Reading guide: preparing a booking note

A call-out goes better when the booking note is short and exact. This page is a reading guide for that note: what to include, what to keep to hand, and the questions that turn a vague visit into a clear quote. For a leak that is running right now, the fastest help is the help you can apply before anyone arrives. If you have not found your stop tap yet, that sheet is the first one in the emergency drawer.

What to put in a booking note

The booking note is better the shorter it is. Six things make a booking:

• The address and postcode, and where a van can stop, since a van that cannot park is a late arrival.
• What is happening, in plain words: "water coming through the kitchen ceiling", "boiler shows F.75 and has no hot water", "tub will not drain".
• Since when, and whether anything changed just before, a new washing machine, a cold night, a service visit.
• What you have already done, isolated, switched off, contained.
• Photos, if you safely can. One picture of the fault and one of the appliance serial plate answer twenty questions.
• Who will be there, and when suits.

What happens next

A booking reply usually carries a named window and a stated call-out fee before anyone sets off. On arrival the useful pattern is: the fault is located and named on the job sheet, the work is quoted before it starts, and the sheet records what was found, what was done, what it cost, where your isolating points sit, and what is recommended next, including "nothing needed".

Out of hours

An out-of-hours line is best answered by a duty engineer rather than a call centre, and out-of-hours rates are worth confirming before the visit so they are not discovered on the invoice. Two situations do not wait for a booking note at all: a smell of gas (turn the gas off at the meter if you can, get out, call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999) and water pouring in faster than a bucket (stop tap first, note second, the emergency drawer holds the sheet on finding it).

Questions to ask before confirming

• What is the call-out fee, and what does it cover: travel, the first hour, parts, VAT?
• Is the diagnosis charged separately from the repair?
• What is the hourly rate after the first hour, and how are parts priced?
• Will the engineer quote before starting work, and can I see that quote in writing?
• What payment methods are accepted, and when is payment due?
• Is there a guarantee on the work, and how long does it run?
• Which isolating points should I know about in my home?
• What should I do while waiting, if the leak or fault worsens?

Comparing quotes

Two quotes are easier to compare when you line up the same components: call-out fee, hourly rate, parts markup, VAT, out-of-hours multiplier, and any guarantee. Ask for each in writing and check the date on the quote. A lower call-out fee with a higher hourly rate can cost more on a longer job; a higher call-out fee with a clear diagnosis can cost less overall. The how we work page explains the shape of a visit, and the where we work page covers the areas this reading guide is written around, Harrow, Northwood, Stanmore, Pinner, Ruislip, Wembley and the wider HA postcodes, along with what to check if you are just outside them.

A short checklist for the day

• Note the stop tap, gas meter, and fuse board locations.
• Clear a path to the appliance or leak.
• Put pets somewhere safe.
• Have the serial plate photo ready.
• Keep the written quote and job sheet together.
• Ask what to watch for after the visit, and who to call if it recurs.