I was feeling pretty good yesterday morning about handling the latest communication with the engineer. Maybe getting downright cocky about it, in fact.
With no advice, no need to bounce ideas off anyone except myself, I composed a polite, brief, carefully worded email response asking for some clarification.
At 11:45 pm I got a response. What the engineer had sent me was a contract. No details, just a lump sum proposal along with a list of the hourly rates of various people/tasks. After I sign and return it, then he will come up with a design for the dam renovation. I'm supposed to pay him within 30 days after he's finished with the design, then he sends the design to the contractor (G), and then according to him, G will give me an estimate for the rest of the job.
The problem is G has already postponed this job for almost a year. What if he just fades away, like the others and never gets to it, even in spite of nagging? Then I'm stuck with a very expensive design plan, and the NEXT guy I try to hire may want his own plan. In fact I won't even have the plan, G will. I didn't ask this guy to come out, G did. It seems to me G should arrange these payments whenever he starts the job.
Right now my thoughts are to send a copy of this contract to G and ask if this is the way he usually does business. I sort of wonder if the engineer isn't just trying to guarantee he gets paid by whoever is quickest on the draw. Heading off to lunch to do some bouncing of ideas again today. So I'm not quite grown up yet. {sigh}
Calories (7/19) 1630 (took the day off)
At 11:45 pm I got a response. What the engineer had sent me was a contract. No details, just a lump sum proposal along with a list of the hourly rates of various people/tasks. After I sign and return it, then he will come up with a design for the dam renovation. I'm supposed to pay him within 30 days after he's finished with the design, then he sends the design to the contractor (G), and then according to him, G will give me an estimate for the rest of the job.
The problem is G has already postponed this job for almost a year. What if he just fades away, like the others and never gets to it, even in spite of nagging? Then I'm stuck with a very expensive design plan, and the NEXT guy I try to hire may want his own plan. In fact I won't even have the plan, G will. I didn't ask this guy to come out, G did. It seems to me G should arrange these payments whenever he starts the job.
Right now my thoughts are to send a copy of this contract to G and ask if this is the way he usually does business. I sort of wonder if the engineer isn't just trying to guarantee he gets paid by whoever is quickest on the draw. Heading off to lunch to do some bouncing of ideas again today. So I'm not quite grown up yet. {sigh}
Calories (7/19) 1630 (took the day off)