Welcome to Professional Supermarket.com the site that revolutionises the way we shop for professional services.
On this page you will find some suggestions about how to save yourself time and money when looking for professional services.
Don’t forget, some professionals may offer exclusive rates to users of Professional Supermarket.com, so be sure to mention us when you select your professional service provider.
Choose your professional selectively
When looking for a professional, make sure that they have the right type of experience for your job.
You should ask what experience they have had of dealing with similar matters to your task. You would want reassurance that the professional is not ‘learning how to do the job’ at your on your time.
You should also consider how complex your task is. The more complex it is, then the more appropriate it will be to engage a professional with greater experience. However, remember that professionals who have more experience tend to charge higher rates in recognition of this. If your job is ‘routine’ or of low complexity, you should consider whether it is appropriate to select a professional with less experience.
Consider how important the location of your professional is
While this may vary depending on the type of service you need, some professional services do not necessarily require a lot of ‘face-to-face’ time. This is especially the case given progressive developments in communication technologies, like phone, email and other internet based message exchange systems.
You should appreciate that professionals in large cities might charge higher rates. This is usually because their overheads (e.g. business premises cost and staff salaries) are generally higher than professionals who have businesses that are situated outside of the large city centres.
If you are considering instructing someone whose business is based a fair distance from you, then you might want to ask them whether this is likely to cause any problems or result in any additional costs (for example, would the professional need to incur any travel time or expense in order to complete your task).
Make sure that you understand how much you will be charged
One of the areas that cause problems for consumers and professionals are misunderstanding on fees. The following tips may help you avoid any misunderstandings:
- Make sure that any agreement you reach regarding fees are in writing
- Ask your professional to provide you with a quote for your task/project. Also ask them to notify you if it appears that their original quote will be exceeded. If your professional advises that the quote might need to be revised ask them to explain why.
- If you ask for a quote, make sure that you ask the professional to include any anticipated disbursements, expenses and VAT. This should help give you some clarity about what the total fee will be upfront.
- With Professional Supermarket.com, you can Request a Quote and potentially receive multiple quotes for your task/project. This should help save you time and money when looking for competitive rates. If you do Request a Quote, include as much information about your task as possible - this will help the professionals provide you with an accurate quote.
- Some professionals, may be willing to provide services on a fixed fee basis. Fixed fees can provide you with a lot of certainty about what you can expect to receive as a total bill. Professional Supermarket.com allows you to search on a number of fixed price services when you Search for a Professional
- If your project/requirement is on the larger size and requires ongoing monthly/periodic billing, ask the professional to provide cost projections for the following month. Tell the professional that you expect to be invoiced regularly and do not expect to be billed months after work has been completed. It can be quite frustrating to receive one big bill for a number of months work in one hit!
- If you are asking a Firm of professionals to help you, ask them to assign someone of appropriate skill and experience to your task. Also ask them what sort of hourly rate you can expect to be billed at. You might also want to consider asking them to provide a total estimate of costs for your job (including disbursements, expenses and VAT).
- You can use Professional Supermarket.com to compare hourly rates of professionals when you Search for a Professional
Know what you want
- Before going to see a professional, make sure you know what is you want and any specific results that need to be achieved. If you have not thought about this, the professional may spend considerable time asking questions to help them understand your requirements. Remember, this is time that may be charged to you.
- Sometimes it is a good idea to write a short briefing/explanatory note for your professional before seeing them. This can help the professional understand your requirements and how best achieve your goal. It may also help save you costs!
