why bother

FRANK_24

A good* customer " To qualify as good, a customer must have spent at least five figures and be an on time payer." [right from our operating procedure booklet] hires a person to size up six buildings for heat and dhw replacement. Right up my alley. In conversation with this specifier, we have made numerous inquiries, comments, and informative suggustions concerning major issues the job. Two other contractors bidding the job have not addressed these issues. We are taking the time to do the right thing by not asking for extras during the job, while other guys go by the specs and low ball the bid. We are not talking peanuts here either, .......more like shka-dole. Sure we intend to be informative during the bid recieving process and ask for a council meeting to discuss our way of doing things, and hopefully things will go our way. [lowest qualified bidder....my a--!]

Empire_2

Unfortunately:

Plan and spec. job's are a matter of money in the first place. When you try do do the job honestly and with the benefit of the customer in mind, the dollars go higher than expected and others can under cut you big time. The only way is to sell what you are planning to do, (as you are). Keep on doing what you are doing and good things will come of it. One last thought,....When I lose a job due to over pricing, and after I explain why, where and what for I can only say call me if your new system by others does not work. At least that way you are leaving the door open to correct any problems that have been over looked....:-)

Almost forgot..Don't ever!!!! submit or divulge technical calculations or anything that others can use. After all YOU did the work!.

Mike T.

Steamhead (in transit)

We usually don't bother with these

unless we're dealing with people we know well. In general, they're not looking for quality, they just want it as cheap as they can get it. They get what they pay for, which is what they deserve.

"Steamhead"

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FRANK_24

YEAH, BUT....

It's kinda hard to turn away a seven figure job just because the owners need to be informed. These guys used us before after we set 'em straight, and now we need to do it again. If this was one owner, one property, things would be different, but these guys are big time players, LOTS-A-property, pays on time, c'mon these guys we go after and bend over a bit to keep 'em as a customer. Think of it this way, I could send a gang of four guys on this job for six-seven months. That's worth the aggrivation during the pre-bid.

Steamhead (in transit)

Whether or not

the aggravation is worth it, is of course up to you. But you say "These guys used us before after we set 'em straight, and now we need to do it again" so that tells a lot. Personally I think life's too short for this kind of thing.

"Steamhead"

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Weezbo

Be careful ...Large $'s doesn't mean large profits...

Big numbers are nothing to steer away from just be real careful...

designing for free is down right disheartening ...

on a similar note...an oil company here hired my buddy to maintain a bunch of their properties..then they hired a low ball "ringer" and for the last couple years he always gets out bid yet he is the one every winter who must go figure out Why it is not working properly and make it work...you guessed it! this always happens when the place is super cold and parts are miles from the nearest jet to get them here...

Al Corelli

OK

If they are such great customers, there should be no "bid process".

JJ_4

Bid-No bid

I work for a corporation in facilities. At our main campus (2 large buildings)we try to work with contractors that we have developed relationships with over many years. However, when the bean-counters get involved we are required to get bids for our service contracts every 3 years and they are starting to require bids for nearly every capital project. They don't seem to undertand the "intangibles". A low price means nothing without the value added service that only comes from a long term relationship.

Though it is a pain, the best reason I can think of for the bids is for us to keep up on what services are going for in todays market (in addition to using the BOMA price book). It lets us know that we are getting a fair price from our regular contractors....sort of a benchmark. Maybe this is really all the bean-counters want, but that could be giving them too much credit. I suspect that all they want is a low price...a pretty short sighted view in my opinion.

Jerry Scharf_4

As JJ said, sometimes buyers don't get a choice about bidding

On the other hand, It sounds like your good?? customer isn't doing their job. The job on the buying side is to qualify the hell out of the people bidding so no one can walk through the door who you don't believe can do your job well.

If this customer is putting you against low-ball people bigging from pricing sheets then they aren't doing their job and you won't be able to do yours. Either you get them to restructure the bidding to get rid of low-balls or I would recommend you politely bow out for this job (for now.) I would be sure to tell them that you really want to work with them more and would love to do the job, you just don't see how this bid process can end up with you getting the work and making for a successful project.

Very few people, especially bean counters, realize the goal is for both sides to win. They get a working system at a fair price on time. You make enough profit to keep you in business and your salaries high enough to attract the talent, train, tool... You can't commit to the "working" and "on time" parts of their success without the "fair price" part.

Either the customer will understand this or not. Both ways you both know where you stand.

jerry

FRANK_24

THE NAME OF THEIR GAME IS...

...keep the contractors honest. Really, I believe that. Get more than one price, don't let them [us] think the job is in the bag. They know of my companies rep. from first hand experience. They know nothing but bottom line and budgets. After the presentation we'll sit down and tell 'em why we should be doing their work. "Do ya want a pipe fitter that follows a diagram without question, or a heating contractor that knows what to do?" Two different kinds-a guys in my eyes. AND, a big bid does mean big profits in my shop. Price it right, bid it right, do it right.