Karen Gastle

It would be great if every customer understood your business and needed no further explanation when it came down to handling any of the typical unexpected issues of the business. Unfortunately, that’s not the way it works, and difficult clients are just one obstacle you’ll face—no matter your industry.

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Interior designers have their own share of difficult customers. It’s not impossible to deal with these clients; it just requires a different approach. If you find it hard to work with challenging clients, get some help from the strategies below.

Constant Communication

Clients have their own vision of how they want a room to look, but in reality, that vision may not pan out the way they want. They may have been given a deadline, but unforeseen problems cause a project delay, and they don’t understand why there’s suddenly a halt in the design process.

 

It’s important for interior designers to go through the tools of the trade with their clients, as the odds are most clients are unfamiliar with the intricate steps involved, and they have never dealt with blueprints and room layouts. Providing a room-by-room walkthrough helps difficult customers understand what’s happening behind the scenes and why problems crop up. It opens their eyes to matters they didn’t understand to better comprehend why there are issues and delays.

 

Regular communication helps manage expectations and avoid unnecessary confrontations. This way, interior designers and difficult customers stay on the same page, knowing how each step functions together and eliminating any preconceived notions. Regular communication involves explaining the process so clients wholly understand every stage of the project.

 

It’s important for interior designers to be proactive with clients to give a clear understanding of why something works the way it does and how, in the end, it will benefit everyone.

Provide Visuals for Everything

Some people work better with outlines in front of them. Chances are, difficult customers have trouble seeing the ideas in your head come to life. Providing clear drawings, sample finishings, cloths, and other materials makes it easier for clients to view the final vision that’s already clear to interior designers.

 

Customers may grow frustrated by what they can’t see. Mock-ups help immensely in bringing ideas to light. Sketches and fabric swatches provide clients the rationale behind choosing certain patterns, colours, and styles that are hard to conceptualize without hard copies. Ideas worked out on paper bring the scheme into focus and allow a straightforward direction of where the design plan is headed. This is something both clients and interior designers can be happy about.

 Always Give Options

Always bring a client’s idea to the table. It helps them feel included instead of on the sidelines. Clients also don’t want to feel locked in to one style. Interior design isn’t a formula, it’s a combination of thoughts and ideas. Interior designers need to find alterations that difficult customers will love without shutting them out of the creative process. Clients are the ones living in the rooms, after all.

 

Sometimes clients need to see their ideas among others to understand why certain aspects don’t work. It’s easier to see why different ideas align and why others don’t when their suggestion is presented with several, especially if it’s an idea that doesn’t jive.

 

Presenting options this way highlights the research and background information necessary to putting a room together, versus picking one random idea out of a magazine. Showing clients all options helps them feel that they’re making a truly informed choice while highlighting the skills and professionalism of interior designers.

 

Not every client is going to be a stress-free collaborator, but knowing how to accommodate difficult customers ensures a smoother process not only for interior designers, but for clients, too.

 

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Karen Gastle

As an account manager, Karen has experience working with design firms of all sizes to integrate DesignDocs to streamline business processes, increase administrative efficiencies, and deliver higher profits.
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