We're not doing any quotes until we know the confirmed rate sometime in the New Year. Those customers we've spoken to seem happy enough to wait and I'm looking forward to some free time to spend in the mountains before Christmas. I fully expect a load of "oh sorry, we went with someone else who managed to fit us in before the deadline" come January, to which I will probably respond with an offer to carry out an inspection highlighting where corners have been cut on their installation and a quote to put it right! (I'm joking of course, but as a small, new company we haven't had the volumes that you guys contend with and we have only lost 3 jobs to competitors - one 'cos a competitor could offer black framed panels that the customer prefered when we couldn't get any. Said competitor didn't see the need for a structural survey and I think was significantly more expensive than us. Another 'cos we quoted for a 13 panel system, to avoid serious (constant) shading and to allow adequate spacing of the array from roof edges. A competitor managed to cram 16 up there. One permanently shaded, and the rest running right up to the eaves and verges. The last one was an old slate roof (no felt) and we included a price to apply felt to the relevant elevation. Apparently we were the only company to point this out or indeed look in the loft! We also were the only ones to point out the lack of bonding in the property. He went with someone who told him there was no need to felt the roof, because they wouldn't need to remove any slates.....yeah, I know..... All this is despite explaining the whys and wherefores of everything we tell them and making sure they understand, pointing them to independent information if necessary. I can only put it down to greed. Or they think we're lying. Anyhoo, before this turns into more of a rant, I suspect there may be quite lucrative repair and maintenance work to PV systems in the future!
Oh, and Budgie, you are a star mate - thank you!
