Cost & value / Comparing quotes
Two quotes can name the same service and price completely different work. The fix is to make everyone quote the same job.
Same words, different jobs
Two quotes for a deep clean can look like the same service and price very differently - because they are quietly costing different work. The way to avoid being caught out is to make every contractor quote the same defined job before you compare a single number.
The cheapest-looking quote is often the one that has left the most out. Comparing totals without comparing scope is exactly how buyers end up paying twice.
Write the brief first
Before you request quotes, set out what you expect covered: canopy, filters, fan and the full duct run to discharge - not just the parts you can see. State that you need a post-clean verification report and a TR19 Grease certificate, that the technician must hold the BESA Grease Hygiene Technician qualification, and note any access, out-of-hours or parking constraints. Ask for VAT to be shown and for any access works to be listed separately from the clean itself. It is also worth asking what before-and-after evidence you will be given, and whether the figure is for a single visit or an annual schedule, since the two are easy to confuse on price alone.
Handed the same brief, every contractor prices the same job - and the numbers finally become comparable.
What to check on each quote
Line the quotes up on five points: scope (the whole route or just the filters), certification (a valid TR19 report, or nothing on paper), access (scaffold, roof or new panels), timing (in-hours or overnight) and whether the work is subcontracted. A gap in any one of these explains most of the difference between two prices. Subcontracted work is not automatically worse, but it is worth knowing who will actually be on site and whether they hold the same qualification you were promised.
The comparison that protects you
A number only means something once you know what it buys. A quote that omits the duct run, the certificate or the access it will actually need is not cheaper - it is incomplete, and the shortfall lands later.
So collecting quotes is necessary but not sufficient. Unless you hand every bidder the same scope brief, you are comparing different jobs rather than different prices - and the survey that pins the real scope is what makes any comparison honest.
Questions
Write one scope brief - canopy, filters, fan, full duct run, verification report and certificate - and send it to every contractor. When they all price the same defined job, the numbers finally mean the same thing.
Usually because it covers less: filters only rather than the whole route, no certificate, or no allowance for the access the job needs. That gap tends to reappear as a second bill later.
The full extract route, a post-clean verification report, a TR19 Grease certificate, the qualification of the technician signing off, any access works, and VAT shown clearly.
Only once it is like-for-like. The lowest complete quote is a saving; the lowest incomplete one is a risk that usually costs more when the missing work is finally done properly.
It helps a great deal. A survey fixes the real scope - duct length, access and grease load - so every quote is built on the same facts rather than guesswork over the phone.
Phoenix Duct Clean · by the numbers
Tell us about your kitchen and we will survey the real scope - whole extract route, verification and certificate - so your quote reflects the actual job. Call or email for a survey.