A few months ago I put in a bid for the staking on a gas station job out in Chandler for a cost of $6,500. This cost is smaller than I would normally bid but like everyone else I have had to sharpen my pencil and adjust accordingly.
I received a call informing me that my company had been awarded the contract.
So, me being the diligent guy that I am I told them I would be at their office at 7am the next morning for a pre-con.
I show up and the door is locked and no one is to be seen. I call the guy and he tells me he will be right out.
After a short time his boss comes out and tells me that a mistake was made and that the contract had been awarded elsewhere. That is actually ok in my mind, people often make mistakes.
I am curious so I ask why and of course it was the cost. So I ask how much the other company is doing it for and he told me 13. I said “wow I beat that by a lot” and he promptly got indignant and told me $1,300 and started to justify the other surveyors existence while trying to make me feel like a jerk for giving him such a high price.
Needless to say I was shocked beyond belief. I calmly thanked the guy for the opportunity and left.
Now my big question is this: Who is the major scumbag here, the client or the other surveyor?
I personally think the other surveyor is a total bottom feeder that is doing nothing but killing our industry by whoring himself out for a quarter of the cost and hurting his colleagues.
If surveyors would just pull their heads out and get an industry pricing standard going, the client would be forced to choose by preference instead of being given the privilege of being able to choose by price.
Also the surveyor would be forced to produce good customer service above all else in order to retain the client.
Greetings to all. At the risk of embarrassing myself, coupled with the fact I “tell it like it is”, I’d like to respond with the following commentary.
ReplyDeleteIn my humble opinion, a Registered Professional Land Surveyor is, on par, (if you will) with a Doctor or an Attorney – any day of the week. The amount of knowledge of math, Law, field experience, office experience, computer knowledge, customer relationships, analysis, State Statutes, computer programming, field equipment hardware & software, and on and on and on, would absolutely blow most peoples minds.
Although you may become a Registered Professional Land Surveyor, technically, in a reasonably small amount of time, in my opinion, a “Real” Registered Professional Land Surveyor won’t even consider “striking out” to become such, before he or she has at least 12 to 15 years of real world experience.
Many of you are probably much smarter than I, and achieved this distinction much sooner than I did, however, I know many “R.L.S.’ “ who couldn’t Survey their way out of a paper bag. Very “book smart” but have absolute no clue about field / real world Surveying Experience. For “those guys”, you turn 180°, and then go about a foot.
None the less, my longwinded point here is I have been in the Profession of Land Surveying since the early ‘80’s and am absolutely witnessing the destruction of a Profession.
Fellow Professional’s and aspiring Professional’s. We have absolutely destroyed what is one of the most admirable Professions with an absolutely amazing history. Even Moses was “running the gun” in the Ten Commandments. Three of the four on Mount Rushmore were Surveyors. We deserve to treat ourselves & our Profession with much more respect, than many of us do.
Afraid of losing your existing clients because your prices are too high?
Everywhere we turn, prices keep going up & up & up.
Did the cost of gas go down 50 to 70 percent in the last couple of years?
Did your E & O Insurance go down 50 to 70 percent in the last couple of years?
How about your equipment….no….hmmm.
Supplies ????
I could go on and on, and I am sure you all get my point. What in the hell are we doing pricing ourselves out at 50 freakin dollars an hour for a survey crew?
Do any of you have as much pride as I do in the very impressive accomplishment of studying for years and years, busting your rear-end for over a decade & a half, and then finally deciding to “strike out” and begin really studying hard and taking the L.S.I.T. – passing that (if your lucky) then begin studying again for the R.L.S. test – passing that and finally, begin studying all the necessary information for the State Specific test – and then, hopefully, passing that as well. That’s right boy’s & girl’s – even when you “paid your dues” and you feel you’re ready, you have 3 difficult tests to study for, and pass. This in itself actually becomes about a 2 year process in itself.
Could we all take some pride in our Profession, our knowledge, our passion. Tell your Attorney – I need you to take care of “all this nifty stuff” and by the way, I already got another bid for fifty bucks – and see how far that takes you….
Best to all,
John “Dane” Bumpus, R.L.S.
FAA Licensed Private Pilot