PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Construct new 12’ X 24’ floating composite deck with railings, plus deck perimeter landscaping work. Project site flat and readily accessible from adjacent public road. Project document package extensively detailed, including Scope of Work with site photographs, Specifications, Plan View, and four Section Views, which several prospective and actual bidders complimented level of detail, very much appreciated.
WHAT HAPPENED: Pro-West Landscape Co (PWLC) one of six responsive responsible bidders. PWLC submitted lowest apparent bid price at ~$25K. Other responsive responsible bid prices were $29K, $33K, $34K, $36K, and $53K. Subsequently selected PWLC to perform work.
PWLC’s Proposal/Contract document required several revision iterations before signable. On Oct 31, I signed clean original Proposal/Contract, and returned it to PWLC for signature, which, to best of my knowledge, never happened, since I never received a co-signed copy despite several email requests for same. Original tentative start date Nov 28.
On Nov 4, PWLC rep called to advise their foreman had just resigned, and they would not be able to complete project. I replied that we could wait until PWLC could hire replacement (hopefully within next few months). Rep said OK, and appreciated our cooperation.
On Feb 22 (3+ months later), I met on-site with PWLC’s prospective replacement foreman, who would supervise deck construction. We reviewed project together. I answered all his questions to his satisfaction. As a result of that interaction, I was confident that he could successfully supervise work.
On Mar 9, (~5 months after I signed Proposal/Contract), Thomas called me to advise that he would need to revise price, given time that had elapsed since last October. I replied that I understood, and that that was understandable and reasonable under the circumstances.
On Mar 10th I received his revised Proposal/Contract, with shocking price tag of ~$32K, which represented a $7K / 30% increase over his original $25K price.
During Mar 13 phone call, he confessed that he had not thoroughly examined project docs before submitting original bid. Upon doing so, discovered that original $25K bid was too low for company to “make any money”. In subsequent phone call that day, we discussed project and possible revisions. During that call, Thomas expressed dismay at some specifications, opining that some work was unnecessary, and that he was unfamiliar with some specified materials. I addressed all his questions and concerns, noting that if I agreed to eliminate work or substitute materials, then he would need to reduce bid price accordingly.
On Oct 14, I received email that stated: “Good Morning Bob and Sandy [Not our correct names]. Thank you for your email and fax [We never faxed anything to them]. Unfortunately due to limited resources [Not exactly sure what that means], we're unable to bid this project or consider it for further work here at Pro West Landscape…. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and wish you all the best.”. I replied in part: “Your purported inability due to "limited resources" (more like "unwillingness" from my perspective) to now forgo [renege] a project that you previously expressed high interest in and bid on (at a price that I note was reasonable/comparable to other bids that we received for the exact same work) has indeed caused us great inconvenience and lost valuable time/enjoyment of a new deck, from which we can never recover. We now must start the process all over again after a ~5 month delay. We are not happy customers. Because of this experience, we will never recommend you to anyone for any landscaping-related work.”.