Friends working for friends.... high bids

**knightryda01** · 06-13-2014, 05:11 AM

Long story short I have a group of friends. were all cool don't hang out as much as we used to. We all have families and we get together for occasional parties etc. Many of us all have a specialty. If we need a plumber or whatever this usually someone in our group can take care of you. We often exchange favors for favors or just give good low cash deals.

Now I built a pole barn and I'm looking at concrete. Well we got a guy who does concrete. ( I understand the days of working for beer are over ) but I've got several bids and my "buddy" is the highest one. I'm talking a solid $600 over the next guy that I don't even know. Now if they were all strangers it would be one thing, but that's not the case.

I also have a gravel driveway and wanted to extend my driveway out to my barn. I had a plan to buy all materials and just pay for labor really and he owns all the tools of the trade. Bobcat etc.

Now I know general rule of concrete is $100/yard. I think he even gets it cheaper then that. to do my barn floor I need 8 yds. His bid is $2500 He also wants roughly another $2000 to do the driveway which is spreading and compacting the material I bought.

So he calls me yesterday and asks me what I want to do. He's like I dont want to waste my time bidding all this if your not going to do it. I am open next week and can get it done for you. He is clearly not the best bid and it puts me in a position of feeling like a Dick. I tried to explain to him I don't understand how your the highest bid. The worst part about it is I know i can get the same job done much cheaper.

Anybody else ever deal with this kind of situation?

**theorangeguy** · 06-13-2014, 05:22 AM

Originally Posted by knightryda01

Long story short I have a group of friends. were all cool don't hang out as much as we used to. We all have families and we get together for occasional parties etc. Many of us all have a specialty. If we need a plumber or whatever this usually someone in our group can take care of you. We often exchange favors for favors or just give good low cash deals.

Now I built a pole barn and I'm looking at concrete. Well we got a guy who does concrete. ( I understand the days of working for beer are over ) but I've got several bids and my "buddy" is the highest one. I'm talking a solid $600 over the next guy that I don't even know. Now if they were all strangers it would be one thing, but that's not the case.

I also have a gravel driveway and wanted to extend my driveway out to my barn. I had a plan to buy all materials and just pay for labor really and he owns all the tools of the trade. Bobcat etc.

Now I know general rule of concrete is $100/yard. I think he even gets it cheaper then that. to do my barn floor I need 8 yds. His bid is $2500 He also wants roughly another $2000 to do the driveway which is spreading and compacting the material I bought.

So he calls me yesterday and asks me what I want to do. He's like I dont want to waste my time bidding all this if your not going to do it. I am open next week and can get it done for you. He is clearly not the best bid and it puts me in a position of feeling like a Dick. I tried to explain to him I don't understand how your the highest bid. The worst part about it is I know i can get the same job done much cheaper.

Anybody else ever deal with this kind of situation?

this is business...im assuming he has a family to feed and he might have some stuff going on that you dont know about. if you want to use somebody cheaper move on to the next person. Keep personal and business separated...never ends well.

**wileyCoyote** · 06-13-2014, 06:21 AM

...and this is the peril of "friends working for friends"...

...in an objective sense, the decision would be based around what's important to you - i.e. cost vs. quality vs. trust equation... if you're the type that always favors the lowest bid, then let him know you're not interested... otherwise, make your decision based on the aforementioned parameters...

***SMWS6TA*** · 06-13-2014, 09:12 AM

Just had this same situation. I asked for bids including a friend I know that does the concrete business. Told them all up front I know the cost of doing it myself vs them. Give me your best bid. My friend was in the middle but still $400 more than me doing it myself. In the end I did it. Because I was up front no hard feelings with him. It was a small job anyways. The higher of the bids I suspect they just didn't want to do the job because of how small it was. Just 3.2 cu yrds for a patio extension.

**KahanaReef** · 06-13-2014, 10:19 AM

You also have to take into account quality of work and skilled labor. If your friends bid is higher, maybe the quality of the work his company provides as well as the skill level of his laborers is also.

**knightryda01** · 06-13-2014, 03:26 PM

I would say work is on par with each other. Ive seen the other guys who I received bids from and they came highly recommended. Ive also seen them do major jobs so I know their not just some crap company. At the end of the day I would say I would pretty much see about the same results.

My buddy has not given me a reason why his bids are high. I told him I understand he has to make money, but I dont need him planning his retirement off my job... lol It's just frustrating because no matter what I feel like a dick.

**KahanaReef** · 06-13-2014, 04:41 PM

Then its best to separate friends from business.

**0rion** · 06-13-2014, 05:01 PM

I would just tell him what the other bid is and that you're going that way unless he wants to match it. If it was a few dollars either way that's one thing but $600 isn't something to turn your nose up at. If he's a friend then he should understand and if he doesn't understand then it's on him. You gotta take care of your family too.

**allbaugh_04** · 06-15-2014, 07:33 AM

Wow, what a tough situation. Since none of us know your friendship. I'd say it's best to do business elsewhere for cheaper, since you say they have good reviews.

I look at it this way too; what if he happens to fuck up or do a subpar job, then what? Always a sticky situation mixing money/business with friends and family.

I had a friend paint my basement and replace some dry wall because I was giving him work to do and I was just that damn busy. Well there was miss communication with which color I wanted where and I guarantee you that wasn't my fault. So i had to buy more paint. He dripped on the carpet, and I know he's a pro, but what do you say to that? He's a friend you know.

So in the end I was happy, but felt like a dick bringing this stuff up and if I had to do it all over again, I'm not sure what I would do, but at least if it were a third party I could at least complain more about the subpar job.