Big Lots!

We recently were contacted by Big Lots! requesting a proposal for crack seal and striping. They have contacted us direct, however their paperwork seems common of national maintenance companies. Anyways they requested a very detailed estimate breakdown, including our overhead, profit, things like that. My question is, in all of our time striping, I cant say I have done an estimate like this, and honestly don't care to. What is everyones feelings about being so open with that kind of information to your customers, I don't think they need to know, but maybe I am being to picky. Also has anyone worked for BigLots! before and had good luck?

Another reason we don't solicit restripes.

I would walk away, thats like me asking Sears how much they will make from the dryer I am buying from them......

I know, tell me about it. I am sending in my quote just as I would with anyone, and if it kicks me out because I did not do it their way... Oh well

GOOD WAY TO BE ASPHALTMAN, WE WOULD DO THE SAME AS YOUR DOING, BEFORE YOU KNOW IT THEY MIGHT WANT A COPY OF YOUR W-2 ..I WOULD SAY THEY CAN CRACK FILL AND STRIPE THEM SELF.. SOUNDS TOO ME LIKE SOMEONE IN THE CORP. OFFICE WANTS TO START A BUSINESS UP.. I WOULD WALK, THEY CALLED YOU, YOU DIDN'T CALL THEM.. GOOD LUCK ON THAT ONE.. TAKE CARE..

what a ridiculous request! I would send a normal quote as you say. Or make your over heads seem so high..... compared to the cost your charging..... they "think" they are getting some thing for nothing....

Yeah, move some figures around, like quoting the "regular guy" paint price to them. That's double what contractors pay huh? Pay your helpers more on paper than you actually do. The way I see it, it is helping your guys by keeping them employed, so no harm no foul. I would keep it simple though, pencil pushers have a knack for catching on to things. Just knock your profit down to a believable amount (not 5%) and distribute it out over your overhead. They are still going to get a quality job right?

Why waste your time? You can smell it is going to be the lowest price gets the job,and mark it up to the highest quote.

Ive come across it a bit. figure the price of material at list not what you pay. Labor is inflated. youre mark up is youre choice not theirs, but you can always make it look fair. Auto shops always charge list plus 20% and they recieve up to 50% off on the parts they install. It is a haslle but if you want the job or need it. have youre ducks in a row and make a profit. I do agree, thats why i dont do much restripe any more either. good luck

around here in NC all BIG LOTS i have painted have been in a shopping center owned by someone else.

Your profit is your business not theres. 10% or 200% is non of there business just as it is non of our business. Your quote could be broke down if you wanted it to but it is up to you. I feel they want to know what your cost brakedown is so in the future they can quote what price you will get. As other NSP's like to do. Don't accept a job just to get the job but accept it to make money. That is what we are in business for.

I had a similar request from a maintenance company and I explained to them that I don't price things out that way. I would send them a menu proposal list of my prices. So much a foot, stencils, etc. I also told them that I would give them a complete proposal on any job that they wanted. They were more than happy to except that. Many times they have emergency situations where they just call some one to fix the problem without a price. That is why they wanted the breakdown of prices before hand.

How would they feel if you asked them what the profit margin was on their products.This is just my opinion,but that is an absolutely ridiculous request and I would walk away.Just my opinion.

I agree with everyone. I did send our regular proposal in, not the breakdown like they wanted. Not to sound fat and happy, but like an above post said, most Big Lots are on other peoples property, so I am not concerned about winning or losing a huge account. I will be more than glad to send in a quote any time, or even provide per item numbers that they can use to build their own budget quotes, however the profit is none of their business. Thanks for all your feedback on this.

i have had similiiar request on a job couple years ago, and it totally caught me off guard and i had the quick thought that all of you have replied basically, however i contacted the paver (that turned me on to the job) and i cant remember what exactly the reason was, but it had to do with some type of budget and the structure of business it was (like non profit or something like that) again i cant remember details at all, but anyways....per my paver's request....i gave them what they wanted (and it was by no means a low ball price) and i got it....i ended up talking to fellow that cordnated the job and ask him about it (after the job was over) and he basically said what i described and had nothing to do with obvious thoughts...sorry for not remembering details....but in my case...it was odd, but not what it seemed

I was an insurance adjuster for years and it is comman pratice in the construction industry to add a line item of overhead and profit. Usually it was around 18%. This is on top of the mark ups the contractor used per trade. Some contractor's would not show this but would be added to billing. Therefore it was common to ask about overhead and profit when reviewing estimates if it wasn't shown. This may be a company that works with construction company's and just don't want any surprises. They are probably not trying to control your profit. I would include a line in my proposal showing overhead and profit as $00.00 and let it go at that.

I had customers want to break prices down, I never do it.