Re: Acceptable time from walk-thru to quotation delivery

["alarman" <alarman2000@xxxxxxxxx>]

Crash Gordon wrote:
> IMO a week is pushing it...but it depends, if client says "no hurry"
> then I'd say you'd have more time.
>
> Couple of weeks ago I was given the bums-rush to get a bid in. I told
> them I needed to see the plans. Took them a week to get the plans to
> me, and then I got ONLY one sheet...just the electric plan. So I said
> well I better get out there and take a look because it's gonna be an
> upscale mex restuarant...and sometimes they do funky things - like no
> ceiling so you have to wire tie and paint your wires black (stupid
> designer shit).  In the mean time they're calling me everyday for a
> bid. Dood!... So I run out there...45 miles one way on surface
> streets. Now I'm looking for the restaurant, I see something that
> looks like it on the corner so I stop and go in and theres a zillion
> people working..but the building doesn't match the plans I have.
> Sheesh. So I check the permit for the address and it's not it. I'm
> looking around and there's only finished stores and empty
> dirt...nothing else under construction. So I call the electrician who
> we are subbing for...where the hell is this building. OH...it's not
> in the ground yet. Its not fucking in the ground yet and you're
> calling me everyday for a freekin bid? I KNOW I won't even get this
> one too...cause there's two middle men; the woman who gave me the
> lead and the electrician and my price was 4500.00 based on plans
> only...waste of freekin time. In the end they'll end up with a 2 door
> 1 motion system in a 9000 sqft restaurant for 300 smackers.

That's cold, bud.

> I hate the bidding game, half the time dunno why I bother when I have
> clients that just say...do it and send me the bill.

After all these years, I can almost always smell the cheapskates, looky
loos, and crooks. Usually when I get burned, I KNOW I'll get burned, but
still go through it anyway. Moth to a flame.

The ones I really hate are the ones where the decision maker sends his/her
lackey to meet with me. Busy busy, very busy.  "Uh, yeah, we want a security
system. Just give us a bid on what you think we need. Oh, and bid it with
cameras, and without, and with doors, no windows, and also what if we just
use motion only. Monitoring? Uh, I dunno, we'll think about that."

Check back in a week, nobody's in, won't return calls, etc.

Fucking worms.
Some days I hate this business.

js