Low Bid Syndrome

Or how to not get bitten by the cheap bug...  
 
 

For many years, government agencies have made most of their purchases by the bid process.  In this process, they would release a RFB (Request For Bid) stating the specifications for the items being bid and other pertinent data.  Companies will then submit competitive bids to provide the items or services listed in the RFB.  In many situations, the personnel evaluating the bids had no direct knowledge of the content of the bid and simply accepted the lowest bid whether it met specs or not.  A slick salesman could write a bid response to make a Yugo sound like a Corvette.   Until the past few years, most agencies were practically bound by law to accept the lowest bid with no consideration of the quality of that bid or other higher, but often better suited bids.  Government staff even developed a saying to describe this situation...

"By accepting the lowest bid, we are assured of

getting the most inferior product for the money."

In recent years, most government agencies have adopted policies stating that they may reject any or all bids and are not bound to accept the lowest bid for any reason.  They now evaluate the bids on a quality of services or items rendered versus cost basis.  When evaluating bids on this basis, they have found that seldom does the cheapest bid provide the best product or service for the money.  Cheap bids often have clauses that allow the bidder to bill more than the bid stated (cost over runs) and/or substitute inferior materials.

You, of course, aren't bound by the same rules that government agencies must follow, but the saying still applies.  This is not to say that the low bid/quote is automatically the worst, but that higher bid/quotes may provide a better and more reliable service to you.

That is why we at AM Ground Systems Company don't try to be the cheapest... Just the best.

We quote each job individually and with great care to insure that we give the client the best possible job for the money yet remain competitive.

Sure we miss jobs by not cutting our price to the bone...

But our work is ALWAYS done correctly and on time.  Our superior engineering, equipment and techniques allow us to naturally keep costs reasonable yet provide superior service.

Here is what we do:

Here is what we won't do: