ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area I'd like an estimate please

Fireguy, I love that story!

I've seen more subtle variations, most of which boil down to "I automatically jack up my price with "X" because I know it's going to be a never-ending PITA." In the most extreme form, it's "I'd just as soon not have to deal with "X."" (Then, of course, "X" wonders why their calls don't get returned, or all the contractors they find are marginal operations).

When IBM writes a contract they call that PITA factor "risk". It is the amount you add to cover things you can't define and predict. It can be the difference between making money and working for free.