California Surveyors Forums

Probably everyone has seen the owner asking to match another surveyor's price. How can I be sure we are comparing apple to apple? Most property owners don't know the difference between a boundary and topo survey,or a ROS. The big question is, if asking to show competitor's proposal is ethical or not.

Asking for the competitor's proposal is not ethical. Accepting the competitor's proposal if offered is not ethical.

You just need to include the services that you think the client needs and provide clear explanation as to what each is and why it's necessary. If the potential client is not interested in being educated, you are better off without that client.

Clients whose hiring criteria doesn't go beyond the $ sign in the contract, and have no interest in comparing what they would be getting from different professional service providers, are typically impatient ("where's my survey?" after 3 or 4 days), demanding ("what do you mean elevations aren't included?! I'm paying you for a [boundary] survey of my property! My engineer needs elevations!") [Engineer? Why didn't he tell me what he needed this for when I asked him?], and slow to pay.

I believe it to be unethical and when presented I walk from potential clients like that.

I believe it would be okay if you asked the owner to black out the prices and show you the scope of the proposal or to read it to you, that will show you if you are comparing apples to apples.

I would agree with Coy on this. If the perspective client offers to send you the proposal, I don't see anything unethical there.

I cannot recall a time where I have ever asked to see another's proposal but there have been many times when a client would start reading someone else's proposal to me over the phone and a few times, when I was on site, another's proposal was introduced into the conversation.

What I wont do in cases like this is walk away or tell the client to shut up.

A few times when a client was reading the proposal to me I noticed that the proposer had omitted (either intentionally or by error) a very necessary item the client needed. I bring that fact up to the client.

I believe it would be okay if you asked the owner to black out the prices and show you the scope of the proposal or to read it to you, that will show you if you are comparing apples to apples.

For a typical homeowner situation this is fine, but for more complex projects, particularly those for large commercial enterprises or public agencies, developing a useful scope of work can take a lot of time and expertise. In those cases, the prospective client should be asking for proposals, and those proposals should be kept confidential, at least until the work has been awarded.

I recall an incident a few years ago in which a city staff engineer asked me to provide a fee proposal for a boundary and topo that involved both complicated boundary research and resolution of some vertical datum issues. I spent several hours and many emails and phone calls to a variety of staff and consultants over the course of a few days defining the scope of work. When the engineer received my proposal, the cost estimate was higher than expected, and exceeded the threshold for sole-source contracts. Without consulting me, she took my scope and used it verbatim in an RFP. I complained to the City Engineer, who agreed that some staff training was in order.

Jim, I agree with you if it's a complex job, but there are mostly residential property owners who ask to match price.
Blacking out the price, as Coy mentioned would not be nessessory, since they actually tell me the price and want me to match it. I won't ask for the name of Company, just the description of what is to be done.
I think for these type of clients, as Evan said, the $ sign is the most important thing. I am surprised that some fellow Surveyors are willing to do a boundary and topographic survey for around $1000.