You've GOT To Be Kidding Me...

...This is a phrase is reserve for one of those times when the truth just seems bizarre, and one of those times was today.

At work I have been busting my gut to get a particular project done in time (Names and companies have been removed). It is the life of an Estimator, you have deadline and whether it’s finished or not, you have to give a final price.

Due to various unforeseen reason, I was recently give a project, approx. value of £1 million to price, and was only given 2 and a half weeks to price it (I should have had 5-6 weeks!)- a near impossible task for a trained Estimator, let alone a trainee! We decided to endeavor and do our best, but with one week until deadline and barely any of the job priced, we bit the bullet and asked for an extension of time. We/ I was shot down and given a firm no. A few days is all I needed.

Now, coming up to a week after I submitted the price, I called the Project Manager to see if our bid (we were bidding against 5 other Contractors) was successful/ in the ball park/ being looked at seriously and to my, probably obvious anger, was told that they hadn’t opened the envelopes yet. My stunned silence provoked him to carry on explaining… and he explained very elegantly that a couple of members on the Clients’ board of directors are on holiday and that they can’t be opened until their return… in another one and a half weeks!!!

You’ve GOT to be kidding me!