To compare quotations well you have to read them. That idea is not exactly novel.
When reviewing family entertainment center equipment quotes, compare the written scope line by line.
We have got it down to four words: read the scope. But it is not enough just to tell buyers that.
For Family Entertainment Center Equipment quotes, match the price to the same specifications, delivery point and installation assumptions.
The very idea is foreign to what most buyers learn from their first quotation.
When I started, it seemed as if price and scope were opposites by definition.
A quote had two states: some of the time it was complete, and that was called a fixed price; the rest of the time it was missing something, and that was called an estimate.
Quick Answer
And it did not seem to be an accident. Revisions, it was implied, were tedious because they were preparation for a real project.
| Compare | What to record | Buyer check |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Attractions, footprint, height, quantity, accessories | Same drawing and configuration? |
| Specifications | Structural materials, padding, netting, slides, flooring | Are values measurable and documented? |
| Documentation | Layouts, engineering, manuals, product reports | Does each document match the quoted item? |
| Delivery | Trade term, named place, freight and unloading | Who carries each cost and responsibility? |
| Installation | Remote help, supervision, crew, travel and site days | What work remains with the buyer? |
| Support | Spare parts, warranty, service and exclusions | How are claims and replacements handled? |
I remember that precisely because it seemed so anomalous. It was like being told to use dry water.
Why Do FEC Equipment Quotes Differ?
Whatever I thought he meant, I did not think he meant the specification could literally be free.
By the second project, the prospect of an actual handover was on the horizon.
Suppliers would sometimes come to speak to us about their process, or we would go to see them at work.
What Should Buyers Compare in Family Entertainment Center Equipment Quotes?
Equipment Scope
It was always understood that they enjoyed what they did. In retrospect I think one may have: the crane operator. But I do not think the freight forwarder really did.
The main reason they all acted as if they enjoyed their work was presumably the trade convention that you are supposed to.
Attraction Mix
It would not merely be bad for the relationship to say that you despised the schedule, but a social faux-pas.
Why is it conventional to pretend the quote is complete? The first sentence of this section explains that.
Specifications
If you have to read a quote to compare it well, then the most careful buyers will all read the list.
That is where the procurement tradition comes from.
How Should Commercial Playground Equipment Quality Be Compared?
Having a handover is said to be even more onerous than the quote.
Compare Commercial Playground Equipment packages against the written item list, drawings and support scope.
And yet all the suppliers claim to like what they do.
You cannot blame buyers for thinking I am not like these people; I am not suited to this process.
Actually they have been told three lies: the thing they have been taught to call certification is not certification; a supplier's own report is not necessarily worse than a third-party one; and many of the people around them are guessing when they say a standard covers their model.
What Costs Should an FEC Quote Include?
Equipment
It was always understood that F1918-21 covered soft contained play, and that F2970-25 covered trampoline courts, and that one report did not certify the other.
Shipping
The most dangerous liars can be the buyer's own team.
Installation
If you accept a longer warranty to give your venue a higher standard of cover, as so many operators do, you risk infecting your staff with the idea that service is free.
Ask about installation options, local labor and site responsibilities in writing.
Maybe it would be better in this one case if suppliers were not so generous-sounding.
Spare Parts
A supplier who set an example of reading the drawing might help their buyer more than an expensive discount.
How Should Safety Documents Be Compared?
It was not till the third project that the idea of scope finally broke free from the idea of a total.
Then the important question became not how to cut the price, but what the price covers.
How Should Warranty and After-Sales Be Compared?
Ideally these coincided, but some spectacular boundary cases, like a crane hired by the hour, proved they were not identical.
The definition of a quote was now to describe a complete scope, and in the process not to frighten the buyer.
Equipment Price vs Total Commercial Indoor Playground Cost
But after the habit of so many years my idea of a quote still included a large component of pain.
Commercial Playground Equipment quotations should list freight, installation and site work separately from equipment cost.
A comparison still seemed to require discipline, because only hard questions yielded clear answers, and hard questions could not literally be fun.
| Hypothetical cost line | Supplier A | Supplier B |
|---|---|---|
| Same locked equipment scope | 100,000 | 115,000 |
| Installation | 12,000 (excluded) | Included |
| Inland transport | 3,000 (excluded) | Included |
| Adjusted subtotal | 115,000 | 115,000 |
Even a careful buyer probably had moments when he wanted to sign the quote, but told himself he ought to finish the drawing first.
The other big force leading people astray is money. Money by itself is not that dangerous.
When something pays well but is regarded with contempt, like a stripped-out package, ambitious buyers are not tempted by it.
Common FEC Quotation Red Flags
- The danger is when money is combined with prestige, as in a brand name attached to a thin specification.
- The test of whether people read a quote is whether they would do it even if they were not being sold to.
- That test is especially helpful in deciding between two suppliers, because quotes vary greatly in this respect.
- It is easy to see how little the equipment subtotal matters. Think of some complete projects. How many of their quotes do you remember?
- All you need from a quote is the scope it covers. How well the project goes a few months later will depend more on what the scope included than on what the total was.
- To compare quotations well you have to read them. That idea is not exactly novel.
- We have got it down to four words: read the scope. But it is not enough just to tell buyers that.
- The very idea is foreign to what most buyers learn from their first quotation.
What Information Should Buyers Prepare?
When I started, it seemed as if price and scope were opposites by definition.
A quote had two states: some of the time it was complete, and that was called a fixed price; the rest of the time it was missing something, and that was called an estimate.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- And it did not seem to be an accident. Revisions, it was implied, were tedious because they were preparation for a real project.
- The market then was divided into two groups, suppliers and buyers.
- Suppliers, like some kind of cursed race, had to absorb every change. Buyers did not, but they did have to approve drawings, which was a dilute version of the same work.
- Much as we disliked the paperwork, the suppliers all agreed that site work was worse, and that we had it easy.
- Why did we have to count every barrier twice instead of trusting the list? For the same reason they had to watch over a bunch of drawings instead of lying on a beach.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I compare FEC equipment quotes?
I am not saying we should let suppliers define the scope. They may have to make some calls.
What should an FEC quote include?
But if we let them decide what counts as included, it might be wise to ask which items they removed, and indeed whether the reason they removed them was to protect the price or the schedule.
Why are FEC prices different?
Once, when I was about nine projects in, a supplier told me I could specify whatever I liked, so long as I paid for it.
Is installation included?
I remember that precisely because it seemed so anomalous. It was like being told to use dry water.
How should buyers compare exclusions in FEC equipment quotes?
Whatever I thought he meant, I did not think he meant the specification could literally be free.
Commercial Buyer Checklist
- By the second project, the prospect of an actual handover was on the horizon.
- Suppliers would sometimes come to speak to us about their process, or we would go to see them at work.
- It was always understood that they enjoyed what they did. In retrospect I think one may have: the crane operator. But I do not think the freight forwarder really did.
- The main reason they all acted as if they enjoyed their work was presumably the trade convention that you are supposed to.
- It would not merely be bad for the relationship to say that you despised the schedule, but a social faux-pas.
- Why is it conventional to pretend the quote is complete? The first sentence of this section explains that.
- If you have to read a quote to compare it well, then the most careful buyers will all read the list.
Final Thoughts
That is where the procurement tradition comes from.
Having a handover is said to be even more onerous than the quote.
And yet all the suppliers claim to like what they do.
You cannot blame buyers for thinking I am not like these people; I am not suited to this process.
A documented scope makes family entertainment center equipment quotes easier to compare.
