Base Services of Athens, Inc. (B-423783, B-423783.2)

You should not care.

Categories: Past performance, best value

Date: 17 December 2025

URL: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-423783,b-423783.2

Base Services of Athens protested the Navy’s award of a food galley services contract to Crystal Enterprises. Both offerors were found technically acceptable and both received satisfactory confidence ratings for past performance, but Crystal’s price was about $1.9 million lower. The dispute centered on how the agency evaluated the parties’ past performance references and then used those findings in its tradeoff.

GAO acknowledged the agency made mistakes in scoring one BSA reference and one Crystal reference, but found no competitive prejudice. Even correcting those errors would not have changed the overall confidence ratings, nor would it have shown that BSA’s past performance was superior enough to justify paying the 11 percent price premium. GAO also rejected BSA’s argument that all of Crystal’s references should have been rated only somewhat relevant, concluding the agency reasonably found the work similar enough in scope and complexity.

GAO further found no error in the agency’s failure to consider a later CPARS report on the incumbent effort because that information was not available at the time of evaluation. The protest is denied.

Digest

1. Protest challenging the agency's past performance evaluation is denied where the evaluation was reasonable and in accordance with the terms of the solicitation.
2. Protest alleging that the agency committed evaluation errors is denied where the protester fails to demonstrate that, but for the evaluation errors, it would have had a substantial chance of receiving the award.