In this office the way that we bring a job to conclusion is by installing it all at once. Everything is scheduled to be completed and delivered close to one particular date (installation date) and what is finished sooner gets put in storage or kept at the office or sometimes held by the supplier. It is our aim to have it all ready for that installation date.
Suppliers are checked, we go to the upholsterers and cabinet makers to check everything, emails are sent to suppliers to let them know what the installation date is and we all hold that date as the golden day. Prior to installation date whatever construction work is needed is done, the space is painted, floors are finished and then window treatments are done, the carpeting is installed and on a selected day, everything is delivered still wrapped.
The following day everything is unwrapped and placed. Accessories are brought in on consignment along with fresh flowers, candles, the works. We ask the client not to be there when this work is being done and then at an assigned time, the front door opens and the space the client saw in the renderings is brought to life.
Then of course everybody is happy and they all live happily ever after.
Well, that’s the way it is always planned, but the reality with suppliers, as with life, is always very different.
There’s always a truck broken down on a highway somewhere (garage attendants must make a fortune on broken delivery trucks), items that you have checked and rechecked get damaged in waiting, or, like in a particular job that we are installing right now, we saw all the parts of the mirror being put together and approved it, but the mirror got made a foot larger than it was supposed to. So three days before the installation, Moe from my office is waiting for it to come in and we realized that it’s too large. So now we have to call the manufacturer, show a great deal of desperation over the phone, put the mirror back in the truck, send it back to the factory, have it recut and the back refinished and then pray that it will be delivered on time on Monday for installation and Tuesday’s walk-through with the client. Sheets from Restoration Hardware that were supposed to be delivered are lost in transit, those lovely pre-recorded computer generated automated people on the other side of the line really never gets you to the real person you want to talk to, that could maybe solve their mistake and now we have messengers picking up different aspects of the total set from different stores to be able to have the bed made for installation date. That workman who always walks through on carpets with some undefined material stuck to the bottom of his shoe…getting a cleaning person there to take the stain out. The temperamental sound system installer who requires the whole apartment empty before they proceed to mess it up with all their equipment. With today’s flu pandemic (swine or other tsunami), people who were supposed to be at work are off sick, same with suppliers and with Thanksgiving around the corner, we toil and sweat (and we’re not even mailmen!) to get the installation – regardless of rain, sleet or snow – done on time.
These are none of the things that the client sees as one walks through the space, making it seem that all we did was be fairy designers, waving our wand and making their dreams come true. (Bull, we’re not fairies and if somebody has a wand, please, I’ll pay for UPS to pick it up from you and promise to return it.)
Is there a wand out there? Please contact this office ASAP!
#1 by Gary Nelling on November 20, 2009 - 11:25 pm
As perfect as your projects are, I don’t doubt that an Installation Day is a stressful one. I don’t have a magic wand to offer you, but I do have a suggestion to pass along that someone made to me several years ago. Have a deadline for your office, consultants, suppliers, installers, contractors etc that is a day or more before the client deadline for any phase of the project you wish but especially at the end. Then when the things that can go wrong do go wrong, you have a cushion (metaphorically speaking) of time to straighten them out.
At first I thought this might be a lost day if everything went as planned, but if there are no emergencies, the time can be used for filing, billing and or any other project follow-up. The time following a phase or the completion of a project is often half-dead time while staff (and sometimes the boss) recover from the late nights spent before the deadline, so there can actually be an efficiency payback. Only the flowers can literally not live with this type of scheduling. Committing to this process is difficult for me, like committing to a diet. It’s easier said than done. But when it works, its a nice feeling. And it doesn’t leave one with the craving one gets from passing up dessert!
Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us through your blog. And thanks for your reading list in your other entry. That gives me something to hint to my family about for Christmas or give to a friend!
#2 by Jaime on November 21, 2009 - 3:10 pm
Lol, isn’t that the truth Vicente, thanks for sharing! Imagine living in Tampa, FLn not NYC and having those hiccups so commonly associated with our industry…no workrooms to quickly address errors in our area. UGH.
Btw, I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated the roundtable discussion with Preston Bailey, it was the insight and encouragement I needed today;)
#3 by m elissa lee on November 21, 2009 - 7:38 pm
Dear Vicente,
No magic wand!!!!
Perhaps you have a wonderful assistant that really knows how to be ruthless, but in a non-violent way????
A few suggestions that have helped me in life and work::
1. get away at least 4 times a year just for your self no business allowed!!
2.Have a great lover!!!! Sex can help heal most situations. Gentle, Animal what ever the day brings!!!
3. Have a time during the day where you just have a glass of wine, tea or smoke a little you know what…. It’s amazing how this detail changes a lot!!!
xxoo
Melissa
#4 by Maria Killam on November 21, 2009 - 8:06 pm
I loved this post. . . hmmm. . . I need to find a way to link it to a blog post!! So true!! Thanks for always saying it like it is!
#5 by Daniel Hale on November 21, 2009 - 11:30 pm
Its interesting. Most of the clients and designers that I work with have a similar approach. Having it all fall together in a day or two can be very exciting. I have to admit though, that I personally, and with clients who have the patience, the evolution of a design over time can be great. The accumulation of pieces that inform the next choices seems more natural. I guess it steals that ta dah moment though.
Daniel
#6 by qerat on November 22, 2009 - 12:30 pm
Vicente
You would know this better than anyone, there is no magic wand, but it is refreshing to know that 35 years later you are still hoping/wishing for one because i do every day.
Last week we were installing a project that has taken much longer than it should because of the developers, now that we are almost there, we planned everything to be delivered as you do all at the same time, everything was going smoothly and everyone was happy we were even planning the photoshoot the following week after we install the curtains, UNTIL, we had this amazing sudden rain fall. It was ok since everything was inside, until the roof started leaking from a balcony on the upper floor. The developer was not even appologetic. He delayed us for 2 weeks and cost us God knows how much in damages. Now installation has to wait until the ceiling is dry enough to be painted and to fix the damage. So, plans down the drains. I will make sure that the clients get to know every single little details about what we face and how hard it is to put a project together. I think if they are involved they will appreciate the hard work.
#7 by Marc on November 24, 2009 - 5:42 pm
Am planning an installation right now for December the 4th. The fireplace mantel didnt ship, so it wont be painted in time. The dining room table isnt done, even though I paid an extra grand to rush it. The warehouse cant find the 1940s lamps I had sent in for storage. The leather for the headboard got ink on it (huh????), and even though I found a replacement hide in 2 days, the headboard now wont be done in time.
And yet…I think of all the things that WILL be there…the lamps that Christopher Spitzmiller rushed for me, the replacement fabric that Jerry Pair moved heaven and earth to get delivered to my workroom, the oil painting an artist is spending his Thanksgiving weekend doing so that my clients can have a custom painting in their living room. Much love to the reps and tradesmen (and women) out there who go the extra mile to help us have a successful installation!
#8 by Marianne Strong on November 30, 2009 - 11:13 pm
I have to say I really enjoyed this post. Something always goes wrong. I find in this business people think that life is about floating in, waving a wand, picking a few colors, and poof your house looks like a magazine. Oh well. If I find that wand I will let you know!
#9 by susan on December 1, 2009 - 9:26 am
How refreshing to know that other designers have the same day in day out problems with their projects and installations. Some days, many in fact, I feel more like a problem solver then a designer. Even with the most meticulous advance planning something usually goes wrong. I’ve seen it all backorders, draperies the wrong length, nicked frames, broken light fixtures, the wrong size bed delivered, to name a few.
The absolute worst was when my carpenter got bit by a wasp at a remote cottage on our final installation day and went into a full anaphalatic shock from the sting. It was a true 911 moment. Thankfully he got the meds he needed and was ok.
I’ve been meaning to do a blogpost on this very subject for months.
Good thing I love my job as my magic wand seems to be lost in the mail
#10 by AbbeyK on December 13, 2009 - 2:48 pm
If the client only knew what goes on behind the scenes. The begging, the pleading with vendors to take care of something that went wrong (at the last minute)… No amount of crossing your t’s and dotting your i’s takes it away. Managing a client’s expectation certainly helps some, but the business of interior design is NOT what you see on HGTV, that’s for sure. But I love it and in the end it always works out.
Thanks for your post. It’s good to know we are not all alone.
When you find the magic wand, please manufacture it. I’ll buy one from you!
#11 by Tobi Fairley on March 27, 2010 - 8:26 pm
Hi Vincente,
I missed the post when you wrote it in November but so glad to find it now thanks to a facebook reference by another designer. This is so accurate and I think I will start sending this to all potential clients and tell them “see, even a pro like Vincente Wolf has these issues, so don’t be surprised when we do too!”. thanks for being so frank!
Tobi