I Got Impatient And Lost $1000

So I was searching for a Furnace Technician the other day. The first company to call me back and quoted me around $6,000 for a brand new furnace which seemed a bit pricey so that was a pass for me.

The next company to respond was actually the first company I contacted on Thumbtack and was able to come out the same day to inspect the unit. I was quoted about $4,000. I thought that it can’t get much cheaper than that so I immediately agreed. I told my partner that I did that because it’s more important to have peace of mind and make a decision quickly instead of being bogged down with too many estimates and wasting too much time finding the person with the absolute lowest price. I felt content in my decision.

Before I had a chance to tell the other technicians I contacted that I already made a decision, I got a call from another technician who gave me a much cheaper quote. You can guess what was on my mind after that. Even though I was initially content with my decision, all I could think about was how overpriced the last guy seemed and I felt a knot in my stomach from mentally losing over $1000 on a job that could potentially cost much less.

Unfortunately I was too impatient to wait for quotes from other people and in the end, I was glad that I took a few more calls and still got quotes even though I already chose a professional for the job this time. I can now save them in my list of contacts in the event I need to reach out to one of them in the future.

Take it from me in this example. Get AT LEAST 3 quotes (probably 4-6 to be safe) before making any final decisions. If time is of the essence and you have to make a decision quickly, then be content with your decision. In the end, even though that 3rd technician came in cheaper than the first 2, I think that I still made a good decision because he hadn’t seen the job yet, it was just a quote over the phone so it could have cost more.

Give yourself enough time to get the necessary information to make important decisions but don’t spend too long on it. This can lead to Analysis Paralysis. I’m trying to follow this rule I heard once; If it takes more than 2 hours to make a decision (when you have all of the information in front of you), you’re spending too much time on it.

Leave a comment if you relate to having regrets after making a decision. How did you come to terms with your decision later?