We've Heard from 5 of 5 Landscaping Contract Bidders

Well, I've officially heard from the 5th bidder for the 2009 Edgehill landscaping contract.  It was Turf Tenders, a company out of Raleigh.  They were excellent communicators, friendly and knowledgeable of their services.

I had heard that their pricing was high for landscaping and grounds maintenance and shared with them that I'd heard it from others.  They confirmed they weren't cheap but they were good at what they did.  Given the range of the four previous bidders without offering details, I straight-forwardly told Turf Tenders that if their bid was topping the current high bidder for one year's service, they'd be uncompetitive with their bid.  Something told me they'd be close or over that amount.  And, since the other bids have been reviewed, it was fair enough to let them know the upper range for possible contract bid prices to save us both hassle.  I did not tell them bid amounts we currently have "in house" nor would I try to haggle them down on price.  I want their best shot up front.

To sum things up, they ran numbers on their end and politely let me know they'd be out of the running (of course, we'd decide that as a board decision on who gets hired) but their computer models pushed them away and would push us away in terms of pricing.

There's about a 10% swing between the highest and lowest bidder of the companies that meet ALL provisions of our "Scope of Work."

We have one bid that's low by about 20% from the next lowest bid but doesn't meet all of our Scope of Work.

Turf Tenders, who didn't really offer, could've been 30% to 40% higher than the previous high bidder.  That's a wide gap considering you're looking at four other companies  who say they can do the same work at a lower price.

As a matter of general policy, we try to solicit three bids on all jobs.  We met five companies to discuss future landscape needs.

Thanks to RS Fincher and Beth Harvey for helping out.  She really got the ball rolling.

I think it behooves Edgehill residents to enter a long-term relationship with a landscaping/grounds company where the contract is clear and easy to understand in terms of what we pay, what we expect and the service that's ultimately delivered.  Longer term relationships mean companies increase efficiency the more they're on our property - that fattens their bottom line and helps us avoid nasty inflationary price spikes when contract renewal and adjustment comes up every 365 days.  Every company  tells me the materials (seed, fertilizer) aren't what makes landscaping expensive, it's the man-hours spent on the job that determines a winning or losing contract and that's the landscaper's responsibility.