ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Business Related Discussion Lost Bid Follow-Up

ITO, no offense taken.

I understand that there will still be situations where the honest bidders will end up with the short end of the stick, but I try to level the field wherever I can.

If I see shortcuts that never got priced in the beginning of the job, I become a MAJOR pain in everyone's behind. I've had feeders pulled back to replace the conduit connectors with the right ones. I had 1 Contractor try to substitute plastic wallplates instead of the priced (and paid for) stainless steel ones, and I didn't let go until the Owner got a $41,000 credit on the job (huge job).

I know that didn't help the losing bidders out, but at least the lowball guy didn't get to keep the money for something that he didn't do.

I've been described as a "pit bull with AIDS" when I find someone being taken advantage of. I know that there will always be people taking unfair advantage of each other, but I try to do what little I can in my small corner of the universe.

BTW, I caught a Contractor using 1900 boxes where the Owner had paid for cast ones. It got 'kicked upstairs' to be settled after 8 months, but I was refusing to release about $740,000 on a gigantic project. I may not win every time, but at least that guy will remember me when trying to undercut the next job.

...and no, I'm not a bad guy to have to work with; but I hate people who cheat and try to get away with something. Ask, and we'll talk about it; try to submarine me, and we're going to have issues. One Contractor told me in a kickoff meeting that an electrician in his shop told him that I could be a nice guy or an a@@hole, and it was entirely his call as to which one he'd be dealing with.

Overall, I'll work with and play nice with anybody; as long as everybody else plays nice too.

Sometimes... a guy can miss a spec item like cast boxes.

Its when they plans call for a full conduit system on the data/tele and they put "ring and string" in that burns me up.

That cast box wasn't just in the spec; it was on the drawings, showed up on several details and was tagged in the shop drawing submittals. But it's too long a story to go into detail here.
Feel free to send me a PM if you want the whole skinny.

I hate the "ring and string" installs. That's one of the things I tell the bidders to list if they're in doubt.
If 1 bidder offers a credit of $11k to omit the conduit system, and his competition offers nothing; that's a good sign to the Owner of who read the proposal and who's just lowballing a price out of their ....ummmm.... ear.

I'll take your word for it.

Owners are a big part of the problem, they hear that one low price and no matter what happens from that point on they are locked on to that one number as the "right price", even it is not.