ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Business Related Discussion Responses to Bids

I like the way Gregtaylor thinks.
He knows the Rules!

One of our wholesalers collects the information. If you get prices from him, he calls to ask your bid and he tells you what the other bids were.

General contractors aren't comfortable giving out that information, but it makes them look dishonest. If times are good, you don't bid their jobs again. I suppose, if times are bad, you send him and his family to Disneyland.

Sometimes I'm embarrassed to be a human. There's no honor in it.

I am really getting tired of spending my time on these bids just to throw them out into the black vacuum of GC space. I know that ya got to do this but I was wondering...are any of you using programs like "CDC Reports" or "Reed Construction Data" to try to find new sources of work? Are these even worth it? Guess instead of ranting, I am just showing signs of being used, abused and thrown away.
What about all you guys that are still working steady...what advice do you have. I am getting to the point that I am ready to try another field, but am getting to long in the tooth to do even that.
I know...breathe in........breathe out......repeat! "Tomorrow is another day and I will never be hungry again"

methinks this pix describes my 'bid process' best>
[img]https://7aj0sa.bay.livefilestore.co...0by%20the%20seat%20of%20your%20pants.gif[img]

Times are tough, there are many subs bidding anything they can, one recent project attracted 14 ECs.

A recent pool filter house, block structure, wood framed roof, 450 SFt, w/200 amp, 3 phase service, two pool filter pumps, misc outlets, etc attracted six (6) GC's and 19 ECs. The 19 ECs really upset the POCO field guy; 19 calls regarding relocating a pole, and 'POCO fees'.

In my experience all you can do is what you do to solicit work. If you don't get a call back from a bid assume 1) you were underbid. OR 2) some one did someone a FAVOR. All you can do is keep trying.

nny Stuff:
Electrical Contractor is to communicate to General Contractor via Mental Telepathy; General Contractor is to understand all and interpret completely - with 100% accuracy, without the submission of RFIs.

Let's not make more of this than we need. Let me describe a recent encounter, to illustrate exactly what you do NOT want to do:

After a service call to fix the furnace, continuing problems with the aged unit led me to call the serviceman with this request:

"Let's cut to the chase, and just replace the unit with a new one. We don't want to spend all winter worrying about what will break next."

The reply (this was a Thursday morning) was: "Well, yea, those things are always breaking down ... I'm on a job right now, and have to go somewhere for the weekend, so I won't be able to get together with you until sometime next week ..."

Come on ... it's in the 30's at night ... do you really think the customer is willing to wait a week for a quote, etc? You've already seen the job, how long does it take to say "a new furnace will cost $450-600?" Do you think that I'm getting the impression that you're not really interested in the job?

Consider that this story started two weeks before the weather turned, with others being 'too busy' to look at the furnace BEFORE it got cold out.

So, how did I resolve this? Well, I have one advantage over the usual DIY- an account at the HVAC parts house. So I made time to visit there .... dealt with a staff that was predisposed to telling me the part wasn't ... holy smokes, they DID have the part .... put it in, and the beast is making heat.

I'm not picking on the HVAC industry. We do the same thing ourselves .... we get so used to saying 'no' that we forget to say 'yes, it CAN be done.'

Yes, I always get feedback on bids submitted. You spent a great deal of time and energy on your bid, and you deserve to know the outcome, and the reason for it. At the very least, you should call the GC after bidding has ended, and ask where you came in, whether high or low. Some will even tell you the exact bids submitted. Keep in mind that you are sometimes bidding against 30 other contractors for jobs, so that has something to do with it as well. In my opinion, if you are not getting feedback after a bid, you are selling yourself short.