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I’m curious what you guys think about some questions that come up from time to time about jobs & quotes. See first post for explanation.
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I sonetimes get into situations when quoting jobs, and I'm not sure who to tell about what.
For instance: A lumberyard gives me a print to quote. Then a second lumberyard brings in a copy of the same print. Do I tell lumberyard A that lumberyard B is also bidding it?
Then I find out that lumberyard A is bidding it out to 2 different GCs, and lumberyard B is bidding it to 3 GCs. (And that's just the ones I
i know
about) So now I find out this guy is bidding this job out to at least 5 GCs. Do I tell the GCs my concerns? If I tell one GC, should I then tell all of them, to be fair? Some of them I have a working relationship with, some I don't know.
I guess my concern is that the homeowner in this case is yanking the GCs around. And I don't want to see that happen, but also don't want to get a reputation for giving out too much info.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
*Oh boy, fine kettle of fish you're into Ron. Quick answer would be to let well enough alone and just be thankful, one time figuring, multiple pricing. Each yard may have a diff mark-up as diff GC's might price the project differently. Why get in the middle of anyones business practices when a customer may realistically just be putting it out to bid from a few quality contractors. I agree that the homeowner should ideally be getting a price from the best contractor fit for their job, but often that's just an ideal. I never, or almost never competitively bid on jobs because the customer wants me to do it. That's a nirvana not many can visit. I don't envy your position.
*.. i agree with calvin... and i'd mention it to anyone who asks... they don't ask.. they don't get..
*I'm not invloved in residential construction, and so I can't comment on what's typical or accpeted there. I do bid out a lot of commercial jobs though, and it isn't at all unusual to have different GC's bidding, but using the same subs for bidding certain work. Reality is that in our rural location there aren't always lots of different subs to chose from, and the GC's all know who the good ones are.I see no impropriety in this at all. Just be careful if you give different $ to different GC's (ie tack on $1K because "XYZ" builder is a pain in the a-- to deal with, doesn't pay on time, etc...). Things like that have a way of getting out, and may come back to bite ya.I assume the other GC's know this is a bid job though. Hopefully the owners outlined that with them all. Either way I agree that it isn't your concern. Good luck on the bid.
*O.K., a couple of quick points.I would never talk to a GC about the prices we give lumberyards, or wether or not one got a lower price than another. My concern was that I think the homeowner is yanking these guys around and they don't know he's bidding the stuff out all over the place. From experience, customers like that are bad news. The prints were lousy - drawn by someone who didn't have a clue what they were doing. If they start out nickel and diming everything, they're not likely to change.
*Yep... Red flag. I would move on.
*I get into this all the time. I just bid them all and keep my mouth shut. I'm a GC, but I do framing, block work and trim for other GC's. I DO bid them differently depending on the GC. If you pay late, you pay more. If you are pain...you pay more. If you supply crap materials and expect me to "work it out"... you pay more. I also tell my guys, that as long as they are working as "subs" they act as though the GC is their meal ticket, they are there for him, not to promote me(us). This keeps a steady supply of work for us all. I truly believe in survival of the fittest, and everything I do, leads to this. That is why I have differential bids. The slow pay, drains on the system will slowly drain OUT of the system...like they should. I'm not a bank, you pay slow..you pay MORE.
*I wouldn't say anything, none of my business.
*We are in a rural area and everyone knows when there is a sizeable job out to bid. Our subs will be giving the same bid to all the GC's even though I know that we pay quicker than anyone else. Should this bother me? Maybe but I want my subs to make as much money as they can. They deserve it. We will get the job on the merits of our own work and we are happy with that. I wouldn't worry about mentioning any of your knowledge to anyone but I don't think I would blab too much either.
*I agree with Mike, who agrees with Calvin. So I guess I agree with Calvin. I also agree with Keith.Just being agreeable,Rich Beckman
*It happens to me sometimes. Like right now. I'm bidding the trim installation on a two story penthouse for the two GC's that are bidding this job against each other.I like both GC's, and really don't want to see either of them lose.I give the same numbers to both sides, and they both know it. One is having me bid the cabinets and one is not. One got another number on installation from someone else which is a lot lower than mine. But I don't think he'll use the the low number because it's too low. I assume that they will both go in with my numbers, but that will vary with how they do the mark-up.One thing I won't do is tell the two GC's what the other GC's numbers might be. I am privy to this information because we are all good friends, but that wouldn't be right. After all, there is no way I would know the totals for all the subs anyway.There is a marble company that I know is bidding this job for both GC's. Dallas is a big town, but a lot of the top notch builders use the same top notch subs. It's a great notch to be in.I agree with what's been said here about "too many" subs bidding the same job. If I get wind that everybody in town is bidding something, I'll decline. If a customer is looking for the lowest price in town, first of all, it won't be me and secondly, he gets what he deserves.Ed.
*I'd like to point out that if a customer is soliciting more bids than a idfferent customer, it doesn't mean that they are seeking the lowest bid. It is possible that they didn't like or trust the GC, (surprise, surprsie?), and are interviewing a few more than they might really want to. The gc's themselves aren't doing a very good job qualifying the prospect.Ron, I'd probably be a blabber to the guys that I have a good working realationship with.blue
*Ron, I would keep my mouth shut. Even if you make some points with your favorites, word has a way of getting around that you "talk". Your trusted buddies may even begin to wonder if you have "talked" about one of their jobs. Worst-case down side far outweighs best-case upside.John
*Personally fellas,I think its best to know where your competition is at. I like to scour my local area for any information I can get about my competition suppliers, homeowners, etc. I'll take all the information I can get.In Ron's situation, I've had supplier's tell me that they've seen a print before. I've appreciated the information, and tried to get more if I could. I don't think in this scenario I would think anything of Ron's ethical standards if he did something like that. I generally ask a homeowner who I will be bidding against at the first meeting. If they told me a,b and c and I found there was a d and e, trust would be broken, so this is information I would like to have.
*Boss Hog,Straying from the subject, but I was curious if you got your name because you own one the V-8 motorcycles called the "BOSS HOG"? My dads friend owns one, I guess it's pretty sweet.
*I always think honesty is the best policy, Ron. If someone asks you if you were asked to bid that job by several sources, you might say "yes", or you might say "we try to respect everyone's confidentiality, we don't talk to builder A about a bid for builder B" or something like that - depends on your policy.But I don't want my business spread all over town, and I'd be leary of disclosing much to a supplier who talked about other's work to me. What you'd be doing is giving advice, a risky proposition even when it's asked for. I don't know if it's an ethical issue as much as a relationship issue.
*Nope - no motorcycles here. On the radio at work one day, some SOB called me "Short little fat buddy" and the name stuck. Even my kids call me that now............(-:
*Jim - If you think you might have been me, and you're answering one of my posts, isn't that kinda like talking to yourself ???
*Yeah, I think I might have a valid point there, thanks.You're welcome.Roses are red,violets are blue.I'm schitzophrenic,and so am I.And you can't spell either.Yeah, I know. We've been trying to get better at that since grade school.