# Food Lion



## Profinishes (Jan 10, 2019)

Has anyone ever painted a Food Lion grocery store? I have been doing the paint packages on Wal-Mart stores and was recently asked to bid Food Lions. After submitting bids I was told that my price was well above the lowest bid. I can't imagine doing these any cheaper as I thought I gave my rock bottom price. Am I missing something? I can't imagine doing them cheaper unless local contractors have lower overhead. I am a nationwide service. Any assistance on this would be greatly appreciated


----------



## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

Profinishes said:


> Has anyone ever painted a Food Lion grocery store? I have been doing the paint packages on Wal-Mart stores and was recently asked to bid Food Lions. After submitting bids I was told that my price was well above the lowest bid. I can't imagine doing these any cheaper as I thought I gave my rock bottom price. Am I missing something?* I can't imagine doing them cheaper unless local contractors have lower overhead.* I am a nationwide service. Any assistance on this would be greatly appreciated



Isn't that always the case when there are no travel cost?


----------



## Gracobucks (May 29, 2011)

You won't win every bid and if you do your bidding too low.


----------



## Profinishes (Jan 10, 2019)

I appreciate the input. The thing is that the GC is constantly complaining that they have problems with their painters and yet they ignore a reputable proven company. These fly by night paint companies are not capable of delivering a satisfactory job and are not equipped with the right personnel or equipment. Nothing against local contractors as I used to be a small residential painter but I knew my limitations


----------



## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

Profinishes said:


> I appreciate the input. The thing is that the GC is constantly complaining that they have problems with their painters and yet they ignore a reputable proven company. *These fly by night paint companies are not capable of delivering a satisfactory job and are not equipped with the right personnel or equipment. *Nothing against local contractors as I used to be a small residential painter but I knew my limitations



Don't know what to tell you then. Most everyone on this forum is a 'local' contractor somewhere. I know the companies here you would compete with. The big three alone each have an army between 20-40 workers depending on season and have been in business 30+ years. I know plenty of experienced 1-3 man crews who could handle the job too. Only reason you would win a contract here is if they were too busy.


----------



## akrause (May 18, 2010)

It's impossible to give good input without knowing more about the area the store is located in and what kind of numbers you use for bidding.
I can tell you that in major cities, unfortunately quite often companies that have ridiculously low pricing just take they're cut and hand the whole job off to a sub who has all illegal labor and is willing to work for peanuts just to keep food on the table.
The other reality is that sometimes painters screw up on their bid. That happens way more than you realize. The winner on this Food Lion could have *totally* tanked on his number and the whole thing is going to end up being a sh*t show. It happens *ALL THE TIME* and yet, as you mentioned in your comment, GC's will time and time again across the board go with the lowest number. They're hopelessly addicted to that low bid no matter how much pain it causes them.
I recently bid (and lost) what would have been the largest job or company ever bid ($450k). The GC told me we were the middle number which actually made me feel much, much better. That's right where I like to be win or loose.


----------



## Stretch67 (Oct 7, 2013)

Profinishes said:


> I appreciate the input. The thing is that the GC is constantly complaining that they have problems with their painters and yet they ignore a reputable proven company. These fly by night paint companies are not capable of delivering a satisfactory job and are not equipped with the right personnel or equipment. Nothing against local contractors as I used to be a small residential painter but I knew my limitations


That's your typical GC, whine non-stop about the price, but refuse to pay any more. Just let em keep wallowing in their own self--inflicted headaches. They might learn, they might not.


----------



## Stretch67 (Oct 7, 2013)

cocomonkeynuts said:


> Isn't that always the case when there are no travel cost?


NO.

We dabble in energy/pipeline work. MN (our HQ) is known for paying good wages in the trades. It's not uncommon for companies from Texas to come up here and paint pipe. The fact that their labor is probably half the cost of ours, more than makes up for the travel expenses.

It's actually quite common.


----------



## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

Stretch67 said:


> NO.
> 
> We dabble in energy/pipeline work. MN (our HQ) is known for paying good wages in the trades. It's not uncommon for companies from Texas to come up here and paint pipe. The fact that their labor is probably half the cost of ours, more than makes up for the travel expenses.
> 
> It's actually quite common.



Well yeah up in big sky guys get paid $20/hr to pull switch plates. Hard to compete with companies paying immigrants minimum wage and illegally housing them 10+ guys per room. Somehow there are very few companies like that here though, they seem to get run out of town real quick.


----------



## PNW Painter (Sep 5, 2013)

There is always someone out there willing to take on the same job for less. If you’re confident in your numbers don’t sweat it and move on to the next project. It’s better to lose a project than lose money on a project. 

Stay in contact with the GC and try to get the next one.








Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Brushman4 (Oct 18, 2014)

If you can't make money painting Food Lion's, just bid for more Wal-Marts or other big box chains.


----------

