Friday, October 12, 2012
Landscaping to the Extreme
When we returned from our Las Vegas we went over our meeting notes. After we went over the meeting notes we went over the what was assigned to each individual contractor. Greg decided to give me two assignments and this blog post focuses on one. I was charged with getting quotes on all the landscaping at the waterpark. I started with personal networks at Moon Valley Nursey. We had a tall order to say the least and it took over a week to hear back with the initial numbers. When I received the quote I was shocked to say the least! The quote came in at over a quarter million dollars! When I went to report the numbers to Greg I was bracing myself to get a negative reaction. to my surprise Greg did not seem to bothered by the number and said "That sounds about right." I have never worked for an organization where I was responsible for that amount of money. I went ahead and started my search for another bid. I met with the owner of a landscaping firm that I cannot recall at this time. The irony of the story is that his brother was the owner of Moon Valley Nursery. It was two brothers competing for the same business. The unfortunate thing is that the second contractor never got back to me. I do not know if he was skeptical of my request. I felt in many situations during my internship that people we encountered did not take me serious due to my age. It is unfortunate that one can be excluded due to appearance in "maturity".
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Good blog. So interesting that it was going to be “brother against brother” lol. Anyways, I too am always shocked at the amount of money agencies (or corporations in your situation) are responsible for. Goes to show just how important budgeting and money management really is and the importance of hiring people with honesty and integrity. It is a shame that they did not take you seriously due to your age. I’d think that the backing you have of working for your particular boss would cause people to take it more seriously but I guess some people are just ageist.
ReplyDeleteI know this was a while ago, but it was an interesting post. I don't know how much time you had passed before the second bid didn't get back to you. One thing I've learned is that it never hurts to follow-up with individuals. Maybe he was genuinely just busy and forgot about or misplaced your information? Sometimes having the confidence to contact someone a second time is what it takes to get over the problem of being young. Not to sound trite, but "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" :)
ReplyDeleteNice job! You should be very proud and happy that you were able to be entrusted with that type of work. You now have one of the most crucial experiences under your belt with budgeting and money management. I can't think of a location that doesn't value that type of experience.
ReplyDeleteI have also had meetings where I felt disrespected because of my age and I think it is a common feeling among college students. Some people make assumptions about you if you look young, but you can take advantage of that assumption and outmaneuver them in negotiations.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed unfortunate that even in this age people judge other based on their appearence. However, I feel that due to free market and stiffening competition such people would ultimately lose due to their ignorance.
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