Anyone who prepares estimates or fee proposals knows this scenario: You get an RFP for a potential project with a vague description (and, if you're lucky, a rough sketch) and you're asked to provide a fixed all-inclusive precise unwavering fee for all necessary services to see this nebulous project through to completion.
In early 1998, we were asked to quote a structural fee for "just a simple 4,500 square foot restaurant". Little did we know the eventual complexity of the project or that the architect was "going for an award on this one" - a fact we discovered during repeated changes during design. In the end, the project turned out very well, the architect won his award...
...and our final job cost was about 10 times our fee.
