Why you're the loser with the "low bidder."

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For an off-the-shelf consumer product, one might be satisfied with merely "shopping price." However, when it comes to construction, shopping on price alone is the consumer's pitfall. Here's why...

A property owner desires the best that they can afford. They thumb through the yellow pages or surf the web, and select 4 or 5 pretty ads that appeal to them. They telephone and set up appointments.

A commissioned salesman comes to their house. This person routinely has limited "design sense," and is merely motivated by "making the sale." The product offerings that they feature are limited by those that their company has on it's menu.

The property owner is provided with a "free design" from each of the companies. Some are created from pre-defined tracing templates and others using "pre-packaged swimming pool design software." The "designs" are limited by the templates or by the offerings of the software program.

The salesman touts how he'll save the client money by utilizing 1 pump to perform multiple functions. They can complete the entire construction process in a few months & have the family swimming before "school's out."

The low bidder with the fastest installation schedule is awarded the project.

Will the property owner really get what they expect? You know the answer.... they are expecting customer service, yet how can the low bidder cover the overhead of staff to provide customer service?

The property owner will expect someone to be on the job supervising the sub-contractors... but how can they have a supervisor assigned to manage their job with such little profit margins?

Left to their own devices, the construction of the pool becomes a parade of unsupervised sub-contractors, who take the path of least resistance in everything they do. They will be "back-charged" by the pool builder, if they exceed the budgeted allotment for any aspect of the job.

To that end, the expectations of the property owner & the reality of the finances of the "low bidder" pool builder quickly collide.

Remember the saying, "You get what you pay for" ??

Over the years I have been involved in many construction defect litigations. Most of these are a direct result of the a misalignment of the property owner's expectations and the reality of hiring the low bidder. While we'd all love to have a Bentley for the price of a Yugo, face it.... it isn't going to happen.

A quality project simply CAN NOT be built cheaply. There are minumum standards that must be met. Established concrete curing times must be followed. Masonry drying times are dictated by industry standards. And these are the MINIMUMS. To finish a project in a few months, means that something is being shortchanged. And you can bet that it is the quality.

"Good isn't cheap & cheap isn't good!"



Paolo Benedetti - Aquatic Artist
"Creating water as art."™
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