Tendering for Fun!!!!!

I just had to share this with you, and for a change name some names...

We were invited to tender for some work recently in what appeared to be an open and fair process for an organisation called Reaction. They are an organisation promoting enterprise in Northumberland based in Hexham.

The tender looked interesting and well within our capability. We spent a number of days pulling together a response and devising the various approaches and costings required. Because of the timescale, and as always a 'work to the deadline' approach, I had to drive Hexham to hand in the tender response by hand. To my surprise, the delivery address for responses to the tender was actually the offices of a competitor, and a marketing services company called R//evolution.

As I drove back to Newcastle, I made a mental note and then transfered this to a post-it note in my office. The note said: 'The winning company in the tender for marketing support for Reaction will be a company called R//evolution.'

Low and behold we received an email confirmation the other day that we had been unsuccessful in our tender. I asked who had won, and was told by phone that the contract had been awarded to Revolution.

Now, I am not a soothsayer or the North Easts answer to Mystic Meg. Neither am I a trouble maker, or someone who does not respect the need for the procurement process. However, I am sick and tired of wasting energy, time, resources and cash on 'fishing trips' into oil laden waters.

My advice to Reaction and R//evolution is as follows. The next time you want to put on a charade and waste peoples time and efforts, just don't bother, as those of us who are confident in competitive pitching just can't be bothered with the likes of you.

If either company reads this and wants to put in a call, please do, as I would be glad to discuss my views directly with you. I will be blacklisting Reaction on all future pitches and encouraging other agencies to ignore them.