Good thread.
I'll give my perspective on the two different types of project delivery I am involved in which is hard bid and negotiated.
Hard bid - lowest bidder wins the job.
The majority of the work I do is hard bid, mostly due to the economy and the lack of an abundance of work out there. The owners want the most bang for their buck and have a lot of competition to take advantage of, as a businessman I would do the same thing.
In a hard bid situation, any change from the plans, specs and scope of work is a change order - period. There is no "we'll just take care of that" unless it is very minor and the paperwork is more work and hassle than actually doing it. That is the way it should be as the owner has taken the advantage of hard bidding the project and putting the risk on the GC and it's subs. If there is a change in the plans, specs or site conditions, they should bear the cost of the change because they chose the safety net of a hard bid. One can't have his cake and eat it too.
However, this is not a hard or fast rule either as I normally do little extra things on the project for the GC if they are good to work for and have your back. Now if the GC or owner is nickel and dime'ing me to death, there are no freebies and no extras. I play the game according to the rules the other player sets.:cool2
Negotiated work
This is the type work I prefer and not because it is more profitable but you develop a relationship with the owner/GC that leads into a steady stream of work and eliminates the hunt for the next job to bid. If an issue arises in negotiated work it is handled differently as far as change orders go. I am more willing to do a small extra or a change on a project without charging because I have a relationship that is a two way street and more work from this client coming down the pipeline.
In order for negotiated work to be successful there has to be a level of trust between the contractor and the GC/owner, which is something that doesn't happen overnight or with little effort. Now negotiated work doesn't mean "fire up the tractor and start billing hours" either. Estimates and job costs are produced for the project and the owner/GC is expecting it to be within those parameters.
Pertaining to the quality of the project in a bid vs negotiated situation, I think job quality is not nearly affected as the schedule and overall cost of the project. In a hard bid situation if the owner/GC gets an incompetent contractor it is a struggle from the beginning. With a negotiated situation, the owner/GC already knows the capability of the contractor and can plan accordingly.
This is very important with a retail project that needs to be completed at a certain time, if they aren't open they aren't making money. Most of the retail projects I work on have set opening dates and once the building permit is obtained, there are a host of pre-fabricated/manufactured items that are scheduled to be made and delivered. These items are set to be delivered and installed at a certain date come hell or high water. This can become a real issue when the project is behind schedule. Site contractors set the schedule, if you are behind just a few days getting a pad ready it sends shock waves down the schedule.
The smart owners learn quickly the values of negotiating a project and getting proven GC with proven subs to complete the project. As the work load picks up, more projects will move towards a negotiated delivery system to get the projects built.