The diagnostic
Quote Visibility Score
Score any painting quote from 0 to 10. Ten checks, each worth one point. It works on a quote from any painter, and it works without giving us the job.
A painting quote is a number with the work hidden. The score tells you how much of the job you are actually being shown, and names what is missing in plain English.
What the score means
0 to 3
Blind Quote
Do not buy this. You are being asked to pay for work you cannot see.
4 to 6
Still mostly blind
Some of the job is visible. The rest is still hidden, and hidden work is the work that gets skipped. Ask for the missing lines in writing before you sign.
7 to 10
Visible Quote
You can see the job. You are choosing work, not guessing at a number. Anything still missing below is worth asking for anyway.
The ten checks
Put your quote next to this list. Tick a check only where the quote actually says it, not where you assume it. Ten checks produce the score.
Someone stood on the property and looked at the work. A quote built from photos you sent, or from a phone call, scores 0.
Rooms, walls, ceilings, eaves, fascia, gutters, doors, skirtings. A line that says "interior" or "exterior" and nothing else scores 0.
The quote names the surface and the work: sand, fill, prime, seal, treat. "Prep as needed" or "prepare surfaces" scores 0. Preparation is the job, so silence here is the whole risk.
A brand and a product line, not just a brand. "Dulux Weathershield, two coats over primer" scores 1. "Premium paint" or "Dulux" alone scores 0.
Ladders, scaffold, swing stage, boom lift, roof anchors, or the storeys involved. Access is where two quotes on the same house separate by thousands.
A stated term, on the quote, in writing. A verbal assurance or a website claim scores 0.
The licence number itself, so you can check it at qbcc.qld.gov.au before you pay anything. "Fully licensed" scores 0.
Start window, working days on site, and what happens to the schedule if it rains. A total with no dates scores 0.
Either the people doing the work are identified, or the quote states in writing how a change in scope becomes a change in price, and who has to approve it first.
The money maps onto the named work. One lump sum at the bottom of a page of description scores 0, because you cannot remove a line and see the price move.
No phone number. No email. The score appears on this page.
Questions
How the score works
Ten binary checks, each worth one point, giving a score from 0 to 10. Every check asks whether the quote shows you something: whether the site was walked, whether surfaces are named, whether prep is named, and so on. A yes needs the quote to actually say it. Tick the checks that your quote passes and the score appears on this page.
A score of 0 to 3 is a Blind Quote and you should not buy it. A score of 4 to 6 is still mostly blind: some of the job is visible and the rest is hidden. A score of 7 to 10 is a Visible Quote, which means you can see the work you are paying for.
No. It scores zero. The line has to name the surface and the work: sand the weatherboards, fill and prime the fascia, seal the VJ panels. Preparation is the job and it is the first thing cut on site, so a quote that leaves it vague has left the biggest number in the job undefined.
No. There is no phone gate and no email gate. The score appears on this page as soon as you tick the checks. You can email yourself the checklist afterwards if you want to take it to your next quote, and that is optional.
Yes. That is the point of it. The score works on any painting quote from any company, and it works without giving Metro Painting Group the job. If your existing quote scores well, buy it.
No. Most Blind Quotes are written in good faith by people who have always quoted that way. A low score means the work is hidden, so you cannot tell what has been included and what has been left out. Ask for the missing lines in writing before you sign anything.
Keep reading
- Blind Quote vs Visible QuoteWhat each one is, side by side, on the things that decide the price.
- Don't buy a Blind QuoteWhy a painting quote is designed so you cannot see the job.
- Walked-Quote DaysWhat the walk covers, and what you leave with.
- House painting cost in BrisbanePlanning ranges, and why two quotes on the same house differ.
- Body corporate painting BrisbaneScoring a lump-sum tender the committee cannot read.