Web development and a locksmith's quote

As with anyone who owns a home, things break, and the patio door had been broken for some time. Taking advantage of the summer and the holidays, I called a locksmith to get a quote for fixing the lock, which was stuck and kept jamming.

Since the quote visit was free, I didn’t think twice. Two young lads turned up, the one trailing behind even younger, I’d say under 20. Without even taking the lock apart, they quoted me 90 euros for the repair.

At any other time I’d have said yes (not least because the landlord would have reimbursed me), but I knew it was absurd: it wouldn’t take even 15 minutes to fix, and I very much doubted the part cost that much, because I’d already seen how it worked.

In the end, this morning I fixed the lock myself: 3 missing screws and a loose shaft (one whack with a hammer and done), 20 minutes, and this isn’t even my trade.

All of this got me thinking: most people are willing to pay €90 for a lock, and a lot more to install air conditioning, fix a broken tap, etc.

But when it comes to building a web or mobile app, even if it takes hours, or even months, of work by one or several people (designer, developer, sysadmin…), the client always finds the quote outrageous… and on top of that keeps asking for changes on the fly, as if they were free, as if it were some kind of “all-inclusive” deal. They ask and ask, weeks after accepting a quote that included none of what they’re now asking for.

I often wonder why the concept of labour costs, and of the skills needed to build web apps or websites, still hasn’t sunk in for everyone. I don’t know when we’ll learn that all of this, intangible as it is, yet ultimately generating traffic and money for the client, has a cost that’s worth paying.