A Klein Company firmly believes a fully informed client is a great client.
 
When a professional contractor and client are on the same page from the initial point of contact through the end of a project, the outcome and experience tends to be smoother and satisfying for both parties.
 
However, once the time consuming process of contacting several contractors or service providers to set up site surveys and receive written quotes, the bid evaluation phase may require a need for further clarification for a client to secure the best contractor out of many for their job and budget.
 
Several questions may arise such as: 
  • Are the products listed of comparable quality and correct for the application or job?
  • How thorough and involved is the prep and workflow process?
  • Will the work interrupt business operations in any way? 
  • What are the core contractor responsibilities vs. client responsibilities?
  • Will subcontractors be used at any point and is there sub covered for liabilities?
  • Is the quoted price fair and show value the service, labor, equipment, and product listed?

This is when a “Last Look” or quote review comes in handy. 

If A Klein Company has not quoted your project, and depending how involved the quotation is, we may be able to assist with a “2nd Opinion Assessment” to help you narrow down quotes between other facility and building maintenance contractors that offer similar services in commercial and industrial settings.

 
 
How We Approach “Last Look” / Quote Reviews:
 
When A Klein Company quotes a project, we certainly do our best to win every bid with a competitive price for quality work and materials.
 
When we submit our written proposal to prospective client, we like to encourage and respectfully request the opportunity to earn your business with a “last look” review on the scope of work, materials, and labor if there are standout competitor bids you may be strongly leaning towards.
 
Our “last look” bid review is zero-pressure. There are no strong arm or “price war” tactics. 
 
It simply allows us to further determine if we can offer a prospective client an enhanced apples-to-apples pricing comparison on equipment, labor, or supply/product options when all of the information is out on the table.
 
Taking advantage of our bid review is a great way to make an even more fully informed decision before signing on the dotted line to hire our company…or, ultimately, a competitor.
 
A bid review has allowed us to explore in-kind alternatives or provide additional insight and education on prep work, coats, specific processes, and/or job site logistics.
 
We have often times help the client to identify areas of concern, shortfalls, or “corner-cutting” in other bids. Things that could potentially lead to:
  • inferior results
  • did not offer a comparable value for the price (and items) quoted
  • could have presented unforeseen liabilities to the client
  • did not reflect professional, industry-standard work or methods by a professional company
 

A Klein Company “Last Look” Bid Review / Project Pricing Submission Guidelines:

  • Scanned or screenshot of original bids submitted via email, fax, or text (must include all company branded sheets or official documentation with logo, company name, and address)
  • Original bids must be from a local Metro Detroit / Michigan professional painting company (ideally with either verified employees or sub-contractors)
  • Bids must include the full scope of work, products and (rental) equipment (lifts, air compressors, etc.) being used
  • Bids must be dated within the last 6 months of A Klein Company’s proposal date or today’s date


We fully understand each local contractor has a different cost of doing business for the services they provide.

Staff labor hour costs, insurance, marketing, supplier and vendor contract pricing, other general overhead, goal margins for profit, etc. all factor in when a professional contractor prepares a quote or bid for a prospective client.

When all levels of service, product, methods, timelines, and experience are about equal, there are times A Klein Company must concede to competitor pricing that could not be matched or improved upon in some way.

We always recommend asking for and verifying Certificates of Insurance (COI’s) for all contractors on their projects, including any (vetted) companies being subcontracted to do any portion of the work. This could be a big differentiating factor between larger, more established companies and smaller independent operators offering a client adequate protection from liabilities on a job site.

 

 

2nd Opinion / 3rd Party Bid Assessments:

Review of simple of small scale floor cleaning and refinishing, parking lot striping, industrial cleaning, and other exterior / interior commercial and industrial painting projects are based off of the full, original bids only (up to 3) and are free of charge. Supporting photos always help.

Reviews for these types of projects are a one-time occurrence and will provide basic feedback on fair / in-line location and industry pricing for your project and if there are any glaring or immediate stand out items on the bid that may flag concern or questions to circle back to the contractor(s) with.

Follow-up inquiries or questions are on a case-by-case basis, if our schedule allows, and are subject to a pre-paid professional “consultation fee”.

Please call us ahead at 800-750-5650 or send a brief description of your project and number of bids you have via our website contact inquiry form.

If your project is large, has a more involved scope of work, requires a site visit, or if you have several bids in hand, a pre-paid professional “consultation fee” applies.

2nd opinion / 3rd party bid assessments are for projects that A Klein Company has not originally submitted a bid on.

2nd opinion / 3rd party bid assessments are done on a case-by-case basis, if our schedule allows, and must be in line with the types of service we provide within the locations we provide them in (the greater Metro Detroit area).