Leland Torrence wrote:
> We call this "Quiet Shoveling". "I don't want you to stop, but can you jack hammer a little more quietly?"
We may or may not get a gig simply making noise at various points on a
building in order for them to determine if they will hear the jack
hammer, or not.
On another front -- I spent 12 hours yesterday working on a proposal for
75 probes at 400 miles from our base in an occupied govt. institutional
building. Meaning a whole lot of logistics to get stuff there, and
probably 3 weeks on site. For us it is mint work, no problem. As it is
cold cold cold I did the proposal work in the house rather than in the
shed office where I would not be able to keep warm. But I have two
separate computer stations, one personal (this one) and one business,
and the e-mails DO NOT mix, on purpose. When I go to work I go to work,
even if it is only a 50' walk. Regardless, after fussing over a scope
where I kept saying to myself, "They must be nuts. They must be nuts.
Nobody in their right mind will go for this cost." I finally got through
it at 8 pm -- mind you I have been working on putting this gig together
off-and-on for at least a week now. So I go into my office-shed with it
in mind to e-mail out the proposal and I get an e-mail that had been
sent earlier in the day saying that the tenant on the 1st floor will
only allow sound making work after 3 pm... on the 1st floor. How do we
not make sound? What happens when we start banging holes on the 2nd
floor, or the core drills through the floor slab above them? Every day
of delay or extension will burn $2,000 out of our pocket. We are willing
to work nights, but we need a full shift. Now I gotta find out, or act
cranky about it, if they will let us work past 5 pm? Then I need to
insist they provide security in person while we are there so we don't
get nailed for stealing some moron's personal stuff, like diamond rings
or whatever. I HAVE written into the proposal that we need a mandatory
on-site preliminary visit w/ architect, engineer, and all relevant site
staff/authorities before we will even agree to carry on with the
project, and that they have to pay up front for us for this preliminary.
Credit sucks big time right now. I would almost rather not get the gig
and sit home eating dog biscuits than get slammed in a no-pay till paid
6 months from now pay scenario. I will be curious the reaction to the
proposal as one thing I have learned over the years is worry about what
you CAN do, not what you think folks want you to do.
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