Choosing an installer, and recognizing a high-pressure sale
This is a category with a reputation, and pretending otherwise would not help anybody. This page covers how to choose a contractor, and, in plain terms, what a high-pressure sale looks like, so it is easy to recognize and easy to refuse.
What a good contractor looks like
- Licensed for the trades involved, and willing to give the license number without being pressed.
- Insured, with a certificate rather than an assurance.
- Able to show recent, comparable local work, and to give references you can actually call.
- Willing to put the scope in writing, itemized, before asking for a decision.
- Clear about who does the plumbing and the electrical, and whether they are subcontracted.
- Explicit about the warranty: what it covers, who honours it, how long, and what voids it.
- Comfortable with you taking a week to think, and with you getting two other quotes.
The last point is the most reliable single filter available. A contractor who is content to be compared is usually a contractor who expects to compare well.
What a high-pressure sale looks like
None of the following is illegal, and all of it is designed to produce a signature in one visit. Naming them makes them much easier to sit through.
- A price that is only available today, or only if you sign before the salesperson leaves.
- A “manager” called from the van, who authorizes a large discount on the spot.
- A visit that runs for two or three hours, well past the point where the information has been exchanged.
- A demonstration or presentation before anybody has measured the room.
- Financing paperwork produced at the same visit as the quote.
- Talk about what could happen to you or a family member, rather than about what the bathroom needs.
- Reluctance to leave a written, itemized quote behind.
How to run the visit on your terms
- Set a time limit at the start, “I have an hour”, and hold it politely.
- Have somebody else present if you would like one. It changes the dynamic entirely.
- Ask for the quote in writing, and say plainly that you will not decide today. That sentence is complete; it needs no justification.
- Do not sign financing at the same visit as the quote.
- If a price is only good today, treat that as information about the company rather than about the price.
- Keep the brochure and the quote. Compare them against the other two at a table, alone.
Anybody may end a sales visit at any point. “Thank you, I'll be in touch” is a complete sentence, and a company that does not accept it has answered your question about whether to hire them.
What we do about it
Nobody comes to the house without being asked. Our surveyors are not paid on commission, they leave a written quote, and the quote is still valid the following week. There is no financing paperwork in the van, see about us.
What we cannot control is how any other company behaves in a living room. That is why this page sits in the main navigation rather than in a footer: recognizing the pattern is worth more to you than our promise not to use it.
Frequently asked
How many quotes should we get?
Three is the usual advice and it holds here, provided they describe the same scope. Comparing three prices for three different projects tells you nothing.
We already signed and want to cancel.
There may be a cancellation right for contracts signed at home, with a time limit that varies. [To be cited accurately from federal and state sources before publication.] Act quickly and get advice from a consumer protection office or an attorney rather than from a website.
Is a national brand safer than a local contractor?
Neither is inherently safer. A brand may standardize the product and the warranty; a local contractor may know the housing stock. The filters above apply equally to both.
Last reviewed July 29, 2026.
Get matched, not pitched
Request a written quote and let contractors respond in writing. No visit is scheduled on your behalf, and nothing here needs to be decided today.
Senior Bath Quote converts bathtubs to curbless showers, installs walk-in tubs, and fits grab bars and other safety modifications. One written quote, no same-day discount, no in-home close.