Steve Barker writes to Building magazine about the current fee competition situation

9 November 2009

Clive Sayers’ point that low bids are giving the QS industry a bad name is absolutely on the mark (Building Online, 28 October) – and if we’re not careful, what we’ll see eventually is death by a thousand cuts.

While clients have the absolute right to ensure they receive value for money from their consultants, I have always held the view that fee competition without other checks and balances is an advanced form of lunacy.

I can assure clients that the current dash for work by some firms and acceptance by certain clients is a slippery slope that will almost certainly end in tears, and in a fresh round of consultant bashing because of falling standards and poorly managed projects leading to unhappy clients; the perfect storm!

And, when the market turns, clients will find themselves high and dry, with an exodus of talent as consultants move the good people to more profitable schemes in an effort to replenish the coffers.

So the big question is, what’s the answer? I believe that professional institutions such as the RICS should work with employers and redesign fee scales to become more reflective of the real world. That way, consultants will have to compete on experience, track record and properly-resourced bids that will ensure our clients receive a great service and want to come back for more.