Behind the Scenes at Taylor Studios: "How much is a dollar worth? Seems like a straightforward question at first glance doesn’t it?
Given the times, we’re all looking to stretch our pennies just a bit further. Everyone wants the best value for their dollar. Understandably, people seem to want the most ’stuff’ for the lowest price. Unfortunately, the concept of value sometimes gets overshadowed by the price tag."
5 comments:
It seems every theatre has it's own policy about from whom you can purchase certain things and the process of getting those purchases approved. One of the more frequent items we usually have bids done on is scenic construction. There are typically a limited number of shops in a given area that can realistically produce set elements without the cost of transportation/shipping blowing the budget. Because of this, other factors besides the bottom line can come into play. The more subjective criteria such as past experience with the company, ability to make changes, specialists, etc. can effect who you choose for a build. Sometimes it's worth not picking the lowest bidder in favor of a company that you know will be easier to work with. As sets aren't usually complete until Opening Night (sometimes that's optimistic). This fluctuating environment makes paying a little bit more money for a company you can rely on beneficial and in the end you may end up saving money by avoiding last minute rush orders.
I agree so much with the comment that low-bid awards work with coffee and office paper contracts, but not theater. When an artistic or creative element is added into a low-bid scenario, one is asking for trouble. Just because a 3 year old with a pencil can do your lighting plot a lot cheaper doesn't mean the quality of the work will be up to the level one expects. There are so many other factors involved when it comes to the arts, and producers need to get this idea into their money driven heads.
i think that the lowes bider only work with some thing i dont think it works for theater because there is a lot more factors then just cost we have to look at a lot more things like will it hold up in the long run and if will be to finish that every one would like on the design team. also if you have a good relationship with the company making your produce and you work well with them that is why lowest bider some times dose not work. so that is why some tis lowes bider dose not work for theater.
I agree with the idea that you cannot always go with the lowest bid, most times in our industry you shouldn't go with the lowest bid. It is important for a company to be truthful with what you will be getting for your dollar, and what you will not be getting. A lot of times, if you pay less, the product is not going to be as good, or in our case, the set may be a little more rickety, which we all know is not a good thing. It's not a big deal if a pen doesn't write as well as it's more expensive opponent, but when safety and durability comes into play, it is a big deal.
The point here is definitely interesting. I think maybe part of the issue comes from the idea that if the package that's submitted will be completed equally. At my high school, administrators would send projects out to bid and take the lowest one, figuring that any bid conforming to the package would be the same. When the new buildings were up though, they were amazed at the variations. Different companies were more of less able to handle changes that came up. The things that distinguished them most was the level of detail - some of the spaces had gaps in places and others had trash left around and leaking smoke vents. The point was that all of the companies complied with the plans, but found lots of other ways to cheap out.
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