Masonry Magazine July 2005 Page. 39
And, the construction manager has already promised the owner that there will be no changes. Because are you ready they all believe that your bid includes everything, even the stuff they know they inadvertently left out, but hope you'll catch and fix for free.
On the other hand, here's the way it usually works: you are sitting there, probably thinking to yourself something like, "Man, I'm way too cheap already, and I didn't include anything for contingencies." And even if your bid is "fat" on this job, only you know that fact because it's a closely guarded secret. Besides, you were selected on the basis of your good looks and your low bid, right?
With this background out of the way, we can now proceed with how we ask for what is rightfully ours.
We are never confrontational, but we are always confident. What's the difference? Confrontational people are scared, bitter, ineffective, "shout and bang the table" kind of people, and others don't like dealing with them.
Our team members, however, are confident, because we know the job, the documents (contract, plans and specs, codes), and which document takes precedence. We know what our hard costs are and what we have budgeted for our own contingencies. We know how to address perceived changes in scope of work. We know that, properly presented, the owner will agree with us most of the time because we are right, and we are backed up by a little bit of legal knowledge as well as the documents the owner wrote for the project. People like dealing with confident contractors.
So know your scope of work; know your plans and specs; and know your rights and remedies.
Next month: Analyzing the scope of work or, just because the owner says it's included doesn't make it so! Plus, you'll meet your first guest coach.
Gary Micheloni is a project manager, author, consultant and speaker. He can be reached at coachgary@fullcontactPM.com.
Copyright 2005 Gary Micheloni
The Voice of the Mason Contractor
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July 2005
Masonry 37