How to deal with lawn care bids

We are currently sorting out bids for Lawn Care for our HOA. We have 3 bids one of which is way more costly than the other two and will be ruled out because of that and no experience with HOA and inexperienced supervision.

The other two are $11000 apart and in all other respects appear to be similar.

The board and 4 residents will be reviewing the bids and deciding who to interview and what questions to ask.

As the board president I want to give maximum input to all. My feeling is that we ought to interview the two low bidders.

When we do that I am looking for suggestions for questions and before we interview we will be checking references.

We have several requirements which both have indicated they will meet.

The bid is for a two year contract.

One of the questions I have in mind is if there is any way they can lower their bid. Other than that I am open for any suggestions for questions.

Thanks.

In addition to John's suggestion, you might want to read up on your Bylaws. The majority do not allow for contracts longer than 1 year.

"Appear to be similar" - why aren't they identical?

Vendors should be given a scope of work to bid on that is exactly the same for each vendor. Same number of service visits for mowing, trimming irrigation inspections chemical applications etc, same square footage of mulch, same number of 4' flowers in the beds, etc.

Don't just interview them. Walk the property with them. Ask them what they think your landscape priorities should be or what suggestions they have. You don't just want someone who will follow directions, you want someone proactive. Ask them how they've solved challenging situations in the past. Ask to meet whomever would be your account manager. How long has he been with the company? How big is the crew? What's the turnover like? Do they have a 24/7 on call service for irrigation emergencies? Do they have an in house licensed irrigator, arborist or chemical applicator or do they subcontract out those services?

I would never sign a multi year contract with a new vendor. You're the client, you call the shots. One year, with the option to terminate without penalty with 30 days notice.

The advice here is good, but don't forget to check for complaint history in places like the BBB. Having a complaint or several isn't necessarily bad (that's part of running a business), but what you want to see is how they were addressed. Watch for comments regarding length of time it took for the company to get back to the customer (constant calling isn't good) and stuff like that.

In fact, ask them how complaints are handled, such as damage to a homeowner's personal property or demands for work on association property that isn't authorized by the board and would cost more (the response I'd look for is to be polite and listen, but then refer the homeowner to the property manager, who should then notify the board if necessary).

Hopefully they all bid on the same things, as listed by the HOA landscape committee.

One will prune bushes, another won't touch any landscape. Some plant annuals, some won't. some will weed gardens,some don't.

Local business, fully insured, good references, cleanly dressed and identified staff, head staff person on site during job, confirm agreeable hours and days of contract, quiet machinery,

Not only ask for references, VISIT the other properties that they tend to. Stop in and ask the homeowners if they are happy with the level of service they receive.

Landscapers will often bid based on the time needed, weekly, to service your property. Nearby companies likely can give you solid service at better prices than a company that faces a longer commute to your property. Drive time is expensive.

1. How big is the company making the bid?

2. How large are their crews?

3. Will the company use internal employees to service or property or are they sub-contracting w/ independent crews to service you?

4. Can they prove they carry both workers compensation and liability insurance on their crews?

5. What redundancy for crews in case of sickness and emergency on their end?

6. Do they focus mainly on residential lawn service or commercial (HOAs are commercial properties)?

7. Can the two-year contract simply continue into subsequent years unless the HOA opts-out at the end of Year Two?

8. If the contract can easily continue beyond two years, then ensure that it does NOT include automatic escalators. Make the company come to you and ask for a rate increase.

Mom n' Pop shops (grass mowers) always love the idea of a big property but can easily get swamped and either under-perform or spend too much time on site. They inherently offer lower prices.

Also, I suggest NOT asking bidders to lower their costs? Get more bids if you're unsure on market pricing. These companies are bidding what they think it will take to get your contract. Many vendors will try to raise rates on HOAs because they can be "sleepy" with negotiating and either immediately seek price reductions or just accept a high priced contract. You seem to be engaged.

While I'm a huge proponent of holding the line on service price increases once in a contract but I'm not a fan of taking bids and trying to hammer down on companies before signing a deal. Multiple bids from competing companies, in a closed bid system, will reveal the price for getting good service.

..... so ..... you canned a 12 year vendor with satisfactory performance over 5% .....

good luck to y'all down the road

Geno did say better service so this along with a 5% savings is worth exploring.

I must have left out the part where their performance was becoming more and more unsatisfactory over the years. The $5,000 savings was the difference between a $10 per month increase this year vs. a $15 increase.

The facts,
all the facts,
nothing but the facts.

....Friday

(an old TV show quote from Dragnet)