QSs get a pasting in the Guardian

The QS profession was subject to extreme criticism in the Guardian this weekend in the wake of the Wembley stadium disaster, after it emerged the scheme would not open in time for this year's FA Cup final last week.

Writer John Crace, who pens satircal pieces on different professions every week, aimed his ire at QSs for their inability to predict out-turn costs of projects. Pointing to other construction schemes that have busted their initial budgets, such as the Channel Tunnel, Crace wrote in Saturday's Work section of the newspaper: "If it was just a few quid here and there, no one would care too much, but when quantity surveyors get it wrong they do it in style. A 50% overspend is nothing to be ashamed of for a top quantity surveyor."

Crace claimed the only sensible explanation why QSs get it so wrong is that they work on the assumption that "everything can be bought for the best possible price, that the sun will shine 24 hours a day and that everying will fit perfectly". He ended his diatribe by acknowleding that he was likely to receive a barrage of complaints about his piece and then added: "But even if I've got only half of it right, I've done a far better job than most quantity surveyors."

To read the full Guardian article, click here