Last month, we discussed the intricacies of responding to a formal RFP. Although it can be an expensive, fairly complex process, you certainly can’t win a project if you don’t respond. Let’s look at another time-consuming part of our work: the job walk or pre-bid conference. These meetings can be either mandatory or optional, and when we get the notice of this type of meeting, we have a decision to make. Do we go or not? In some cases the meeting is mandatory, so if the contractor wishes to bid, a representative of the company must attend. In other cases, the meeting is optional.
If the meeting is optional, why not go? I’ve heard many drillers say that going to the meeting is bad because they may notice something that will cause them to raise their bid price. How in the heck can that be bad? In my 31 years of being a driller, I’ve always thought that information is power, and in order to provide the best bid, I need all the information available about each particular job. If it’s a risky project, I darn sure want to capture that risk in my bid price. There are some contractors who provide a low price, then ask for a change order because of “unknown” conditions. While change orders can be valid, we all know drillers who seem to always bid low and then once they are on the site, ask for more money. This is not a long-term strategy for success. But I digress. Let’s get back the job walk/pre-bid meeting.