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COMMON
ARCHITECTURAL AND CONSTRUCTION ISSUES
IF IT SOUNDS TOO
GOOD TO BE TRUE . . .
A recent article in a
construction magazine was titled: "If it sounds too good
to be true, it probably is." We've all heard this and
most of us have learned this lesson the hard way.
We all suffer from that
human weakness of being tempted by a "good deal" or the word "free."
That little voice of reason tries to warn us otherwise, but we want
to believe so badly that we ignore that voice and replace it with
naive false hope.
But there is a cure!
You have to put your brain back in gear and remind yourself that, "You get what you pay for."
The truth is that in today's world it is hard enough to get the
services and quality that you are paying for, much less expect to
get something for free.
In the architectural
industry, the bait is often that a firm will provide free or
discounted design services at the start of a project. The
bottom line though is that if a company isn't getting paid for their
work on the front
end, then it has to make it up somewhere else. Or, even worse
for the client, the company does as little front end work as it can
get away with. And why not? If the client agreed to
getting
something for nothing, then the company can't help
but adopt the attitude that the client can't expect
much!
The construction article stated, "From low bids to low fees to free services, everyone
likes a good deal. . . However, you get what you pay for." The
example he uses is that a surprisingly low bid is usually the result
of an estimating error. Our experience bears this out.
If there are 3 or more interested bidders and one is significantly
lower, then that bidder probably made a mistake. Do not sign
this bidder on without first asking him to
check and confirm his bid. Don't force a contractor into a
money losing bid just because you have the paperwork and legal clout to do so.
The same is true when
hiring an architectural firm, except that the situation is much
more difficult to judge. Is each firm offering comparable
services? If a firm proposes a low fee for the
design phase, will their fees for later phases be higher? If
the fees are very similar, what services are or are not included?
Are there hidden costs, reimbursable expenses, or consultant's fees that are not clearly
stated?
During the competitive
interview process, many architectural firms set aside their ethics and their business sense
and offer discounted front end design services in order to get the
job. The firm is then left with three choices. 1 - Provide the same quality services they normally would even
though they aren't getting paid for it. 2 - Overcharge for the
remainder of their services to offset the initial discounted fee.
Or. 3 - Reduce their services to match the reduced fee.
Common sense dictates
that the first choice isn't going to happen, otherwise the firm
would
quickly cease to exist. The other two choices may appear to be
good buys for the client, but each is pennywise and pound foolish.
With the second option,
you have to consider whether or not you want to work with a firm
that is willing to use a "slight-of-hand" presentation of their fees
and services. They have offered an artificially low fee to
get the job, and later they will
overcharge the client enough to cover the initial discount plus a little bonus
money to "reward" themselves for offering the client such a good
deal in the first place. Is this the kind of firm you want
looking after hundreds of thousands of your construction dollars?
The third option is
probably more likely, and may even be combined with the second
option for a double whammy! Keep in mind that the design phase
is the most important part of a project. This is when the
client's decisions and input is critical to shaping the project.
The resulting design becomes a building, and the resulting building
determines how the client's
organization operates for years or decades to come.
So how does a firm
short change the client during this crucial design phase? The
most common method is by dusting off a previous building project and
repackaging it as if it is the correct solution for the current
client. Unfortunately, many architects are better salesmen
than they are designers and a quick sell is a lot less work than a
good design. And, under the circumstances, why should they do otherwise?
By hiring this discount firm, the client has already said that cost
is more important than quality. The firm's
belief is that "the client
isn't paying for good design, just for a building."
The bottom line is that
you must
use your common sense. Don't cripple your project by trying to
save money on the early design costs. The average amount of
the initial fee for schematic design is less than 1% of the total
construction budget, but it affects 100% of how the construction
budget is spent.
If you remember these time tested
adages, you can avoid a lot of problems and get the best building
designed to meet your needs.
"If it sounds too good to be true, it is."
"You get what you pay for."
and "You don't get something for
nothing."
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If you have a comment on this article, please go to our contacts page
and email it to Bob Smith. If we can be of assistance on your
next construction project, please contact us. |
