@Madetoshop wrote:
@maverick1, are you in?
Part of my career was performing assignments for a large government contractor. We bid (a formal proposal) on work per government specifications. We bid how many hours for each task. Internally, a program manager would review and question your effort / hours / dollar amount before the bid was submitted.
These assignments would take anywhere from months to years. There was competition between companies and between individuals. I also worked on drafting proposals. Several times all through the night. I can recall at least one time after all that effort was completed on the proposal, we were not awarded the contract.
Was it exactly like mystery shopping? Of course not!
But it was a concerted effort of always looking for work assignments. There were times of expanded employment and also times of layoffs (RiF - Reduction in Force). At times It was stressful. I did get the opportunity to do some interesting assignments in Western Europe.
Conclusion: Competition in an open marketplace works.