DanielH1 (California)
Posts: 482
Posts: 482
Posted:
I've noticed a disturbing trend. Lots of service providers underbid jobs and then "tune" their performance to their bid.
For example, an landscaper will do everything in his power to win the bid, usually by making sure that he bids the lowest (usually by getting somebody inside the HOA to reveal the current contracted price or just guessing a low bid). After winning the contract, he'll neglect minor work (he "forgets") and shift his crew to other jobs before the job is done (if asked, he "has to make a profit"). The landscaper is only an example; other types of contractors are doing this kind of thing to the HOA, too.
When confronted, they'll just lie or pretend to misunderstand or claim that it isn't really a problem or give a sob story about their financial problems or blame their employees or even be "real sorry" and fix it for one month. If pressed, sometimes they'll even admit that they did whatever they needed to do to get the contract, even if they knew that they'd never be able to complete the work profitably.
I've dealt with this kind of thing in my personal life, too, so it isn't unique to the HOA. (Of course, in my personal life, I now avoid these people and, in the past, managed to keep the guy in check by withholding payments.)
Personally, I think that underbidding + underperformance is unethical and firing/terminating contract an appropriate response. Is that too harsh?
Any idea how to combat the problem? Sealed bids seems to promote the problem, not prevent it.
For example, an landscaper will do everything in his power to win the bid, usually by making sure that he bids the lowest (usually by getting somebody inside the HOA to reveal the current contracted price or just guessing a low bid). After winning the contract, he'll neglect minor work (he "forgets") and shift his crew to other jobs before the job is done (if asked, he "has to make a profit"). The landscaper is only an example; other types of contractors are doing this kind of thing to the HOA, too.
When confronted, they'll just lie or pretend to misunderstand or claim that it isn't really a problem or give a sob story about their financial problems or blame their employees or even be "real sorry" and fix it for one month. If pressed, sometimes they'll even admit that they did whatever they needed to do to get the contract, even if they knew that they'd never be able to complete the work profitably.
I've dealt with this kind of thing in my personal life, too, so it isn't unique to the HOA. (Of course, in my personal life, I now avoid these people and, in the past, managed to keep the guy in check by withholding payments.)
Personally, I think that underbidding + underperformance is unethical and firing/terminating contract an appropriate response. Is that too harsh?
Any idea how to combat the problem? Sealed bids seems to promote the problem, not prevent it.