Small Firms Ideas Exchange

To John M.

Congrats on learning what happiness is. Come back to the blog site often and comment or post your own topic! It is easy (and fun).

I think the best happiness is when ours aligns without clients! It sure is fun! I was registered in 1994 and biz was good so I incorporated in 1995… It is still FUN to come to work! I wake up at 6 a.m. on Saturdays and think “Dang… I gotta stay home today!” Of course I usually don’t and schlep all three of my kids (and sometimes all 3 dogs) to the office with me – now THAT is happiness!

One reiteration (that is sounds like a lot of us are doing): remember that our happy clients like to be “thankful” in ways other than just paying their bills. Remember to ask commercial/corporate clients for “recommendation” letters when the project is freshly completed (and they still have that honeymoon glow about them); keep in touch – ask them to remember you if they have a chance to pass you name along. Realistically everything we do is our marketing… what better way to build happiness, beautiful built environments, true value of our surroundings than to do what we do well and get others to blab on about us.

Happy clients are what it is all about. The trick is to obtain happiness in your work while you relish in the "ear to ear" grins on the faces of your clients. Sometimes it is a matter of getting paid. As an architect of many years, I have had all sorts of client and projects, and giving the client more bang for the dollar has more happiness in it than probably anything else. Happiness is sitting in your very own design studio at a "Grown-up Desk," which my fiance insisted I needed and now sitting here I have to agree. My first time here and next time I will try to have more content.

What makes my clients happy is feeling they're part of the process--from programming to selecting light fixtures and tile, from setting a program to choosing a builder. What makes them unhappy is feeling the project is overwhelming, complicated, and out of control. My job lies in determining the right balance for each project. For example, I encourage them to visit a showroom but make sure they have a guide or advocate there, and I ask them to select paint colors but I make suggestions or offer a palette to narrow the options to a manageable level. When my clients believe the final design reflects their lifestyle and preferences, I know I've done my job well!

Underpromise and overdeliver!

There is nothing worse than telling a client something will be done in one week when it takes two. Many people I have worked with felt the need to impress clients by telling them something will be done in a very unreasonable and unrealistic timeframe. When the deadline isn't met the client is upset and office tensions goes through the roof.

More often than not, the client is fine with a realistic timeline. If you think something will take 2 weeks, tell them it will two and a half or three. They love you when you are done in two, and your staff won't be cursing you behind your back! That being said...be leary of consultants who promise to deliver in an unrealistic timeframe. Find others who work this same way and you will be on the road to making GREAT impressions!

Nice post Jeff. Often it's the little things that make all the difference!!

My clients expect good design and competent documents.

They also seem to expect an indifferent attitude towards their budget. They are always surprised when I ask them about it repeatedly and in different ways. They seem very surprised when the project is completed on budget. Surprised and happy!

Often, it seems like the smallest things go a long way to making my clients happy--returning calls, showing up for meetings on time, really listening to their concerns. These should be common practice for anyone in business, but we know that they are not. As the pastor of a church I recently worked on put it, "I wouldn't know good architecture if it bit me." He did recognize (and commented on) that I was always at meetings when I said I would be and I came prepared with updated plans that reflected what the committee had discussed at the last meeting. I am about to start another church project where this has not been the case, so the client is changing architects.

My clients are also often surprised when I stress the importance of my involvement during construction. Their previous experience with architects often did not include this. They are even more surprised when I make regular visits to the job site and document those visits. It turns out that the contractors really appreciate this also. At least once during the course of construction I find mistakes--sometimes significant, almost always honest mistakes. By finding them early and dealing with them in a reasonable manner, you save the contractor time (and usually face). This makes the client and the contractor happy. It also leads to more work.

In just the last year I was hired for three very nice church addition projects that should have gone to the original architects. The original buildings were all very recent. In all three cases the original architects were not even considered because they ignored the budget (in one case by 150% - yes, it priced out at 2 1/2 times the budget) or refused to do the little things like return phone calls. At each of these churches the client has told me that when the time comes for the next project I will be the architect--in one case that will probably be next year. Needless to say, that makes me happy!

"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." Henry Ford

Making clients happy must also consider that you have a series of contractors and suppliers who are "selling" the alternatives because the architect does not know better, or it will be more cost effective, or it will be easier.

I have told numerous clients that you will love this when you are done, be patient. The ability for architects to listen and interpret the client's needs and design desires is something that all other trades persons and suppliers do not have. We must keep the design program in front of the clients as they entertain any changes. The design is usually the result of much discussion and the design is a selection of their alternatives.

It is critical that you see when the client's head says "Yes" while the eyes are saying "What is going on?" Slow down the process and help them to understand the design and the options.

Happy during the entire process and then happy at the end.

LA Mike