REAL STORIES SHARED BY OUR READERS
* names have been changed
A BID MANAGER who has led more than 50 bids during his tenure has revealed how close his company came to having its status quo disrupted.
Chris, who works for a ‘leading’ recruitment firm said, “We bid regularly and it’s common practice to schedule a kick off meeting and discuss the customer requirements and bid schedule, but rarely does it run as smoothly as it did this time,” he said.
“It’s something I’ve never seen in my working career. I’d sent out the tender documentation ahead of time with an agenda. When I arrived I was looking for the punchline thinking I was the brunt of a joke because everyone in the room knew exactly what they there for and what was expected of them,” he said.
But then of course after a few minutes the room broke into a huge roar of laughter and it turns out the joke really was on me.
“They’d read the agenda but hadn’t read beyond the cover of the Request for Tender. They just want to get a reaction out of me knowing that I’d come with everything prepared after spending a good 18 hours getting ready to micro-manage them”.
“I’d complained repeatedly that every bid was chaotic and that we needed better organisation. I didn’t think they would take me seriously,” Chris said.
“The meaning ‘be careful what you wish for’ nearly became reality for me. And it was scary as hell”.
