Quote:
Originally Posted by SHOFEAR
PCL (or other any general contractor) is there to deliver a product to their client. They do that. Not to build a productive relationship with subcontractors or suppliers.
They are hired because they have the ability to throw there weight around and dangle carrots to subs and suppliers. Key relationships are maintained, but everybody else is replaceable.
|
as an owner, there is absolutely no way i want relationships with subcontractors or suppliers on one of my projects that are not productive relationships.
is there sometimes a nominal premium to be paid in order to achieve that? maybe. but it's probably a lot less than the premium that will be extracted by subcontractors or suppliers without a productive relationship either on the project at hand or projects down the road.
that doesn't mean throwing money at things. sometimes it's a matter of paying quickly and supporting the safety programs (which aren't cheap when properly implemented) and recognizing quality craftsmanship when you come across it (it is there to be found and recognizing it goes a long way towards getting it) and not hanging a trade out to dry on an honest mistake.
if i want to be treated in a particular way and if i want my projects to be treated in a particular way, these are all two-way streets. and for what it's worth, it's not the gc's role or the cm's role to "be the heavy for the owner". owners that use their gc or cm like that deserve what they get and the gc or cm shouldn't always get the blame even though they're sometimes the easier target.