How to Quote Repair Turnaround Times Customers Can Trust

1. Split jobs into three time buckets

• Same-day jobs: routine work you do often with parts on the shelf (common screens, batteries, charging-port cleaning).
• Diagnostic jobs: no-power, water damage, intermittent faults. Quote a diagnosis time first, not a repair time.
• Parts-dependent jobs: anything that needs an order. Quote "parts arrival + bench time," never a fixed date you don't control.

Write these buckets on your intake sheet so every tech quotes the same way.

2. Quote from your queue, not your best day

A screen swap may take 30 minutes on the bench, but if eight devices are ahead of it, the honest answer is "this afternoon," not "half an hour." Look at what's already checked in before you promise anything.

3. Add a buffer and say it out loud

Pad each quote a little, then tell the customer the window: "Most likely by 4, no later than 6." Finishing early feels like great service. Finishing late, even by 20 minutes, feels like a broken promise.

4. Handle parts delays before the customer notices

When a part is late, update the ticket the same day and tell the customer what changed and the new estimate. Customers rarely get upset about a delay they hear about first; they get upset about silence.

5. Let customers check status themselves

Most "is it ready?" calls disappear when customers can look up their repair on their own. RepairAmigo is free repair-shop software with repair status tracking, so each ticket can move through statuses like Checked in, Diagnosing, Waiting for parts and Ready for pickup, and the customer sees the same status you do.

6. Review your real numbers monthly

Once a month, compare quoted versus actual completion times for your most common jobs. Adjust your buckets based on what really happens at your bench, not on guesses.

Quick counter script

"This is a same-day job. With what's ahead of you, it should be ready by 3, no later than 5. You can check the status anytime, and we'll update it if anything changes."

Clear quotes, honest buffers and visible status updates turn turnaround time from a source of complaints into a reason customers come back. You can start using RepairAmigo for free to track every ticket from check-in to pickup.