Kitchen & Bath Business - January 2018 - 36

Better Business

Quid Pro Quo
How to maintain and benefit from the
designer/contractor relationship
MY "PERFECT" CLIENT HAS JUST SCHEDULED AN APPOINTMENT to
discuss their new-construction home. They are perfect to me because they
are a past client referral, they are excited to show me their home plans and
want my help. I'm doing my happy dance, and then I realize I have never met
or worked with their chosen contractor, and they have already broken ground
on their new home. YIKES! Should I be anxious or welcome the intro to a
new-to-me contractor?
The ideal designer/contractor relationship is built out of respect for each
other's knowledge, areas of expertise and equal passion for this fast-changing
building industry we have chosen to be a part of. Learning each other's
strengths when it comes to handling client expectations, job site communication, product selections, budgets and floor plan changes is paramount to
ensuring the common goal - intense homeowner satisfaction.
The designer should be involved at the very beginning of the project to
ensure realistic budgets are set and all client special needs and desires are taken
into consideration. However, since this is not the case this time, once I have a
commitment from my client, I will contact the contractor to schedule a time
we can meet to discuss the project timeline, get subcontractor information
and assess what has transpired and what our options are. I know that I need
to follow up a bit aggressively to ensure I have done what is necessary to lay
the groundwork for future communications.

"Establishing Communication. As a designer, I rely heavily on a well-informed,

knowledgeable team - the contractor, subs and other designers - to pull all
the details together. It's important for the team to be completely tuned into
each other, which means being accessible and open and having the ability
to ask questions and give answers. It's important to figure out the best way
to communicate - text message, phone call, e-mail and job site follow up. I
tend to visit my job sites often to ensure I know needed changes have been
communicated to everyone involved, and I supply job site copies of updated
and detailed design layouts for all changes.This style of open communications lets us discuss - as a team - solutions for product installation along
with finding creative solutions for design challenges.The more tuned in we
are to each other and our industry, the more everyone benefits, including
subcontractors and, ultimately, the homeowner.

CYNTHIA A. SCHEUER,
CGP CAPS, is the owner of
Dragonfly Design Studio in
Sebring, Fla., and Three Rivers,
Mich. She has had more than
25 years of experience in
the kitchen and bath design/
construction industry.

"Job Site Changes. This is an area where designers

can be worth their weight in gold by communicating changes at the rough-in stage, avoiding
extra costs associated with change orders. In one
example, my client desires a bidet in the master
bath, and the budget calls for a standard toilet.
If this job was in the rough-in stage, no worries. However, if the rough-ins were complete
and the walls were closed up, a decision would
need to be made regarding the extra change order costs, including the bidet and electrical and
plumbing systems. Then my client would have
to decide if he/she needs to forego this upgrade.
"Overcoming Obstacles. To add to our challenges,
the plethora of products and styles that are available along with their pricing can be very confusing and overwhelming. A designer can be helpful in weeding through the selections process
and managing overall product costs by helping
educate the buyers about their product choices.
It seems that more times than not, people
living in the home have their own individual
styles, which often causes frustrations between
them. My goal is to help them melt their styles
by providing options that will make them both
happy. I have individual room "cheat sheets" to
help identify client expectations for each space.
This is guided by the contractors'set budgets and
allows us to identify any overages at the selections stage instead of at the end of a project.This
also helps keep me organized, ensuring that I
discuss options in the preliminary design stages
and enabling me to communicate these details
with the team before everything gets covered
and sealed up. This allows the opportunity for
the contractor to devote his/her time to muchneeded construction details, coordination of
subs and scheduling.
So to say that I welcome the intro to a "newto-me contractor" is really minimizing my excitement. I love the challenges of being a part of
a new team and developing relationships. As I
continue to build my portfolio, client contacts and
contractor buddies, I can bring more to the game
through referrals. Pairing the right contractor
team with my referred or repeat client can make
for an unequaled experience. Referrals work both
ways; a contractor can also reach out to me to
assist him/her and their client on their project.
It becomes the perfect scenario for building our
businesses together.
Managing expectations and ensuring those
expectations are met is key for a successful project.
No one likes surprises, and it's really about paying
attention to the details. By collaborating with a
team that knows what the final outcome is ensures the final result is exactly what was conveyed
to the homeowner.

Kitchen & Bath Business / JANUARY 2018 / KBBONLINE.COM / The official publication of KBIS (KBIS.com)

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Kitchen & Bath Business - January 2018

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