinking of hiring will exceed your expectations.
The first 4 are:
- Are they a specialist or a jack of all trades?
- Do they offer project management?
- Do they have good working procedures?
- Do they tell you how to mitigate your risk?
Installing a bathroom can involve a great deal of investment
so my advice is to…do it right 1st time!
So for your convenience (and to avoid this post being too long) I’ve put together a simple 2 part programme to help you do just that.
Part 1 is a PDF guide with lots of pictures that covers:
- Knowing what a good bathroom fitting job is (and is not)
- Knowing why the various aspects may matter to you
(Click to Zoom)
It essentially de-mystifies ‘you get what you pay for’
Part 2 is an A4 printable checklist that will allow you to effectively choose a professional installer (using the 8 factors touched on above.)
(Click to Zoom)
This will move your choice of installer at least somewhat towards your ideal one, who does amazing work for very little money and is available immediately!
Click below to gain instant access for FREE, I’ll email you the guides straight away (and you can reply back with any particular questions you have after reading)
Chris
