Providing Effective Feedback

 

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Your input of the design of your home is necessary, in fact important to guide our work. We may not get everything right on the first try. That’s not just okay; it’s part of the process. Here’s how you can provide us with the effective feedback, so we can work more fluid and faster.

 

Good Feedback

  • Be honest. If you don’t like something, we need to know - now, not three weeks down the road.

  • Be specific. Point out what, exactly, is not working for you, and why it’s not working.

  • Ask why. If you aren’t sure what we were thinking, we’d love to explain the reasoning. Some things we have done for the project has a purpose (ie. structural, cost efficiency, etc.) while others are just aesthetics.

  • Refer to your project description. Perhaps there wasn’t enough information given during the initial meeting or circumstances have changed - that’s OK. Let’s just make sure that we get the information as soon as you become aware.

  • Be Positive. Give as much positive feedback as you do negative. We would hate to make revisions and remove something you really liked.

  • Be vocal even if you don’t have the words. Some of the best clients don’t have great design vocabularies. Don’t worry - we know pointy roof, pop-up window, thing-a-ma-jig, and whatchya-ma-call-it.

 

Not-so-good Feedback

  • Involve everyone you know in the creative process. This is your home and it should reflect you and how you live; not how your friends/family live or what is “best” for re-sale. If you don't want two sinks in your ensuite, then don't have two sinks.

  • Take things personally. If we missed the mark, we need to figure out why and move closer to our mutual target. If we mention exceeding the budget, it’s because we’re thinking about your overall goals and your budget may or may not be apart of that. It’s not personal, it’s business.

  • Do our work for us. Please give us written or verbal instructions about what isn’t working. We encourage sketching on the plans to illustrate what you’d like changed, but don’t redraw the plans for us. That limits our creativity and the end results, and, unless you're framer or engineer, the changes won't work altogether or without a mass amount of money.

  • Prescribe fixes. You’re paying us to provide solutions for your future renovation. Explain the problem and we’ll pitch potential fixes to you, based on our knowledge, experience and skills.

  • Slow to respond. If you expect us to work fast, we expect a fast response. We cannot work until we receive the feedback and it takes time to make the revisions. The more time spent requesting a faster design, the more time we spend via. email or phone.

 
ConsultingChelsey MorphyFeedback, effective discussions, meetings, emails