With the advent of search engines that purport to design sans decorateurs, top-notch competition and dirt cheap practitioners, how do we get our clients to call us back for second phases and vacation homes? How do we make our relationship worth more so we remain the only one on their design radar screens? With the Value Added Extra.
Aesthetics aside, our profession is a Service Business. Designing beautiful, functional interiors and maximizing budgets aren’t enough any more. We must go beyond the call of duty. It’s not as complicated as you might think; when you are there to design, there are ample opportunities to go that extra mile. And the payoff – well, keep reading…
Interior Designer Connie McCreight relays, “It all started with one chair. Five years ago I received a call from a woman to look at a chair that needed reupholstery. She requested an early meeting on Saturday (not my favorite work-day), and it was a bit of a drive for only one chair. I kept the appointment, discussed her wishes, followed up with fabrics and had the chair reupholstered. A few months later she called again, wanting a small rug. Once again, I met her on a ‘Saturday’, discussed ‘the project’, researched and provided a rug to her satisfaction. You guessed it, I followed through. While this is not a productive business model for any truly professional designer, I’ve always made it my personal policy to graciously help in any way I can, when ‘someone calls’ asking for assistance.”
“A year later, at another ‘early Saturday morning’ appointment with this client, I brought my architect and contractor. We mapped out a plan to renovate and expand a large property she purchased just days before. Soon after we completed that three-year project, we happily caught an ‘early Saturday morning’ plane to take a look, photograph, measure and meet with the contractor starting work on a new vacation home she had purchased. We returned to our Los Angeles studio full of excitement, happily keeping many more ‘early morning meetings’. We worked like a whirlwind to design the kitchen, seven bathrooms, all surfaces, finishes, lighting, wall coverings, furniture, rugs and accessories so our client could cook Christmas dinner for her family in her new home. Our philosophy deems all clients to be ‘important’, even if for ‘just a chair’.”
Recently, on a project with a limited scope, the client, who had just taken possession of the house, decided he hated all the existing antique light fixtures and told me I could have the ugly things. I organized removing all the offending fixtures and set them up with an on-line vendor to sell. The client was astounded at the amount of money the fixtures fetched. That led to a very happy client, much more work and a referral.
Extras have always been an essential part of my business to show gratitude and to shape my brand. And now I will rethink working Saturday mornings and accepting those “one-chair” projects.
Photograph by Grey Crawford.
Kathryn Waltzer writes about the Business of Design for Decorati. She is the principal of Kathryn Waltzer Interior Design in Los Angeles, and is a graduate of the Environmental and Interior Design program at UCLA Extension and a professional member of ASID. Click here to view Kathryn’s Decorati Portfolio.
One Comment
I agree with this article. Helping people is my chief concern, whether it is on a large project or small one. Sometimes small projects over time do turn into much larger projects when the client moves to a new home or downsizes into a condo or apartment. Many times the old furnishings just don’t look right in the new place.