Why I Don’t Pit Subs Against Each Other
/A client recently told me I should get multiple subcontractor quotes and pit them against each other to flush out the lowest price.
I understand the instinct.
But I’m not doing it.
Not because I’m sentimental.
Not because I’m being “precious” about it.
Not because I’m trying to be nice.
Not because I can’t negotiate.
Because I’m underwriting the work.
Because I’m accountable for the outcome.
Because I’m optimizing for lowest risk, not lowest bid.
Because I’m here to steward the project, not just price it.
Once I hire a subcontractor, I’m not “getting a price.”
I’m buying execution.
I warranty it. I schedule around it. I coordinate everything it touches. And if it fails later, that cost doesn’t land on a spreadsheet. It lands on the project, the homeowner, and my reputation.
So when someone says, “Let’s squeeze subs until we get the lowest number,” what I hear is:
“Let’s trade relationship capital for a discount and pretend risk doesn’t exist.”
That’s not value engineering. That’s gambling with the part of the job you won’t see until it’s too late.
Because when subs feel shopped or pitted, a few predictable things happen:
• the best ones walk or disengage
• communication gets defensive
• scope gets thinner in ways you don’t notice
• problems get “handled” instead of solved
• you lose priority, flexibility, and extra care
And that’s how “saving a few hundred bucks” becomes rework, delays, and callbacks.
The best subcontractors don’t compete to be the cheapest.
They compete to be the most trusted.
I’ve even had times where a sub gave me a price, I carried it transparently, and after they nailed the install I handed them a little extra out of my margin and told them they did a great job.
That isn’t charity.
That’s incentive alignment.
It buys pride, responsiveness, and craftsmanship when things get complicated… which is exactly when you find out what the “cheap” number was really worth.
Price matters. Of course it does.
But in construction, the smarter question is:
Are we choosing subs based on lowest bid, or lowest risk?
If you’re hiring a contractor, ask this:
Do you shop your subs like commodities… or do you build relationships that protect the outcome?
Your project will reflect that decision every time.