Is this too Expensive?

It has been about 3 weeks since meeting with the contactor. As you know from my previous article this contractor was selected before my time at the school. So far, I have not been satisfied with my experience. Now I must admit, I have not had much interaction with them but after the site visit asked them for 2 things. First, to break the project up into parts due discussed shortage of networking equipment. Second, to make some modification to the scope of work and send an updated quote. There was no communication for 2 weeks and nothing was sent. After 2 week I called them to ascertain the status of the quote. They give a commitment to send it by the Wednesday of that week. That didn’t happen. I again had to reach out. I was finally able to get a partial updated quote. This only included some of the modifications I requested.

Key issues:

• Cost of labour for installation of items was very high
• Quoted equipment was not appropriate for our needed
• Some equipment was 10X price other comparable devices

Let’s just say I was surprised by what I saw on the quote. I immediately reached out to some professionals working in networking for over a decade to sanity check what was included. Five seconds after looking at what was sent, and he agreed with me that listed prices were significantly above what he has typically he has experienced. Now this is not issue of the cost of equipment for the job but more the choice of equipment and the cost of labour/installation. Now there are restrictions that come with modifications to a signed contract. Especially one where half the cost of the contract has been paid up front. After 15-minute conversation he advised that I talk to my superiors and seek out other quotes for price comparison. He even sent me some of the contractors he uses.

The following week I had a conversation with my superior about the whole situation though she was apprehensive about switching contractors I was able to convince her to at least get alternative bids. Meanwhile I was getting bids from the contractors recommended I contacted someone who manages retail locations for local retail chain with over a dozen stores. Since his responsibilities include outfitting new locations, he is intimately familiar with cost structures involved with these projects. He also agreed that quoted costs were too high. He also suggested that due to having a signed contract the best way forward would be to leave the original contact in place. Then do all additional work with a lower cost provider.

Now I await alternative bids.