Bailiffs VS Security Guarding
Some say, all security companies are the same so why not take the cheapest bid? This would certainly be the case of local authorities here in the East of London who seem to think a bailiff company is the same as a Manned Guarding Company, strange but true.
During a recent tender process, we seem to have lost out to a supplier of services that is nothing to do with our business, whilst it may fall into the category of Security it’s not Guarding, it’s very different and their standards and procedures are very different and require a lot less financial input. Is it the fault of the supplier winning a contract? Certainly not lazy sloppy inexperienced staff who can’t tell the difference between marmite and marmalade are responsible, but hey what does it matter if they get it wrong, it’s not their money poorly spent.
Whilst we licked our wounds for not winning a recent tender bid, we started to look at the winning company to formulate where we may have gone wrong and improve. It seemed at first glance that their offices are based in an exclusive part of London, but 2 minutes investigation shows this is not the case, they rent an office hourly in this exclusive part of London to give the illusion of being centrally located and exclusive, a slight of hand you may say.
We then moved onto the specification and the pricing module that required all the staff on the contract to be highly trained from first aid and fire to vulnerable person and lone worker training, all at a cost. We have all heard lately about the appalling Fire Warden Services being provided in London by companies providing sub qualified substandard services, this may be because the companies chosen are just that and chosen by persons who don’t understand exactly what they require or from who they require it. If you like the cut of a company and the sound of its propaganda why not visit them unannounced, check them out? It sounds easy, because it is.
Winning is always a buzz and loosing is an unhappy time for those of us who complete the long and laborious tender process. Insult to injury is made worse when we hear we have not been successful and the service given to another supplier who in turn loses the work six months later because the bozo making the decision was too bone headed to carry out due diligence in the first instance. (a good example, if you want a bag of coal, go to a coal shop) not a butcher.
Remember way back when we met our chosen partners for life? We would tell them everything about us and at times embellish the truth to make us sound and seem better. It’s the same with tenders, unless you verify what is being claimed it remains just that a claim. If a Security Supplier claims it has mobile patrol vehicles to perform this role of Security ask to see the said vehicles in all their glory and the staff who drive them, our British Standards for Security state our vehicles should be liveried, for those who don’t understand liveried, the cars/vehicles should be sign written! I now have a wry smile on my face and my tongue is embedded in my cheek.
We would say as a professional provider of Security Services to those decision makers who really want cheap Security Services to be honest and say just that. London Living Wage LLW starts at £10.75 and should rise annually with inflation, supervisors and managers should earn more hence the charge rate should be in excess of £15.00 per hour taking into account cell phones for each site, laptops, training, Deister equipment, cameras, digital forms and supervision daily. If price being the determining factor, I can assure you Supervision, Management and training will fall way behind what is being asked within a specification.
A thought to ponder; If decision makers want to improve on standards they have or wish to gain they must be demanded and tested, for those who are still unsure, ask or visit a security supplier, that being a Guarding Company, were not hard to find, check out the SIA website, those of you who don’t know about the SIA or its web site, you’re in the wrong job.