I've written/edited some RFP responses for a client of mine. While I didn't have to worry about the nuts-and-bolts of the response, just the actual wording, I was frustrated at how needlessly difficult these processes can be. The RFP documents were usually quite poorly worded, often contradictory from one section to the next, and sometimes quite confusing when it came to determining exactly what services or products one was expected to provide. Composing a clear, concise, and well-written response seemed next to impossible. And, to make matters worse, requests for clarification were often met with a "piss me off and we'll eliminate you from the process" cold stare.

But what bothered me most - when one considers we dealt almost exclusively with government departments or Crown corporations - was the fact that the government accounting or procurement staff appeared to put more time and effort into their morning cup of coffee than a 25-page document that would cost the taxpayer hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars a year.