wanting it enough?

I seem to be thinking a lot about unemployment at the moment.  Partly because some of the people I'm coaching are without a role at the moment, and partly because we're doing some building work.

We had some replies to our emailed tender today; I won't name the company but a couple of things struck me from their response in times when money is tight and new business is hard to find.

The first thing was that the company got my name wrong.  Call me old fashioned, but this is basic, basic stuff.  If can't get my name right on the first email you send to me, what else are you likely to get wrong? So nul points there.  I noted from the response that the sender's first language might not have been English, and some might say that I need to cut them some slack.

My response to this is - if you want to demonstrate how much my business means to you, then can you please check the spelling, the grammar, the details? After all, this is my first impression of you.  (I actually now don't even open mail which can't spell my name correctly, it simply goes in the recyling).

I look at the proposal they've sent me.  The words "bespoke" jump out at me from what looks like a standard response. I look more carefully through the details.  We've already spent a lot of money on plans, and developing a fairly detailed tender document - down to the number of power sockets we wanted in the new space.

Sadly, this contractor either forgot we'd asked for this number, or decided we couldn't possibly want that many, and replaced our specified number with his own in the quote.  In addition, instead of quoting for the type of insulation we'd requested, he ignored that too and said HIS company always used THIS type.... no other explanation.  He also told us we'd have to pay more for the drawing up of the plans - which we'd included in the pack.

Now I'm a reasonable woman, and frankly, building work is hardly my forte, but given that we'd already spent time with our lovely architect pulling the tender together, asked tenderers for the costs to be presented in a certain way, and approached this company to offer the work (so limited sales costs for this job!) - I'm a mite hacked off that they couldn't be bothered, at this early stage, to actually do what we asked.  Are we not the customer?

And in a tight market, where people have less money to spend and are looking more carefully at who they spend it with, is it not a good idea - presuming you want the business, of course - to build a relationship with the customer by treating them well and trying to respond to their every whim?  I mean, had we stipulated that all the work should be done in purple tutus,  deprived of their normal tea breaks, or completed within four weeks instead of a reasonable ten.... then perhaps such a response might be justified. But we did none of that, just put a tender together which said what we wanted.

Because we're reasonable people, I daresay we'll point out a few differences in what they'd offered and what we'd asked for.  But will they get the business?  The jury is still out, but it's not looking great.