Collecting Proposals


What Makes Us Different?

Maybe you are a property/facility manager with a portfolio of properties doing research on parking lot vendors for some potential projects. Maybe you are on a board or have been delegated the task of obtaining quotes for a single asphalt project for your corporate campus or place of worship. You have searched on the internet and found some websites for local paving contactors who are commodities; where the websites seem to be nothing more than an expanded business card (e.g. we pave, we seal, we stripe) Maybe you have a relationship with another parking lot vendor and they are not responsive, professional or service-oriented and you are just plain curious to see what other firms are available and if their customer service is different…

Whatever the circumstances are that navigated you to our website; we are going to try our hardest to educate you on what sets us apart from the competition.

What makes us different?

We love this business — we have a passion for this industry — and most importantly we love to help our clients. Not to mention, we love asphalt — and everything about it. We love to lay it, mill it up, seal coat it and stripe it.

We provide Superior Quality Pavement Solutions. Our proven process is the same with each and every client and its end result is satisfaction. Our approach to our customers and businesses sets us apart from our competitors.

The process is as follows:

  • An Initial Meeting/Needs Analysis:The goal of our initial meeting is to identify the client’s needs for a particular project. At this time we often discuss the budget, scheduling and phasing for the particular project. This vital information enables us to provide the most accurate and effective solution for the client. The initial meeting can be conducted at the site location, the client’s office, or at our office. In addition to performing a needs analysis, we make sure our relationship is going to be a good fit. We understand our company does not offer a one-size-fits-all approach to customer service. We provide a niche service specifically tailored to a certain client profile. We don’t aim to the cheapest bid, in fact, we don’t bid work; we provide a custom tailored quotation for each project we quote. In this economy, many paving, seal coating and concrete companies would gladly fight each other to the death to have the pleasure of being the lowest cost provider, cutting as many corners as possible to provide the lowest cost project all while providing inferior customer service, if any at all. That is the exact opposite of our business model. We aren’t looking for a one time sale, we are seeking long-term relationships.
  • Site Walk-thru/Evaluation:After our initial meeting, we conduct a thorough investigation of the project. We invite the client to walk the site and point out specific areas of concern. We make note of conditions warranting immediate attention and those that may become future areas of concern. From the data we collect, we propose a solution to the client that meets with their goals, objectives and budget.
  • Preparation of Solution Cost:We carefully outline each step of the proposal and provide the client with a diagram, and if desired, corresponding site photos of the current project conditions. A proposal carefully outlines the cost of each component of the solution proposal. If the client desires a timeline or production schedule with the proposal we can provide that information. If specialty techniques or products are part of the proposal, we provide the client with the manufacturer’s technical data describing the features and benefits of the products.
  • Review of the Solution with the Client:After the client receives the solution proposal, we provide an opportunity to review the solution proposal and ensure it meets the client’s objectives. We often schedule another site walk-thru to ensure all areas of concern have been identified and incorporated into the solution proposal. In some instances, the client may ask that we present our solution to the board of directors, homeowner’s association board, or a meeting of property owners.
  • Pre-Construction Meeting:We schedule a pre-construction meeting with the client and all interested parties on the project. We discuss phasing and the construction schedule (if applicable). It is at this meeting we discuss all final plans and decisions regarding the project as well as provide the client with key members of our staff who will be scheduling, building and managing their project.
  • Execution of the Project:During construction of the project we invite the client to see our work in action and give them an opportunity to see the value that they are receiving. In the event the client is unable to be present during construction, we will email and/or text the client daily regarding all status updates along with sending before/work-in-progress/after pictures. In some instances, during critical components, we will update the client more frequently.
  • Post-Construction Walk-thru:After construction and final clean-up, we conduct a walk thru of the project to ensure the project has met with their satisfaction. We also provide the client with warranties and timelines for future maintenance to help budget accordingly.

Collecting Proposal

Does this resemble the type of estimates you receive?

Pre-Qualification Section:

Are you looking for the cheapest contractor you can find, with quality and service not being a deciding factor in awarding your project? If Yes click here

Hopefully your answer is NO! If so, please continue reading….

We Offer Quality, Service & VALUE!

  • Collecting proposals for your asphalt, concrete or pavement maintenance project?
  • Are you looking for a consultant contractor?
  • Are you looking for the best value?
  • Do you have a scope of work?
  • How do you compare apples to apples?
  • How do you guarantee a quality job?

 

USCOMPETITION
Large Work Radius- — 3 offices​​​​
Between NJ, DE & MD​
Only wants to work close to base of operations
Detailed Menu Proposals​
Good, Better & Best Options​
Vague, One Line Estimates, Hand Written,
No Detail, Ambiguous, “Change Order” Loaded
Complete site evaluation with ​​​​
Pictures, diagrams and budgets​​​​
Only offers free estimates — no engineering
services or support services
Full Time Estimators​​​​​
Same Day – 48-hour turn
Owner-Operator can only perform estimates around on quotes​​on weekends when he isn’t working in the field
Fully equipped to handle any project we quote​​ in an efficient manner to minimize impact​​ to your business / tenants operations​​​ Unreliable broken down equipment
Under-sized equipment – drags out completion and keeps your parking lots closed for extended periods of time costing you and your tenants lost business and frustration
Progressive – Forward Thinking – Innovative – ​Technology-based – embraces continuous
Improvement philosophy​​​​
Stuck in a rut doing things the “old way”
​​Inefficient – consistent production bottlenecks
No Process Flow System for operations
Seasoned company accustomed to servicing​​
Large Fortune 500 companies and National Accounts​ and communicating with several layers of mgt.
Inability to work / adapt to a fast-paced/ technology
environment.
Technology Based – Paperless / Digital ​​​
Work Format​​​​​​
Before / Work In Progress / After Pictures,​​
Daily Progress Reports, Server with Client ​​
Log In To View Project Documents,
All quotes are emailed in a PDF format
No email or technology available
Hand written proposals, inability to furnish
back up documentation (W-9, Insurance Cert, Before / After Pictures, Progress Reports)
WE WANT YOUR LONG-TERM REPEAT BUSINESS! ​Just looking to go from job to job, non- relationship focused. No follow-up.
We aren’t looking for a job, we are looking for
a client. We know how to earn a client’s business
for the long term.
 

Narrative:

Most problems on a paving /concrete /pavement maintenance project begin before the crew arrives. We often refer to these as; Trap Doors or Change Order Loaded Estimates.

For this scenario we will play out a Property Manager for a shopping center that is owned by an investors group.

Here is the scenario: you call three different contractors for a generic quote for asphalt resurfacing. With no specifications or scope of work, you receive three different proposals with three different prices. Feeling you are doing what is in the owner’s best interest, you choose the lowest price. In this economy money is tight, so choosing the lowest cost provider is the best solution, right? Not always…

You sign the proposal and mail it back to the contractor (because he doesn’t have email or a fax machine). As soon as the contractor receives the signed proposal, he calls to inquire where the 1/3 deposit check is because it wasn’t enclosed in the envelope. You explain to him that you don’t have a stack of readily signed checks sitting in your desk and it will take 7–10 days to process the deposit check. On the seventh day, like clockwork, the phone calls start at 7 AM “Where’s my money?, Where’s my money?” You explain to the contractor the investors would like a confirmed scheduled date prior to releasing the check. The contractor gives you a date and asks when the check is going to be available for pick-up. The contractor makes it a priority to come by your office in person and pick up the check (without the W-9 and insurance certificate you requested he bring which was not included with his proposal). He claims it is in the mail and takes off out of your office to get to the bank before 3 PM to deposit the check.

The day the paving is scheduled arrives and you have notified all of your tenants of the work being completed and the minor disruption it is going to cause. It is now 9 AM and you arrive in your office expecting to see the crew on-site to begin the paving and guess what? No one’s there. Your several phone calls to the contractor’s cell phone go unanswered until 2 PM when he calls you back to tell you he had a delay on another job and has to reschedule for the following week. You are thinking to yourself, “This contractor now has $40,000 of my client’s money and the first day he is a no-show.”

You have to now call your client and explain to them the situation. They aren’t happy, but they understand the way contractors’ schedules can get delayed due to weather etc.

The following week arrives and you call the contractor to confirm he is planning to arrive the following day to begin the paving. You get a “Yes/No” answer. After explaining to him that this is not good business practice and you may cancel the contract and require the deposit to be returned, he agrees to start the next day.

The contractor begins work; by 12:30 PM they are finished and packed up for the day and only half of the scheduled section has been paved. When you inquire why the first section is only paved half way and they are shutting down for the day, he begins to explain to you how “his problems are now going to be your problems.” You see, he has an issue, the big paving project he did the week before has strung him out on paying him so now he is short funds to complete your paving project because he has already spent the funds earmarked for your project to complete his project from the week before. You explain to him that is not your issue and he proceeds to tell you “Sorry, it is what it is.” Before leaving, he tells you that they won’t be back for 3 days until he can collect some money owed to him to generate cash flow to complete your job. Three days go by and after several unanswered phone calls, the contractor calls you back to let you know where things stand. You see, the GC he was working for now has had his attorney send him a letter stating there are several deficiencies with the last paving job and he is withholding payment until they are corrected. The contractor now tells you he is going to need the 50% completion progress payment even though the job is less than 15% complete. If he can’t get it, well then the job is going to have to sit for a few more weeks till he can generate some cash flow. You discuss it with your client; they aren’t happy by this point, but agree because they want to get the parking lot operational.

You process the next check, he returns 3 days later to begin work again. One of your client’s partners in the shopping center decides to stop by to see the work in progress. As soon as he gets there, being a seasoned construction manager immediately starts to raise red flags and starts bombarding you with questions that frankly, you don’t have the answers to…

  • Why aren’t they edge milling the limits of construction?
  • Why aren’t they using a tack coat?
  • Why aren’t they using valve box risers?
  • The asphalt in the one section looks like is it less than 1 ½ ” thick after compaction, you specified 2” after compaction, right?
  • Did they profile mill all those areas we are holding water to get the water to drain out of the handicap stalls?
  • He has the main entrance blocked off, how do our tenants’ customers know how to get to the rear entrance?
  • The striping guy isn’t striping the ADA stalls in accordance with the new 2012 regulations!
  • Let me see a copy of his proposal right away!

Here is a copy of the contractor’s proposal:

Proposal

As your client confronts the contractor and asks him the same questions as he asked you, the contractor says…

“Milling isn’t included in our proposal; if you want milling I need a change order for $6,000.00”

“We don’t need tack coat, the asphalt already has tack in it”

“Valve box risers are extra money”

“Our contract says we are installing 2” of asphalt, which is the thickness we install it at, it is slightly less after compaction”

“We aren’t getting paid to do any drainage correction, if you had an area that holds water before we paved, most likely you will have a puddle after we pave”

“I am the only guy who can run this paver and I am shorthanded as it is, I can’t have someone out directing traffic all day, and your customers will find a way to get into the parking lot somehow or another”

“My striping sub is painting the same lines that were there before we paved, if you want the ADA upgraded, it is more money and I need a set of stamped plans by an architect”

Don’t risk dealing with a contractor who provides vague proposals or proposals loaded with trap doors and anticipated change orders.

We pride ourselves on providing highly detailed cost proposals, outlined in a menu format, allowing you to choose the services that best match your budget.