How do you handle bidding jobs you don't want?

[ishium 80439]

I've been given an RFB for a commercial GC. I have worked with them before and they are a reasonable company to work with. They send me RFBs on a fairly regular basis.

The one I am looking at now is a bit too large for me right now and is a prevailing wage job which I have not muddled with before. I want to keep responding to this GC so I don't get taken off of their bid list but this is a job that I really don't want because I don't think I can handle it right now. With the current economic situation I'm more or less a one man band these days and I don't want to try to ramp up for this one job.

The other sticking point on this is that this project bids Monday so talking to their estimator and telling them I'm going to pass on this one will (I think) leave them out on a limb.

So how do I pass on this but still stay in the good graces of the GC?

Thanks in advance for any input. Let me know if you want any more details.

 

[Steve Beranek]

Tell him honestly that you are not able to bid on the job at this time, but to keep you posted on any other projects that come up. And thank him for letting you know about the oppurtunity.

 

[fridaymean]

Do you know any other E.C.s that are bidding? If you do, you can ask for their number and go up a bit. Or just toss a reasonable guesstimate at it without spending too much time.

We do both of these quite a bit. It keeps people happy, and we look good, but don't have to spend time estimating jobs we don't want, or don't have time to bid.

If you have bid like jobs, reference the previous ones and determine the differences and what they are worth. We have won jobs like this that we barely spent any time on, and they were profitable. No sense estimating the same job more than twice....

 

[roger]

Tell him honestly that you are not able to bid on the job at this time, but to keep you posted on any other projects that come up. And thank him for letting you know about the oppurtunity.

I agree.

Roger

 

[cowboyjwc]

My old boss would just bid it high, then if he still got it, it would really be worth doing. The times it would back fire is when we were really busy and he just bid it to be nice and then we would still get it.

 

[short circuit faulted]

Bidding Work

Bidding Work

I agree with two tatics presented, if you have a professional relationship with other EC ask them for a comp OR give them your high guess and ask if it is in the ball park. You can also go to the GC and thank them for the opportunity but you cannot provide an responsive RFB, but to please keep you in mind.

In regards to any GC having other electrical contractors pricing work in todays market - I cannot speak for other regions but here in SC we have folks coming in from GA & NC to provide proposals on 230K - 500K projects every day. Last three jobs I have bid there was an average of 16 electrical contractors providing proposals. It doesn't take a genius to figure those odds are only marginally better than hitting the big lottery.

Have a good day All!

Steve

 

[zog]

Do you know any other E.C.s that are bidding? If you do, you can ask for their number and go up a bit.

Isn't that collusion?

 

[mcclary's electrical]

I did this a few months ago. I explained honestly to them that the project was perfect for us, but it did not meet our timeline. They understood and kept me on the bid list for next time.

 

[wireguru]

Isn't that collusion?

no, its contracting

 

[petersonra]

The other sticking point on this is that this project bids Monday so talking to their estimator and telling them I'm going to pass on this one will (I think) leave them out on a limb.

So how do I pass on this but still stay in the good graces of the GC?

Thanks in advance for any input. Let me know if you want any more details.

Tell him the truth.

I don't know how long you have been sitting on this bid, but if you just got it, Monday is an awful short time frame for expecting a bid.

You are probably not the only EC he asked to bid so I don't see how he is out on a limb at all.

 

[growler]

Tell him the truth.

Lie like a dog. A big old Georgia Bull Dog.:grin::grin::grin:


Honesty is for those that can't keep a straight face while lieing and possibly for those caught in the act.

 

[Steve Beranek]

Thats only where you live

no, its contracting

 

[weressl]

I've been given an RFB for a commercial GC. I have worked with them before and they are a reasonable company to work with. They send me RFBs on a fairly regular basis.

The one I am looking at now is a bit too large for me right now and is a prevailing wage job which I have not muddled with before. I want to keep responding to this GC so I don't get taken off of their bid list but this is a job that I really don't want because I don't think I can handle it right now. With the current economic situation I'm more or less a one man band these days and I don't want to try to ramp up for this one job.

The other sticking point on this is that this project bids Monday so talking to their estimator and telling them I'm going to pass on this one will (I think) leave them out on a limb.

So how do I pass on this but still stay in the good graces of the GC?

Thanks in advance for any input. Let me know if you want any more details.

Let him know ASAP so he can find others. Explain why you don't think you could provide him with the level of service that you would like to provide fro him. He will remember and call you back.

 

[short circuit faulted]

Collusion or Contracting?

Collusion or Contracting?

IMHO Collusion is bid rigging, IE you get this job this week and Joe gets it next week and Tommy the week after that and I will take one after Tommy.

Again IMHO Contracting: Is attempting to satisfy general contractors who have dumped four days worth of estimating on you two days before the bid is due. You provide a price because you were asked, it most certainly is not the lowest price - We use the term Competive Pricing...In the world of numbers it is another number.

Have a good day all!


Steve

 

[dbuckley]

Isn't that collusion?

Worse: its a cartel.

Even though the OP wants to be the high bid and thus disqualify himself, that action ensures one of the other bidders will be the low bid, and ensuring someone is the low bid is the essence of why cartels are illegal in most juristictions. There is still price fixing going on.

Bid the job at a price that ensures you can sub it out entirely to another bigger contractor, and still have some margin on it. That way if it comes home you can actually deliver the goods without either killing yourself or hitting the wall.

 

[fridaymean]

Worse: its a cartel.

Even though the OP wants to be the high bid and thus disqualify himself, that action ensures one of the other bidders will be the low bid, and ensuring someone is the low bid is the essence of why cartels are illegal in most juristictions. There is still price fixing going on.

Bid the job at a price that ensures you can sub it out entirely to another bigger contractor, and still have some margin on it. That way if it comes home you can actually deliver the goods without either killing yourself or hitting the wall.

It is not collusion, and it is not a cartel. I have nothing monetary to gain from doing this practice. I am simply sending a proposal that will get looked at and tossed because it is high.

If I did not bid, the cards would fall the same. The bottom three bidders would be the bottom three bidders.

I, as well, was offended by this practice at first, but it works good and I feel is fair to all parties, even the GC. They are still going to get the low number from the contractor that gives them the low number.

 

[dbuckley]

It is not collusion, and it is not a cartel. I have nothing monetary to gain from doing this practice. I am simply sending a proposal that will get looked at and tossed because it is high.

We're talking here about you bidding in the knowledge of others prices.

That you are gaining nothing from it is irrelevant.

In a tender process, if a party has knowledge of others bids and uses that knowledge to affect their bid, and especially to reduce the choices the customer has, then that is anti-competitive behaviour, and violates the anti-trust statutes. Thats exactly what these legal provisions are intended to address - reducing the choice of bids available to a customer.

If you bid high without the knowledge of others bids there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. After all, your high bit may actually be the lowest
bid, if all other parties also choose to bid high.

If you really are doing this on a regular basis, I'd strongly recommend taking some legal advice. I may be absolutely wrong, but I may not be.

 

[zog]

Do you know any other E.C.s that are bidding? If you do, you can ask for their number and go up a bit.

collusion [kəˈluːʒən]
n
1. secret agreement for a fraudulent purpose; connivance; conspiracy

 

[zog]

Let him know ASAP so he can find others. Explain why you don't think you could provide him with the level of service that you would like to provide fro him. He will remember and call you back.

This is exactly what you should do, and I agree the GC will likely respect you for it.

 

[hurk27]

This is exactly what you should do, and I agree the GC will likely respect you for it.

I agree:grin:

High balling a regular customer might make him think you went up on your prices and you might not get any future work from them, remember once bitten twice shy, so just be honest and tell him you why you can't do this job right now, what ever the truth is, it will go along way to making better PR at a latter date.