the tender

[gregers]

Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken wall at 10 Downing Street ; one from London , another from Bristol and the third, Liverpool ..

They go with a government official to examine the wall.

The London contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring, then works some figures with a pencil.

'Well', he says, 'I figure the job will run about Ã,£900: Ã,£400 for materials, Ã,£400 for my crew and Ã,£100 profit for me.'

The Bristol contractor also does some measuring and figuring, and then says, 'I can do this job for Ã,£700: Ã,£300 for materials, Ã,£300 for my crew and Ã,£100 profit for me.'

The Liverpool contractor doesn't measure or figure but leans over to the Government official and whispers, "Ã,£2,700."

The official, incredulous, says, 'You didn't even measure like the other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?'

The Liverpool contractor whispers back, 'Ã,£1000 for me, Ã,£1000 for you, and we hire the guy from Bristol to fix the wall.'

'Done!' replies the government official.

And that friends, ...... is how it all works.