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Posted By: AC Do You Keep Copies Of Bids You Didn't Get? - 06/08/04 04:40 PM
Do you keep copies of bids or estimates of jobs you didn't get?

If so, for everyone or just for customers who didn't give you one particular job?

Do you consider a list of owners who didn't give you a job as a good list to market to in the future?

AC
Posted By: aland Re: Do You Keep Copies Of Bids You Didn't Get? - 06/08/04 04:54 PM
I tend to keep copies of everything, thats why i can never find aything. But yes you can some times learn quite a lot from jobs you did not get! Especially when you get to seeing the job that was completed. Over time it turns you into quite a synical and wise old buzzard, just a sittin waitin to pick at them there bones.
Do you consider a list of owners who didn't give you a job as a good list to market to in the future?

As a small contractor..Absolutely NOT.

If they, I take it by owner, you mean a homeowner I would say No.If they think you are too expensive ...they aren't going to change their mind unless you lowball them a price.Don't do that.
If you mean a GC I would bid a couple times for one but if it becomes clear that they are just using you to Double check their "regular" guys price..then you are wasting your valuable time.
I do keep copies of all my estimates but with the prices changing higher so often now they are not good for future pricing use.
Posted By: AC Re: Do You Keep Copies Of Bids You Didn't Get? - 06/09/04 04:03 PM
I wonder if sometimes a homeowner selects another contractor for a reason other than low price.

Most homeowners don't give the contractors who bid on the job but didn't get it the courtesy of a phone call to tell them.

I wonder if it is worth calling them to ask them why they gave the job to another. Does anyone do that?
I keep bids sent out for 45 days. After that the go to a did not get job file. After 3 more months they go to the shredder.
Usually you will know if you have a bid within 45 days. the exceptions to that are usually tax supported/goverment contracts that may not have an council/board meeting for a month or more. but those requests for bid specifications will usually tell you how long the bid is to remain open from the bid date.
There is no real reason to keep paperwork from a lost bid.
Just go to the next job/bid and try again.
You're on target AC,sometimes a homeowner(residential) will choose a contractor for other reasons.Sadly some people may choose(or not) based on how nice(or bad) your truck looks,how you look(grooming),how old or young looking you are(they try to figure out how long you've been in the trade),how polite you are(bad language),how prompt arriving you are,if you smell like cigerette smoke etc. etc. etc.
Keep on bidding it sounds like you'll do fine.
I keep my old bids so that if I am asked to bid something else by the same person/contractor, I know what range I had them in last time (how much padding was added) That way my pricing appears consistant. I wouldn't want to come in way high and than too low. Odds are if they are asking you to bid again, your price couldn't have been too far off the first time.
Welcome, Andyp95.
I don't think it's sad at all that people may take somebody who is on time, doesn't swear in front of them, doesn't stink, has more experience, doesn't look like an escaped convict, etc. than someone who just gives them a lower price.

Bids? Unless we expect a job to go to a re-bid, unless we've got it, there's not much sense saving the whole thing. It just goes on a bid log with the numbers.
I've been places that did save them, and thrown away whole dumpster loads of years old blueprints.
Thanks for the welcome message electure.

Sad ,wasn't the best choice of words.I've recently got a job that I was not the lowest price on.Got it for the other reasons that we both stated, It is sometimes about more than money and that is a good thing.
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