Client misunderstandings
Two weeks ago, when I wrote about my wife’s misunderstanding of a few of the details in the storage unit I made, I was reminded of a few client misunderstandings I’ve had over the years.
Two specific examples come to mind. Thankfully, they both turned out fine…I think.
Bonsai shoji screen
I made a freestanding shoji screen for a Toronto couple about 15 years ago. The husband was very involved in the design process, while his wife took a much more relaxed approach. I went over all sorts of details with him, from wood species and part dimensions, to paper types and the design I would create on the face of the screen.
The task was pretty simple; make a three-panel, freestanding shoji screen to act as a visual block between their bedroom door and the rest of the room. It was going to be placed about 6′ inside the door in the bedroom, so that when the door was wide open you still couldn’t see much inside the room. The main focus with the design I added to the face of the screen was a bonsai tree made from different pieces of handmade Japanese paper.
We had lots of preliminary talks, I gave them the price and I got the go-ahead (and deposit) to start work. I built the exact screen we decided on. Douglas fir frame, a very simple kumiko gridwork design, and a simple white background paper with the mosaic paper design of the bonsai tree on the face. Come to think of it, the only part of the screen we didn’t talk about in extreme detail was the design of the bonsai tree on the front, but these folks had seen many other screens I made, which were all in the same vein, so I was confident about the direction of the design.
We arranged delivery. They were excited, as was I. I told them I’d put it in place, then call them upstairs to see it; a grand reveal, of sorts. I put it in place and let them know it was ready. When they came in, the woman said nothing and the man just kept saying, “So, that’s it, eh?” in a calm, yet slightly confused, tone. He wasn’t at all angry. It was him coming to grips with the design, on his own terms. Slowly. With me standing right beside him. It was obvious he just expected something else. What did his wife think? I have no idea.
To be clear, it was exactly what we discussed. And considering we went over just about every detail, to this day I don’t honestly know what he wasn’t sure about. He must have said, “So, that’s it, eh?” at least eight times as we stood in the room and looked at it from different angles.
I eventually got him to agree to sit with the screen for a few weeks and then we could make a decision on what to do with it if he didn’t warm up to it. I got paid and I made it clear to him that if he really wasn’t happy with it we could come up with a plan. Two weeks went by and I thought better of calling him. That was over 15 years ago, so I guess he either warmed up to it or got rid of it because he wanted to take an entirely different approach to the situation.
Large wall unit
Wall units have a lot of design details associated with them, not to mention many different functional storage options to consider. Doors, drawers, open shelves, glass shelves, lighting, trim, etc. all have to be considered when designing a wall unit.
Many years ago, I made a wall unit for a client, who (again) was very involved in the entire process. We had covered every detail and were all pleased with what we came up with. I even sent them computerized, to-scale drawings of the front view of the wall unit, complete with fluted columns, panelled doors, crown moulding and all the other details.
I met them on installation morning, and assured them the unit would very close to done by the time they got home from work, which it was. I greeted them in their front hall and brought them into the family room so they could see the wall unit. In this case, it was the woman who was taken aback by what she saw. “Oh wow, THAT’S what this is going to look like?!” she exclaimed. Thankfully, she didn’t dislike the unit, but she was just simple shocked to see the overall design. She just literally didn’t know it was going to look like “THAT,” even though it was a perfect match for the drawings I sent them.
Thankfully, they both liked the design and were pleased with how everything went. But things could have just as easily gone the other way. I think this person just had trouble translating the drawings into a real-life wall unit, and just trusted I would do a good job.
Over the next 15 minutes she must have said, “I just didn’t know it would look like THAT!” to me several times. It was a tricky situation for me, as I wanted to remind her of the many computerized, to-scale drawings we had gone over, but I thought that might sound a little condescending. All’s well that ends well, because I got paid and have done more work for that client.
In the end, as a custom maker, it’s a dicey situation when a client either doesn’t like the end product, or it just wasn’t what they were expecting.
Bonsai Shoji Screen
This was the screen I made for my clients’ bedroom. I think it turned out well, but the client was expecting something else, apparently. I made the bonsai design out of a few different coloured handmade Japanese papers, and applied them to the white background paper.
White Elm Shoji Screen
This is a screen the client saw and liked. They just wanted a few details changed to make it work better for their space.
Rob is a studio furniture maker and the editor at Canadian Woodworking & Home Improvement. Instagram at @RobBrownTeaches
In a similar vein as part of my job I had to trouble shoot complicated and very powerful units over the phone. I learned early on in my career that at times I had an exact picture of the problem as described in my mind and the customer had an exact but slightly different picture in his mind. I soon learned to take steps to be sure we were both on the same page
I made a kitchen wall clock out of white oak for a client MANY years ago. The clock was made to hang on the wall. The clock cabinet was a white oak box 22″(H), 15″(W) and 6″(D); glass door; battery powered works with a 12″ brass pendulum rod. This was mounted on a 30″ x 15″ backboard with scroll saw pattern on the top and bottom. The client picked out the faceplate, pendulum and bob. A price was agreed upon.
Within a week the client contacted me and wanted to change the pendulum shift having the brass rod encased in a narrow white oak strip with the brass rod showing. Okay. . . “that’s going to cost more.” Reply:/”Fine”.
A couple of days later: “Could you make the back panel a little taller and change the scroll saw pattern to this?” (A page torn out of a BH&G magazine was shown to me.) ” Okay. . . but it’s going to cost more. ” Reply: “Okay, no problem “. About a week later; “Would it be possible for you to carve some leaves and acorns on another piece of wood and glue them to the backboard beneath a clock cabinet? “Okay. . . but that’s labor intensive and will add considerable cost.” Reply: :Go for it.”
The day of delivery the couple were ecstatic. They LOOOOVED IT. The billing statement was presented. Response: eyebrows raised and mouth open. BUT, I was ready for it. I had an itemized list with labor and materials cost for each requested change. I was paid in full, but when I left their abode, the client’s enthusiasm about the clock had lowered considerably.
One thing that I learned is that some people have absolutely no ability to visualize a concept. Until they see it complete and in place there is no way to explain what it will look like. Several years ago when every third TV show involved the staging of a home that had sat for sale for a long time, it was painfully obvious to me that many are unable to see past what is in a room and see the potential. The number of ‘hidden camera’ occasions of, “Eww, it’s so cluttered,” always had my head shaking. “It doesn’t come with the house,” I would yell in vain. The bottom line, I suppose, is that some people need not only a perfect picture of a project concept, but it has to be a full-size model. Even then I wouldn’t bet much on it.